How Humans Have Affected the Antarctic Food Web
How Humans Have Affected the Antarctic Food Web
Team E
University of Phoenix
Environmental Issues and Ethics
SCI/362
April 19, 2011 How humans have affected the Antarctic food web
The purpose of our team paper is to prepare a comprehensive paper on how humans have affected the Antarctic food web. The icy Antarctic water is very deceiving, not only is it home too many sea animals but also in theses icy waters live a multifaceted food web that feeds many animals. The foundation of the food web consists of photosynthetic algae that live in the nutrient rich water. Krill is the major food source for the Baleen whales. Krill are small shrimplike animals that eat the photosynthetic algae found in and around the pack ice. In 1986 there was a global ban that was put on the hunting of the baleen whales that reduced the amount of whales found in the Antarctic waters. The banning the whales created two problems, there were less whales and the population of other animals greatly increased. The whales were the major consumers of the krill. Because the whales were not around to eat the krill other animals, e.g. penguins, seals, squid, and fish were feeding off of the abundance of krill, which in turn increased their population. Biologists are hoping that because commercial whaling has been regulated that the amount of baleen whales will slowly increase so that they can dominate the krill consumption in the food web. Thinning of the ozone layer will also have a long-term effect on the Antarctic food web. Scientists are speculating that the ultraviolet rays penetrating the waters are the cause of the decline in algal production. Global climate change is another way that humans have affected the Antarctic population. As the temperature of the water has warmed there is less pack ice being formed during the winter months. Pack ice is critical for the survival of the krill because the krill feed from the marine algae. If the waters continue to remain warm the
Team E
University of Phoenix
Environmental Issues and Ethics
SCI/362
April 19, 2011 How humans have affected the Antarctic food web
The purpose of our team paper is to prepare a comprehensive paper on how humans have affected the Antarctic food web. The icy Antarctic water is very deceiving, not only is it home too many sea animals but also in theses icy waters live a multifaceted food web that feeds many animals. The foundation of the food web consists of photosynthetic algae that live in the nutrient rich water. Krill is the major food source for the Baleen whales. Krill are small shrimplike animals that eat the photosynthetic algae found in and around the pack ice. In 1986 there was a global ban that was put on the hunting of the baleen whales that reduced the amount of whales found in the Antarctic waters. The banning the whales created two problems, there were less whales and the population of other animals greatly increased. The whales were the major consumers of the krill. Because the whales were not around to eat the krill other animals, e.g. penguins, seals, squid, and fish were feeding off of the abundance of krill, which in turn increased their population. Biologists are hoping that because commercial whaling has been regulated that the amount of baleen whales will slowly increase so that they can dominate the krill consumption in the food web. Thinning of the ozone layer will also have a long-term effect on the Antarctic food web. Scientists are speculating that the ultraviolet rays penetrating the waters are the cause of the decline in algal production. Global climate change is another way that humans have affected the Antarctic population. As the temperature of the water has warmed there is less pack ice being formed during the winter months. Pack ice is critical for the survival of the krill because the krill feed from the marine algae. If the waters continue to remain warm the
References: Raven, P., Berg, L., & Hassenzahl, D. (2010), Environment. (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and sons, Inc www.epa.gov Greenpeace.org Anthropocentrism, Biocentrism. Merriam-Webster, 2011. Merriam- Webster.com. Retrieved March 25, 2011 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethics?show=0&t=130112968 Oceana . (n.d.). Oceana. Retrieved April 13, 2011 from http://na.oceana.org/en/about-us/what-we-do The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. (n.d.). Issues and Advocacy. Retrieved April 13, 2011 from http://www.asoc.org/issues-and-advocacy/antarctic-environmental-protection The New World Encyclopedia.(n.d.). Antarctic Ocean. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Antarctic_Ocean Conservation International. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved April 13, 2011 from http://www.conservation.org/discover/Pages/about_us.aspx