Habitat Destruction

Trouble for the Cranes by Bhavya
Yip and her family were a typical family of whooping cranes. They ate berries and bugs and all the other things normal whooping cranes eat. They had the same slender legs and slim neck all whoopers have. They also had the same problem as other birds of their kind.
Mama flew off one day to get something to eat while Yip was sleeping in the nest made of bulrush and grass. There was a loud rumble in the distance coming closer very quickly. Papa was wading through some tall marshland grass around the nest. The rumbling was becoming a loud roar. It was coming closer and closer. Then, a bulldozer came crashing through the grass. Marsh water splashed over Yip, waking her up as the bulldozer passed right next to her, just missing her by inches. She got caught in a large tangle of grasses.
''Where are you?'' Papa asked.
"Over here!'' Yip replied. She climbed out from under the grass.
''Thank goodness you're safe.'' he declared, "We'll have to find another nest for you."
"Who did that?'' Yip demanded, "Why did that thing destroy the nest?''
''Those humans are destroying our habitat. They are using up the land for their own foolish needs. Let's go find your mother.''
They set out looking for Yip's mother. After a while, they came upon a small clearing. ''It just needs a little grass and bulrush and it'll be fine.''
Pretty soon Mama came gliding gracefully on a rising column of warm air to where they were. "I went to the other place and didn't see you so I asked one of the other cranes where you were. She said you came over this way. I see you have found an excellent place for another nest."
Mama and Papa started to gather bulrush and grass to build a new nest. They heard some talking but didn't pay much attention. Yip was wandering around, looking for the source of the talking. She was sure that the source of the talking was the same thing that was sloshing around in the marshy area in front of her. She went a little farther into the grass until she came to another little clearing besides her own. There stood a human being who crouched down to look at her. Frightened, Yip ran through the marsh, not knowing where she was going. She came to where the old nest once was. She looked around. She saw that the human had followed her. He was looking over the remains of the nest. "Bulldozer," he muttered under his breath with an angry expression on his face. Then he ran away. Yip found her way back home. There she found a brand new nest waiting for her. She told Mama and Papa about what had just happened. Then, they fell asleep. Yip was awakened by the sound of many people talking but one voice was very loud. She listened closely. "…the reinforced laws will protect the cranes that live here and all the other animals that live in this marshland." Yip woke up Mama and Papa to ask them what that meant. Mama and Papa told her that it meant that from now on they were safe from any humans who wished to disturb them.
"From now on we’re free from the human destruction. Now we can live our own happy lives." And so they did.

No species can continue to exist when its ecosystem—it’s very home—is destroyed (Sheldon). Animals and plants are becoming extinct or endangered every day for a variety of reasons, but what matters is what is the main cause and how we can find a solution to solve the problem. Species become extinct due to the impact of introduced exotic species, pollution, disease, hunting, and habitat destruction. Habitat destruction is the main cause of species endangerment as it is caused both by humans and environmental factors: “Habitat destruction is probably the single most important factor leading to the endangerment of species. It plays a role in the decline of some 95 percent of federally listed threatened and endangered species. Habitat destruction has impacted nearly every type of habitat and all ecosystems” (libraryindex.com). Animals and plants have certain needs to survive such as water, food, shelter, and suitable living conditions and when an animal’s habitat or ecosystem is destroyed, the things they need are no longer there for them to survive. “The main cause of the present extinctions is habitat destruction stemming from human activities, such as the clear-cutting of old growth forests in the temperate zone and rain forests in the tropics, overgrazing grasslands, draining wetlands, and polluting freshwater and marine ecosystems” (Primack 3).

Population growth is the largest reason as to why habitats are getting destroyed, as there are more and more people in the world, more resources are being used, therefore habitats are being destroyed to obtain these resources. We need more land and more resources such as wood, water, and food as our population increases. As we use more land, more animals lose there’s. “Wiping off an entire forest within a short span of time to undertake and initiate a housing project creates habitat destruction. Hence, the hopeless animals are not left with much time to adapt themselves. As a result, even the strongest are not able to survive, ultimately resulting in extinction of species (tutorvista.com).” Humans use resources for industries and they clear habitats for agricultural uses. Pollution to the water is also a form of habitat destruction and greatly affects any aquatic animals and is believed to be the main killer of underwater species. Also urban expansion is another huge contributor to habitat destruction as well as logging (cutting forests), grazing from livestock, mining, dams, and human activities.

Although I strongly believe that habitat destruction is the number one cause of species becoming extinct, many scientists believe that climate change is the main cause. According to Kristine Preston, climate change is mainly the result of human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases and is the main reason why animals are becoming extinct (Page 1). Yes, I can see why some people would believe this; there is great evidence that shows how the change in the climate is altering habitats, therefore changing the lands temperatures so that previous animals that thrived there no longer can. Humans emit greenhouse gases into the air through automobiles, factories and other chemicals, which secrete into our atmosphere and little by little are eroding away our ozone layer which protects from harmful radiation from the sun. In the past few centuries, the amount of greenhouse gases emitting into the air has increased, therefore speeding up the erosion of the ozone layer. With the ozone layer depleting, more radiation from the sun is able to get through to the earth, which in turn is heating up the earth’s atmosphere, hence climate change. The Earth’s temperatures are slowly rising which can cause major problems to ecosystems. Certain plants and animals are adapted to their environments and when you increase temperatures, their environments may not become suitable to live in anymore. For herbivores, if plants die due to the change in temperature, then what is there left to eat? They will either die or have to find another place to live. Although climate change is a very big problem, it is not big enough of a problem for endangered species. Habitat destruction is a guaranteed way for an animal to die from lack of basic needs or to migrate to another location that is suitable for them to survive in. In climate change, it isn’t guaranteed they can no longer live there as they still have a fighting chance.

Others might argue that disease caused from introducing new species into new habitats is a major cause of extinction. I agree that this is a cause, but I do not agree that it is a major one. More animals have become extinct in the past two centuries or so due to increase in the human population, but I feel the disease from introducing new species into habitats is no longer a major cause of extinction, like it used to be. When people first started discovering new territories and exploring new ecosystems, that’s when I believe this was a problem. “As a result of increased predation and disturbance, about 50 of the bird species became extinct prior to the arrival of Europeans in 1778. The Europeans brought cats, new species of rats, the Indian mongoose, goats, cattle, and the barn owl; they also unwittingly brought bird diseases, and they cleared even more land for agriculture and human settlements…ultimately, human disturbance and the introduction of exotic species could result in the extinction of all endemic bird species” (Primack 84). I believe that since most of the world has now been discovered and settled in, introducing new species is no longer a major threat. Each continent and habitat now has its own set up species of plants and animals; the only time new species would be introduced would be if vacationers and the likes bring home species from foreign countries. U.S. Customs states that, “You contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before you depart if you plan to import or export wild birds, land or marine mammals, reptiles, fish, shellfish, mollusks or invertebrates (cpv.gov).

Habitat destruction is caused by many factors, one of which is population growth and urban expansion. Our population continues to rise drastically which calls for a greater need of urban areas. Habitats are being taken over by homes and industries to provide for this increase in the population. Forests and grasslands are cleared to build suburb communities for the increasing middle class. Also, the population growth has caused fragmentation which is, “the process where a large, continuous area of habitat is both reduced in area and divided into two or more fragments… fragmentation occurs when paved roads are built, causing a habitat to be divided onto either side of the road” (Primack 35). Fragmentation also can occur when farmlands are created in the middle of habitats. “Many bird, mammal, and insect species in forests will not cross even very short distances of open area… A second harmful aspect of habitat fragmentation is that it reduces foraging ability of animals. Many animal species, either as individuals or social groups, need to be able to move freely across the landscape to feed on widely scattered sources” (Primack 35).

With the increase in the world’s population comes the need for more resources; this includes wood from trees, and this is where we get to deforestation. According to Norman Myers, “Tropical moist forests, hereinafter referred to simply as tropical forests, contain at least 50% and possibly a still larger proportion of earth’s species in only 6% of earth’s land surface. The forests share another unique characteristic: they are being depleted faster than any other large-scale biome” (Swanson 111). If deforestation continues, which it will, due to the need for wood to construct buildings, many species will be wiped out for good. I understand that deforestation can’t be avoided, but I feel that there are ways to go about deforestation that will lower the number of animals becoming extinct or endangered from it. If you are going to cut down trees, why do it from the rain forests? If it is true that they do hold 50% of the world’s species, there is a greater chance of one of those species becoming extinct than if you deforest a coniferous or temperate forests where there are less species to effect; the less species, the decrease in amount of animals becoming endangered.

Pollution is another huge factor in habitat destruction, especially for aquatic life. “Water pollution often severely damages aquatic communities. Rivers, lakes, and oceans are used as open sewers for industrial wastes and residential sewage” (Primack 147). Aquatic environments hold millions of plant and animal species, and the pollution deposited into these environments poisons the species and kills them. “Pesticides, herbicides, petroleum products, heavy metals (such as mercury, lead, and zinc), detergents, and industrial wastes can kill these organisms” (Primack 149). People these days, for whether its lack of effort or for a rich man to get richer, seem to not care or pay attention as to where there waste items end up. CEO’s of big shot industries don’t care where their waste goes, they let it run off into the rivers and streams, and hey if it keeps them rich why would they care? Also, people of this century are lazy and some are too lazy to walk over to a trash can and throw their items away. Why not just toss it on the ground? People don’t think that the one plastic cup full of coke is going to have an effect on anything, but it can. “Europe’s largest river the Rhine, has seen a severe decline in species diversity during the past 60 years as a direct result of increasing pollution” (Catley 104). Believe it or not, that one plastic cup can do more harm than you think.

In conclusion, habitat destruction is the main cause for the endangerment of species. Although many may believe that climate change and disease caused from introducing new species into an environment is the main reason but there is more evidence and more species on the endangered list do to habitat destruction. It is caused by human and environmental factors but its largest contributor is population growth. The population growth leads to urban expansion, and a bigger demand on resources which then leads to deforestation for wood, and mining which releases toxic substances into the surroundings and destroys habitats. Pollution destroys aquatic habitats and greatly affects the species that live there. Habitat destruction is a huge problem and most of the species that became endangered got that way due to their habitat being invaded, whether by humans or waste, and destroyed.

Work Cited
Bhavya, By. "Whooping Crane by Bhavya." Pontantico Hills School, Nov. 1999. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. .

Catley, Ketyn M. The Biodiversity Crisis: Losing What Counts. Ed. Michael J. Novacek. New York: New, 2001. Print.

"Endangered Species Activities Tutorvista.com." Tutorvista.com - Online Tutoring, Homework Help for Math, Science, English from Best Online Tutor. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. .

"Extinction and Endangered Species - Factors That Contribute to Species Endangerment." Library Index. Net Industries, 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. .
Meyers, Norman. The Economics and Ecology of Biodiversity Decline: the Forces Driving Global Change. Ed. Timothy M. Swanson. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995. Print.

Preston, Kristine L, John T. Rotenberry, Richard A. Redak, Michael F. Allen. Habitat Shifts of Endangered Species Under Altered Climate Conditions: Importance of Biotic Interactions. University of California: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008. Print.

Primack, Richard B. Essentials of Conservation Biology. Sunderland, Mass., U.S.A.: Sinauer Associates, 1993. Print.

Sheldon, Joseph K. "Endangered Species/Species Extinction - Causes, Statistics, and Trends." Clean Funny Cartoons / Environmental Issues ... on Grinning Planet. 13 July 2004. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. .

U.S. Residents. "Know Before You Go: Regulations for International Travel." U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2009. Web. .