Biodiversity essays

Biodiversity essays Extinction is defined as the end of existence of a group of organisms, caused by their inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Throughout the existence of our planet there have been large amounts of species extinctions. For instance, the dodo, a species of flightless pigeon formerly living on the island of Mauritius, became extinct in 1665. About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, the most of the woolly mammoths and the last of the mastodons, both members of the elephant family, died. Also about 245 million years ago at the end of the Paleozoic Era, an entire class of primitive marine animals called trilobites disappeared forever. Over the years we have learned that extinction is a natural and ongoing phenomenon. In effect, of the hundreds of millions of species that have lived on Earth over the past 3.8 billion years, more than 99 percent are already extinct. This extremely high rate of extinction can be linked to several factors. Some of this happens as the natural result of competition between species, and is known as natural selection. According to natural selection, living things must compete for food and space. Those species incapable of adapting are faced with imminent extinction. This constant rate of extinction is sometimes called background extinction. Normal rates of background extinction are usually about five families of organisms lost per million years. Due to several fossil finding, we know that not all extinctions are constant and gradual, some are unpredictable and extreme. The cause of these large-scale extinctions is always dramatic environmental change that produces conditions too severe for organisms to endure. Environmental changes of this caliber result from extreme climatic change, such as the global cooling observed during the ice ages, or from catastrophic events, such as meteorite impacts or widespread volcanic activity. Extinction is a timeless trend, in fact, most scientists agree that life...

Bolsa Chica Fieldtrip essays

Bolsa Chica Fieldtrip essays As we arrive at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve I notice that this day is particularly warm and sunny. In the distance a significant haze is visible, but there arent many clouds. Its 10:10 AM and weve just been handed our binoculars and data collection sheets. I am standing facing west to avoid looking into the sun, and off to my right I notice quite a few pigeons, which Travis informs us dont really count since they were introduced into the area by people. The air temperature is reported to be about 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The wind seems unusually strong in this area, but the weather reported a wind out of the south east of 10 to 15 miles per hour. My partner for the data collection today is Mariah. If I stick with her today I am bound to learn a few new bird names. As we begin our walk around the Ecological Reserve we stop first on the footbridge about ten feet from where we began. As I peer down into the water below I see a lot of shells littered about. Travis tells us that what we are seeing are razor clams, muscles, sponges, algae, and a few stingrays. I was surprised to find out that this is a hatchery for lots of small fish. I look around as he tells us about the fish, and I see nearly a hundred birds in the distance, and now I realize why they stick around this place. Theres a lot of food for them here. I also see some snails as we begin the rest of our walk. I am excited to see birds at this point and I keep noticing pigeons around the bridge hoping that they are some exotic bird that I can write down, but that will have to wait. I dont have to wait long though. Almost immediately I see my first feeding bird, a Caspian Tern I am told. Its scientific name is Sterna caspia. We watch the bird fly around and then into an Arial plunge dive. It appears to be about 100 feet from the waters edge and it is diving in the Inner Bay area. I cant follow it very well wi...

Describe a companys obligations to protect that information and the Essay

Describe a companys obligations to protect that information and the techniques and tools that can use to accomplish that task - Essay Example People are making purchases online, making transactions through net banking and playing the share market through the net. The net is being used for every conceivable financial, social and cultural interaction. Every time there is an online interaction or an online transaction the consumer has divulge some information to the business that he or she is dealing with. In certain financial sectors such as banking and insurance, very sensitive consumer information is handled and stored by businesses. As the computer and the Internet become ubiquitous the volume of such sensitive consumer information increases at a very rapid pace. Proper safeguard of this sensitive consumer information is an issue that is gaining increasing importance. If such information is used arbitrarily or falls into the wrong hands, it could result in very drastic consequences for the consumer. On the Internet, the digital or virtual presence of an individual is established by the digital or virtual identity of the individual. The digital identity of an individual is defined by a set of parameters including the individual’s Social Security Number, bank account information, credit card information, etc. If these parameters are known to a second individual, he or she may falsely assume the identity of the original individual and carry out financial and other transaction on behalf of the original individual. These transactions could result in huge financial and other losses for the victim and unlawful gains for the perpetrator. The perpetrator thus indulges in identity theft of the victim. Again, sensitive information of the consumer, financial or otherwise, could be unscrupulously utilized to gain business advantage or make profits at the cost of the consumer. Measures, therefore had to be adopted, and rules and regulations formulated so that care is taken by all busi nesses to provide adequate protection and safeguards to consumer information in their possession. The