The Habitable Planet.

For the first section of the lab, I chose to study the Amazon Rainforest. According to WWF the Amazon’s biodiversity is immense! “Not only does the Amazon encompass the single largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world, it also houses at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity, including endemic and endangered flora and fauna, and its river accounts for 15-16% of the world’s total river discharge into the oceans. The Amazon River flows for more than 6,600 km, and with its hundreds of tributaries and streams contains the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world” (WWF).

Two anmals native to the Amazon are the “Callicebus caquetensis – Colombia | This new species, Callicebus caquetensis, is one of about 20 species of titi monkey, which all live in the Amazon basin. The babies have an endearing trait, “When they feel very content they purr towards each other,” explained scientist Thomas Defler.” (The Huffington Post) and “Tometes camunani – Brazil | This new species of piranha, Tometes camunani, can span 20 inches wide and weigh up to 9 pounds, and is strictly herbivorous. The freshwater fish inhabits rocky rapids associated with seedlings of plants that grow among the rocks, its main source of food.” (The Huffington Post).

When searching around to see how a rainforest maintains its diversity, I came across an article that says, “Because of the equitable climate, tropical forests provide relatively constant food supplies, so that organisms can specialize on one or a few food sources in the expectation that they will be widely available during the year” (Rainforest Conservation Fund). The rainforest provides animals with a way to stay alive and thrive, by giving them available food sources. Different animals eat different things which helps the rainforest to continue catering to its diverse population, without exhausting its resources.  

The Amazon is endangered because of deforestation. Deforestation causes animals and plants to become extinct.

“It has been estimated that a piece of the rainforest the size of two football fields disappears every second” (Brazil: Carnival to the Rainforest).

According to The Huffington Post article, “Reintroduction of the Grey Wolf: Pros and Cons.”, the reintroduction of the wolves caused some difficulty. For one, livestock owners now had to worry about the wolves attacking their animals. Another group that was none too pleased were the hunters, who without the wolves had the opportunity to hunt Elk as they wished. This also brought tourism.

In my opinion, it seems like the wolf reintroduction was a good idea for Yellowstone. It helped restore the balance in the ecosystem, by providing a way to keep the elk in check. It kept them from eating too much of the plants and in turn gave some other animals the chance to thrive. Whereas the other animals were being scared away or being underfed when the wolves were absent. With the wolves there it seems to me like there would be more of an opportunity for biodiversity than before, because they provide services that no other one of the smaller animals could have provided. I think that if a place is a wolves natural habitat and it is suffering without it, then the wolves should be placed there if it can be done without causing too much inconvenience for the surrounding community.       

Works Cited

"Brazil - Endangered Rainforest." Brazil - Endangered Rainforest. Web.utk.edu, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.

Menagerie, Mrs. "Reintroduction of the Gray Wolf: Pros and Cons."HubPages. HubPages Inc., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

Koch, Zig. "About the Amazon." WWF. WWF, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.

Visser, Nick. "Hundreds Of New Species Discovered In Remote Part Of Amazon Rain Forest (PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.

"Why Is There so Much Biodiversity in Tropical Rainforests?" Rainforest Conservation      Fund. Rainforest Conservation Fund, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.