Friday, September 4, 2009
Reponse to the mistreatment of environment along the canal.
Tenacious Turtle Troubles.
I Like Turtles
By putting up another wall or adding material to help with erosion is going to harm thousands of baby turtles. The environment of the turtles should not be manipulated, because it could really hurt them and put their species in danger. I believe that the water company is in the wrong.
I don’t think that there should be any more investigation to prove that it will harm the population of turtles, because I know it will. I think there should be more investigation and researching for an alternative method. One quote was that they should try to find a more environmental friendly way to go about this, and that is absolutely correct. I feel as if they just thought of the best idea to benefit their company, rather than look at it from a point of view of the environment.
The section about the DNR was very interesting too. Veolia Indianapolis Water is concerned about letting the DNR know about muskrats, but what they are doing won’t kill the muskrats. I feel like they are just trying to put the fact that they will be killing hundreds of turtles under the rug. It’s stupid if they thought that no one would notice.
This population of turtles has been living in the canal for several years, and Veolia Indianapolis Water has no right to get rid of them.
It is important to study zoology because in an example like this, people always make decisions based on what they want, or what can better them. Humans are always thinking about humans. It is important to think about other things, like these turtles. It’s important to think of the environment around us and what inhabits it before we make a decision to change it. If this project is permitted, it would cause the turtle population to go down by a lot, because none of the baby turtles would be able to survive or join the rest of the population.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Canal Project
I personally feel that the turtles should come first in this situation. I understand that water is extremely important, but there are other ways to get water and there are only so many places where turtles can live. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I had to make a decision about this. I would probably find a way to fix what I needed without making a huge change to the turtle population.
The zoology from this situation plays a large role. The water people need to understand the life of a turtle and how important they are to our environment. It would be helpful for them to know more about the history of turtles, so they would have an understanding of why people are so passionate about having them in the canal.
The population of turtles would go down if this project were put through. I don’t think that there would be specific traits that would be passed on because in this case it is luck of the draw. It is not targeting any specific type of turtle; the project would simply hurt that turtles that interfere with the project. The turtles that are not affected are a random bunch of turtles, so there is not one specific trait that would save them because it all depends on the location of the nests.
Turtles in the Canal
Turtles
Canal Conflict
Canal Conflict
Veolia Indianapolis Water Construction
After reading this article I was disgusted with the Veolia Indianapolis Water Company’s actions in terms of ‘restoring’ the canal downtown. By taking such careless actions as to not take into account the repercussions their construction on the canal would bring onto the natural wildlife and environment that has developed in and around the canal, the company reflects its self-interest and purely financial reasons for this hasty construction. That, and the fact that the company has not even applied for a DNR permit for construction in the canal. Careful maintenance and construction can be done in an environmentally efficient and green manner, but apparently the company has no regard for this. More investigation is needed, and more care and attention needs to be placed on the turtles and other wildlife and botanical life along the canal. If I were handling this project, I would make sure to not move ahead with the project until all effects and possibilities in relation to the wildlife and ecology in the canal would be analyzed. And, once I understood the effects, I would make sure that the project would only restore the parts of the canal that needed restoration or construction; I would also outline and input a plan that fits with the construction codes of a green, environmentally safe project. The preservation of life and ecology would be my priority. The study of zoology is very important in this situation as it would allow the understanding of what the effects of this project could have on population such as the turtles, muskrats, etc. in the canal, as well as how they would adjust in terms of this situation. If this project is permitted, which I hope not, then the effects upon many of the populations of animals living in the canal would be dire. The company plans to remove large stretches of bushes and trees growing along the canal; by doing so would eliminate the environment around the canal. Construction would also change the habitat that many of the turtle species have developed to, and the population would have to adapt to the new changes in their environment in order to survive as before. They would have to develop new nest behaviors as well, as the locations as to where they were able to lay their eggs will be completely covered y the new construction.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Canal Conflict
In Our Own Backyards...Conflict along the Indy Canal: Human drinking water or Turtle nesting site, who wins?
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908310347
Read the following article. Please write a short response that includes the following points:
1.) Your personal feelings on the issue. Is the water company right? Turtles right? More investigation needed? How would you handle it if you were the water company in charge of the project?
2.) Identify how the study of zoology is important in this real-life situation.
3.) If the project is permitted, would could be the future impact on the turtle population along the canal? Do you think that the population would be selected for specific traits due to changes in the environment? If so, what types of traits might these be?
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Natural Selection at work...even today!
An article released in Science Daily last week describes the work of two Harvard scientists who studied the effect natural selection has had on the coloration of deer mice living in the Nebraska Sand Dunes. Check it out and make sure that you can use the tenants of natural selection to explain how this change in coloration occurred in this particular population...apply your knowledge! Natural selection is occurring even today on organisms. :)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827141342.htm