Impact of Climate Change on Moose Population

Impact of Climate Change on Moose Population Moose in the Noose? From Montana to Minnesota, Ontario and Wyoming to Hew Hampshire moose numbers are in steep decline. Could climate change be to blame? These majestic animals, which can be over 6 feet tall and weigh 700 kg, are a highlight for wildlife enthusiasts visiting America’s northern states and bring in much needed revenue for local communities. They are also important components of the boreal forest ecosystem. Unfortunately these mostly solitary creatures are becoming increasingly more difficult to find by hunters and scientists alike. Moose number declines Montana 40% drop in the number of hunting tags released Minnesota Down 70% since 2006 New Hampshire Dropped from 7000 to 4600 Wyoming 70% drop since 1998 Montana Mystery Dwindling populations in Montana have left local people worried and scientists scratching their heads as to why. Currently moose numbers in Montana are not checked regularly, instead they rely on anecdotal evidence from biologists and hunters as to what the situation on the ground is. But many people are worried. Nick DeCesare, the biologist leading the study said â€Å"There’s fewer moose out there, and hunters are working harder to find them.† So worried are they that the Montana Fish, Wildlife Parks (FWP) department have just embarked on a 10 year investigation to track population changes. By tagging moose with radio collars they can check up on them year after year to measure their body fat and take blood, fecal, hair and teeth samples. They will also check whether they are carrying any diseases or infestations. With this data they’ll be able to tell how healthy the moose are individually and as a population and if any tagged moose die they hope to be able to determine the cause. For the time being though, why numbers appear to be dropping so quickly is a mystery. Mike Gurnett, also from the FWP said â€Å"in some parts of Montana, numbers have declined, hunting licenses cut back, and moose counts continue to drop†. 50% fewer hunting licenses were issued by the state between 1995 and 2011. Just a Fluke? Likewise in Minnesota, Michelle Carstensen of the state’s Department of Natural Resources is also trying to figure out what is happening to their much-loved moose, so popular that they even had an Ice Hockey team named after them – the Minnesota Moose. Ominously the team was relocated to Winnipeg in 1996. We used to have two significant moose populations in our state one in the northwest, one in the northeast. And the northwest moose population is pretty much gone. Numbers in the northwest population of Minnesota have dropped from 4000 in the 1990s to just 100 in the mid 2000’s. This rapid loss drove them to cancel the 2013 moose hunting season altogether in the hope that numbers would rebound. The north-eastern population is also thought to be declining with fewer calves seen over the last 10-15 years than previously. Hunters here too have reported difficulty in finding moose. One of the main causes for this is thought to the liver fluke (Murray et al. 2006), these cause damage to the liver, lungs, and other tissues in the moose’s body along with secondary infections resulting from the damage. This reduces their overall fitness and Murray thinks that the northwest population will cease to exist in 50 years time. Ticked off In Ontario, winter ticks are thought to be a major cause of moose deaths. An adult moose can have as many as 30,000 ticks on its body and some have been known be infested with as many as 100,000. All of these blood-sucking ticks can make moose anaemic; the lack of healthy red blood cells causes fatigue due to inadequate oxygen supplies. This lethargy makes it more difficult for the moose to get enough food. As you can imagine a lot of ticks can be itchy. Moose don’t groom themselves like deer and so scratch themselves by rubbing up against trees. This may be satisfying in the short term – like scratching a mosquito bite – but can be detrimental in the long term. Excessive scratching can remove clods of hair meaning the moose are in more danger of dying from exposure in the winter months. In New Hampshire, too, ticks are a big problem for the moose. Youngsters feel the effects more than adults, says wildlife biologist Ted Walski, â€Å"the 1-year-olds don’t have the blood volume or body size (to cope), which makes them more susceptible.† In the warm winter of 2011 it is thought that nearly all calves born the previous year died as well as 40% of the adults. In relatively extreme event such as this moose populations can rebound the following year, but if the situation persists for prolonged periods recovery is not possible. UmWhat has this got to do with climate change? The fact that there seem to be a number of different causes for the moose declines in these different areas implies that there may be an underlying cause. Population ecologist Denis Murray suspects that it is climate change. Moose have evolved to live in cold climates. As such they have thick, warm coats and get stressed if it’s too hot. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the 30 year period from 1983 to 2012 was probably the warmest period of the last 1400 years in the Northern Hemisphere (IPCC, 2013). Furthermore, temperatures in this region are predicted to rise by 1.5ËÅ ¡ to 2ËÅ ¡C in spring and summer between 2025 and 2035 with winter temperatures expected to rise by the middle of the century (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2003). Montana, Minnesota, and Ontario all have something in common. They’re at the southern edge of the moose’s range – the geographical limit of where they can live comfortably. Moose numbers in southern Sweden, too, have been reported to be dropping. Climate change makes it more difficult for moose to survive in the southern parts of their range. This is thought to be due to the increased heat stress but also the increased survival rate of its pathogens over the winter period. In these southern areas increased temperatures are felt more keenly by the moose. When they get too hot they seek shelter rather than forage for food. This leads to them being weaker but also stops them from building up important fat reserves for the winter. Biologist Mark Lenarz from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resourses found that increased summer and winter temperatures induced heat stress was one of the main factors leading to an increase in moose deaths (Lenarz 2009). White-tailed deer are the normal hosts for the live fluke. Deer densities are expected to increase in response to milder winters (Murray et al., 2006) – exposing a higher number of moose to infection. Murray also found that populations of moose were negatively affected by increases in annual temperature Ticks numbers can also be affected by climate change. To see how we need a bit of info on their life cycle: Ticks emerge from eggs in the late summer. After a short time they climb on to plants like grasses and trees, here they wait as moose brush up against them they attach themselves. They feed and grow into adults during the winter and then mate in January to February, shorter winters mean more survive until this time. In April they start to detach and fall to the ground to lay their eggs and the cycle continues. However, if temperatures are low there is more snow around. The white background makes the tick’s dark bodies stand out and they’re more likely to be eaten by birds(Addison et al. 1989). But if it’s warmer and there is less snow cover and the ticks are harder to spot on the dark ground more adult ticks survive to lay eggs, leading to increased infection rates later in the year which have a negative impact on moose health. Daniel Bergeron, from the un iversity of New Hampshire, thinks that the widespread die-off of moose in the warm, snowless conditions in the winter of 2001 -2 extended the period that ticks could be transmitted to moose (Bergeron 2011). http://www.ccwhc.ca/wildlife_health_topics/winter_tick/wintertick.php#canada Christy McCain from the University of Colorado Boulder found that larger animals 27 times more likely to react to climate change than smaller animals. This makes them more sensitive to change and so they face the highest extinction risk (McCain and King 2014). â€Å"The things that are responding most to climate change are the things we tend to like the most, that we go to parks to see to see – Big Horn Sheep, Elk, Polar Bears. These are the things that have the highest extinction risk†. Much like the dinosaurs that died out after 65 million years ago, it was the small mammals left behind that were able to adapt to their new environment more quickly and survive. So Consequences for boreal forest – less grazing etc As well as the threat of climate change there are also threats from logging and especially mining, which currently is not subject to environmental assessment. Less browsing by moose – loss of natural habitat areas maintained by such grazing, fewer wolves as less moose to hunt. References Addison, E. M., Strickland, R. D. and Fraser, D. J. H. (1989) Grey Jays (Perisoreus canadensis) and common ravens (Corvus corax) as predators of winter ticks, Dermacentor albipictus., The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 103(3), 406-408. Bergeron, D. H. (2011) Assessing relationships of moose populations, winter ticks, and forest regeneration in northern New Hampshire., University of New Hampshire Masters Thesis, [online], available: http://search.proquest.com/docview/884096564 [accessed 02/03/2014] IPCC (2013) Fifth Assessment Report,Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, [online], available: http://www.ipcc.ch/ [accessed 02/03/2014] Lenarz, M. S., Nelson, M. E., Schrage, M. W. and Edwards, A. J. (2009) Temperature Mediated Moose Survival in Northeastern Minnesota, The Journal of Wildlife Management, 73(4), 503-510. McCain, C. M. and King, S. R. B. (2014) Body size and activity times mediate mammalian responses to climate change, Global Change Biology, [online], available: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.12499/abstract [accessed 25/02/2014]. Murray, D. L., Cox, W. E., Ballard, W. B., Whitlaw, H. A., Lenarz, M. S., Custer, T. W., Barnett, C. and Fuller, T. D. (2006) Pathogens, nutritional deficiency, and climate influences on a declining moose population, Wildlife Monographs, 166, 1-30. Union of Concerned Scientists (2003) Confronting climate change in the great lakes regions: impacts on our communities and ecosystems, available: http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glchallengereport.html [accessed 27/02/2014].

Impact of Globalization on Economics and Business :: Outsourcing, Offshoring, Free Trade

We live in a time of worldwide change. What happens in one part of the world impacts people on the other side of the world. People around the world are influenced by common developments. The term Globalization is used to describe this phenomenon. According to Harris, the term is being used in a variety of contexts. In a very broad context, media professionals use it almost daily to refer to a wide variety of political, sociological, environmental, and economic changes. The business world, however, uses this term in a much narrower context to refer to production, distribution, and marketing of goods and services at an international level. Everyone is impacted by the continuing increase in Globalization in a variety of ways. The types of food we eat, the kinds of clothes we wear, the variety of technologies that we utilize, the modes of transportation that are available to us, and the types of jobs we pursue are directly linked to Globalization. Globalization is changing the world we live in. Causes of Globalization Harris indicates there are three main factors contributing to globalization. The factors include:  · The reduction in trade and investment barriers to the post- world war II period  · The rapid growth and increase in the size of developing countries’ economies  · Changes in technology Trade Agreements Originally each nation established its own rules of governing forein trade. Regulations and tariffs were often the outcome, leading to the tariff wars of the 1930’s. Nations have found it convenient . . . to agree to rules that limit there own freedom of action in trade matters, and generally work toward the removal of artificial and often arbitrary barriers to trade. Many trade agreements exist in the world today. Of those agreements (general agreement on tariffs and trade [GATT], the European community, and the north American free trade agreement [NAFTA] have had or will have significant impact on the united states. GATT. The first trade agreement of major significance was the general agreement of tariffs and trade. GATT was aimed at lowering tariff barriers among its members. The success of the organization is evidenced by its membership. Originally signed by 23 countries in 1947, the number of participating countries continues to grow. The Uruguay Round of GATT is the most Ambitious Trade Agreement ever attempted. Some 108 nations would lower tariff and other barriers on textiles and other agricultural goods; protect one anothers intellectual property; and open there borders toi banks, insurance companies, and purveyors of other services.

Equality of Life Essay -- Argumentative Philosophy Religion Papers

I defend the uniqueness and irreducibility of religious forms of life from rationalistic criticisms. I argue that such a defense of religion affirms the fact of incommensurability between differing forms of life. Put differently, such a defense tacitly affirms ineradicable pluralism as well as cultural diversity. I contend that the defender of religion who argues from the incommensurability of this form of life must also give up all traces of "worldview exclusivism," the dogmatic claim to possess the one truth about the world. Finally, I argue that if we are to move into a future of peace, we must acknowledge that various forms of life are lived on a level playing field. That is, all forms have important contributions to make, and none have revelatory advantages over another. A critical discussion of differing forms of life will be concerned with cultural desirability of these forms. The Role of Philosophy in an Edifying Cultural Discussion of Religion A rationalistic agenda has traditionally dominated discussions in the philosophy of religion. Most of the discussions in this field have focused on an assessment of the rational coherency of religious belief, where "belief" is understood to name the intellectual assent religious believers are alleged to give to the propositional formulations of natural theology and creedal dogma. "Belief" in this sense is no different from the belief the analytic philosopher gives to the conclusion of logical arguments based on empirically verifiable premises. According to this way of understanding belief, both religion and philosophy are seen as competing forms of method with the same goal—uncovering or apprehending the one truth of mind-independent reality. Kai Nielsen is a well-known phi... ...lace. Importantly, by learning the foreign culture, Liberman is in the unique position of intimately understanding that culture, and can therefore highlight salient differences that emerge between the culture he has indwelled and the one he has momentarily left behind. Only by immersing himself in both cultures—that is, only by forsaking the search for a neutral vantage point—is he able to stand in a place from which comparision and criticism can be made of both sets of cultural practices (but, of course, only of these particular cultural practices—Aboriginal and European). Human reason is in operation here all along the line, yet nowhere in the foundational sense insisted upon in Enlightenment metaphysics and epistemology. (14) Beyond Objectivism and Relativism 91-92, my gloss in brackets. (15) Barry Allen, "Atheism, relativism, Enlightenment and truth," 175.

Discursive essay on abortion Essay

Abortion is an issue that people have been questioning for generations. It is often a very hard personal decision to make; you must consider all sides of the issue. Abortion is the removal of a foetus before it has been born. Some call this murder; others say it is a matter of personal rights. Here I will explore all the arguments for abortion, leaving you to make this decision for yourself. Many women have abortions for many different reasons. Some because they feel they are too young, they do not want to have a child, or because they were raped. They may feel a child will restrict their ability to live their lives to the fullest at a younger age or simply because they cannot afford one. There are many reasons that a woman may choose to terminate her pregnancy each different from the next. She might not want to be a single parent, she doesn’t want to marry her partner, he can’t or won’t marry, or she isn’t in a relationship. She might not want anyone to know she has had sex or is pregnant due to family reasons or embarrassment. Or the most logical reason- she or the foetus has a health problem. Abortion ends a pregnancy before birth takes place. When an embryo or foetus dies in the womb and is expelled by the body, it is called a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) and is natural and unpreventable. To end pregnancy voluntarily, is an induced a bortion. When a foetus is dead at birth, it is called a stillbirth. More than 90% of all abortions are performed during the first three months of pregnancy. In fact, more than half are performed within the first two months. These abortions are usually performed at a hospital or abortion clinic, and the women go home an hour or so later. Abortion in the last three months of pregnancy is extremely rare but still do take place. Only about 1 out of 10,000 abortions take place after 24 weeks. These are the most complicated and are performed only when the pregnancy seriously threatens a woman’s health or life or when the foetus is severely deformed. Most women who have abortions are under 25 years old and unmarried. Divorced women and women with financial difficulties are more likely to choose abortion than any other women. Nearly one-third are in school. After abortion most women will feel a brief sadness or other negative feeling but recover very quickly. These problems, if prolonged, are often called â€Å"post-abortion syndrome†. Abortion is a very grave sin in the Catholic Church unless the woman’s life is in danger. The fifth commandment states † thou shall not kill.† Catholics have said: ‘Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end, no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.’ And ‘Do not slay the innocent and the righteous.’ The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely wrong to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule and to the Creator, say the Catholic Church. Pro-life groups say that abortion is deliberate murder, even though the foetus is unborn. They believe that as the foetus is living, it has rights and therefore abortion qualifies as a killing. They say that if the woman did not want to have a child, she should not have had unprotected sex and so it is her own fault and she must bear the brunt of it. If your mother had decided to abort, you would not be here now. But pro-choice groups say that just because the woman got pregnant by mistake or without realising the consequences does not mean that she should give birth to a child that she is unready or unwilling for. This applies most profoundly in the case of teenage pregnancies, as 1/3 of women choosing to have abortion are still in school. They say that having a child could drastic decrease the woman’s quality of life, especially if she is financially insecure. In the year 2000, 1.3 million abortions took place. If it was made illegal, the world’s population would be increasing at an even higher rate than it is now. Many people also say that since the foetus is incapable of self-conscious thought it is not yet a person, and so the rights given to people do not apply to it. Another pro-choice argument is that legalizing abortions has eliminated many illegal abortions performed by unskilled practitioners under unsanitary conditions. These abortions often caused death and permanent reproductive  injuries. Abortion on demand also prevents unwanted births, possibly lowering infant and child abuse and neglect rates.

Provinces of the Philippines and Local Markets

Tapsilog is a popular Filipino dish commonly served for breakfast. The term is coined from combining the Filipino words tapa, sinangag, and itlog which are the main components of the dish. We chose to show how tapsilog can be geographical because we want to emphasize that anything can be geographical, and tapsilog, a common Filipino dish is usually not the kind of product that people would associate with geography. As mentioned, tapsilog is made up of tapa (dried meat), sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg), but it doesn’t stop there.Each ingredient is also made up of even more ingredients that we have traced to have originated from and traveled through different places in and out of the country before it reaches our plates. This further supports the idea that tapsilog, like every product, is geographical. Tapa, the first and main ingredient, is made from beef marinated in different spices. The beef is usually bought at the nearest local market by most cooks, but before reachi ng the local markets, it is first brought from a farmer’s market which is locally called bulungan or bagsakan.One example of this bagsakan is the Farmer’s Market Cubao from which its name was derived from. Slaughter houses and cow farms from different municipalities sell their product to the said farmer’s market. One of the biggest sources of cow meat in the Philippines is Padre Garcia, Batangas, the cattle trading capital of the Philippines, where they have the best temperature here in the country for raising cows. Cow breeders ensure that their livestock are bred well by supplying them with good feeds and steroids. Their diet usually contains well-grown grass and corn.The marinade consists of a blend of sugar, garlic, pepper, and salt, which are locally- found ingredients. The sugar comes from sugar mills like the San Carlos Bio Energy Inc. in Negros Occidental, while the sugarcanes are provided by small sugarcane farmers from Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Negro s and Panay, or by large agricultural companies like Del Monte and DOLE. Pepper is mostly from small and big exporters from Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Negros Occidental, Zamboanga and Davao. Garlic usually comes from Sinait, Ilocos Sur, the garlic center of the Philippines where they celebrate the Sinait Bawang Fest.Like the beef, the spices are brought from its respective farmer’s market before reaching the local markets. Sinangag is the term for Filipino fried rice. Rice, the main ingredient of sinangag, is also bought from local markets that got their stocks from the National Food Authority. The NFA serves as the biggest warehouse or post harvest facility here in the Philippines. Before reaching the NFA, rice is harvested from rice fields, especially in the province of Central Luzon or sometimes imported from Vietnam. Farmers exert effort in tilling the lands for their crops to grow and watching the seasons to find the best time to plant and harvest.Like tapa, sinangag is a lso composed of the spices discussed earlier. Egg, the last main ingredient in making a tapsilog, is also bought from local markets. Like the other ingredients, eggs are brought from farmer’s markets before reaching local markets, or sometimes large companies or poultry farms like Bounty Fresh Inc. , which is located in Bulacan. They directly deliver their egg products to local markets to maximize profit. Maintaining a poultry farm requires water, chicken feeds, hormones and supplements, and machines which are commonly imported from Japan.

Music 100 Concert Report Essay

Allegro, as the first movement is named, means to have a quick paced tempo. This movement starts with the first and second violins playing followed by the cello and viola, then finally the clarinet comes in over the rest of the musicians. This movement may be fast paced, but the tone of the movement is melancholy in some areas. The theme of the movement is played several times over. The theme of Allegro is the opening phrases where the first and second violins start, then add in the cello and viola, then the clarinet. This repeating phrase throughout the first movement helps create a pattern and a story. What is interesting in this movement is that the opening theme sets up the rest of the piece. Brahms changes the theme in each movement, but this original theme is still present in each movement after. The end of Allegro is built up into a large climax by using crescendo, a heavier and more violent bow stroke, and more rapid notes than are present in the rest of the piece. The Adagio, in contrast to the first movement, is slower paced and softer. The tone of this movement is in great contrast to the first as well. The mood is dark and full of anguish and despair, whereas in the first the mood was lighter. This mood is created by the difference in the style in which the musicians are playing. The clarinet in this movement plays lower notes that are sustained for long periods of time while the violin plays the melody over it. The first two movements of the piece are much lengthier than the last two movements. The third movement, Andantino, is faster than andante- which is a walking pace- but slower than moderato. The tempo marking andantino is more lively than andante. The third movement serves as a transition into the last movement. In this movement there is pizzicato, which is the plucking of the strings on a string instrument. The first and second violins, cello, and viola use this technique in this movement while  the clarinet plays the melody over them. The first violin adds in by playing on the string again, and then the rest of the strings add in playing using their bows instead of plucking the strings. The fourth movement, Con moto, is different from the previous movements because of the tone and style of this section, but it also revisits the original theme of the first movement, which ties all the movements together. The original theme is used as a framing device throughout the entire piece. Between each time the theme is played, there are different styles of other themes played. Some are mellower while others are more of a scherzo, which is a lively part within a larger work. This piece was preformed wonderfully by the GVSU Chamber Players. They played passionately and because of this, the audience could better understand the piece and what Brahms intended the audience to feel when they listened to his work. The players made great use of dynamics throughout the piece and they were very skilled in the different styles Brahms wrote into the music. I really enjoyed the concert and look forward to going to another soon.

Intro MGT Informat Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Intro MGT Informat Systems - Essay Example Despite proper planning of the initiation phase, continuous evaluation of the implementation process is vital in project implementation. During the implementation phase, communication is vital in the project implementation process (Kerzner). Communication ensures that the transfer of information within the work force is effective thus improving the implementation process. The various phase of implementation process involves the combination of different departments in the implementation process. The communication process in the project work must accommodate various technological changes such as use of latest communication technology such as the use of Email and social networks. The selection of the best possible technology for use in the project work must consider the budgetary allocation of the project. It deals with the understanding of the information management and system available and the implementation process demands. The leadership of an organization can influence the motivation of the people leading better performance in project management. Emotional intelligent is vital in the leadership success. To have a successful project leader, the understanding of the leadership styles and emotional intelligence is mandatory allowing for exclusive understanding of the organization structure. Leadership in project management must always have the mission and vision of the project to avoid management crisis such as loss of organizational focus and goals. The goals of the project are vital because they facilitate the development of organizational structure and organization. Additionally, the planning phase of the project must ensure that all factors that may influence implementation are evaluated. The creation of plans ensures that all activities are considered in the process of planning and the magnitude of activities, threats and opportunities existing during the