Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Using Reconciliation Ecology to Protect Bluebirds
Here is some
bad
news:
Populations
of bluebirds in
much of the east-
ern United States
are declining, for
two reasons.
First,
these birds nest in tree
holes of a certain size. In the past,
dead and dying trees provided
plenty of these holes. Today, timber
companies often cut down all of the
trees, and many homeowners mani-
cure their property by removing
dead and dying trees.
Second,
two aggressive, abun-
dant, and nonnative bird species—
starlings and house sparrows—like
to nest in tree holes and take them
away from bluebirds. To make mat-
ters worse, starlings eat blueberries
that bluebirds need to survive dur-
ing the winter.
Good news:
People have come
up with a creative way to help
save the bluebird. They have de-
signed nest boxes with holes large
enough to accommodate bluebirds
but too small for starlings. Because
house sparrows like shallow boxes,
they made the bluebird boxes
deep enough to make them un-
attractive nesting sites for the
sparrows.
In 1979, the North American
Bluebird Society was founded to
spread the word and encourage
people to use the bluebird boxes on
their properties and to keep house
cats away from nesting bluebirds.
Now bluebird numbers are building
back up.
Restoration ecology works! Per-
haps you might want to consider a
career in this exciting new field.
SCIENCE
SPOTLIGHT
Critical Thinking
Can you come up with a reconcilia-
tion project to help protect a threat-
ened bird or other species in your
neighborhood or school?
does not really matter that the passenger pigeon is ex-
tinct, and that the whooping crane and the world's re-
maining tiger species are endangered mostly because of
human activities.” Be honest about your reaction, and
give arguments for your position.
What Can You Do?
Protecting Species
• Do not but furs, ivory products, and other
materials made from endangered or threatened
animal species.
3.
Make a log of your own consumption of all products
for a single day. Relate your level and types of consump-
tion to the decline of wildlife species and the increased
destruction and degradation of wildlife habitats in the
United States (or the country where you live), in tropical
forests, and in aquatic ecosystems.
• Do not buy wood and paper products
produced by cutting remaining old-growth
forests in the tropics.
• Do not buy birds, snakes, turtles, tropical fish,
and other animals that are taken from the wild.
4.
Do you accept the ethical position that each
species
has
the inherent right to survive without human interference,
regardless of whether it serves any useful purpose for
humans? Explain. Would you extend this right to the
Anopheles
mosquito, which transmits malaria, and to in-
fectious bacteria? Explain.
• Do not buy orchids, cacti, and other plants
that are taken from the wild.
Figure 9-21
Individuals matter:
ways to help prevent the pre-
mature extinction of species.
Critical thinking: which two of
these actions do you believe are the most important? Which of
the actions do you plan to do?
5.
Your lawn and house are invaded by fire ants, which
can cause painful bites. What would you do?
6.
Which of the following statements best describes your
feelings toward wildlife:
(a)
As long as it stays in its space, wildlife is okay.
(b)
As long as I do not need its space, wildlife is
okay.
(c)
I have the right to use wildlife habitat to meet my
own needs.
(d)
When you have seen one redwood tree, fox, ele-
phant, or some other form of wildlife, you have
seen them all, so lock up a few of each species in a
zoo or wildlife park and do not worry about pro-
tecting the rest.
(e)
Wildlife should be protected.
Figure 9-21 lists some things you can do to help pre-
vent the premature extinction of species.
We know what to do. Perhaps we will act in time.
E
DWARD
O. W
ILSON
CRITICAL THINKING
1.
How can
(a)
population growth,
(b)
poverty, and
(c)
affluence increase the premature extinction of wild
species?
7.
List your three favorite species. Why are they your fa-
vorites? Are they cute and cuddly looking, like the giant
panda and the koala? Do they have humanlike qualities,
2.
Discuss your gut-level reaction to the following state-
ment: “Eventually, all species become extinct. Thus, it
