Journal 4/12/16 How does Man fit into the ecosystem? In what ways has God made Man different from all the other creatures in ecosystems? Tell me what you think. Objective Tonight’s Homework To learn how people have influenced ecosystems Read section 18C – pp 483 – 492. Do review 1, 2, 4 on 492

Man’s Effect on Nature God placed man in a special position over nature. No other creature on the planet changes ecosystems like humans do. In some ways this is good: Humans have saved numerous species from extinction and can take care of animals in some very good ways. But in many ways, we’ve been bad: We’ve driven thousands of species extinct and destroyed tons of ecosystems. We’ve altered others to be unnatural and forced animals into unhappy conditions.

Man’s Effect on Nature Example: Rabbits in Australia In 1859, a man named Thomas Austin brought 24 rabbits from England to his home in Australia so he could hunt them. However, the rabbits started breeding. And since the Australian ecosystem had never seen rabbits, there were no predators. By 1900, the rabbits had spread in a circle over 2,000 miles across and were destroying tons of crops. Australia is still dealing with the rabbit problem today. This is just one example of how man is uniquely equipped to mess things up if not careful.

Man’s Effect on Nature The other direction is extinction of creatures. Since Creation, animals species have naturally died out. That’s ok. But mankind has killed off many species from hunting or destruction of habitat. In the last 50 years, we’ve finally begun to realize just how much damage we’re doing. We now have a system for classifying how “in trouble” a species of animal is.

Man’s Effect on Nature Least Concern These are animals where we’ve counted their numbers, but they’re in no danger of going extinct. Most species of familiar animals fall under the “least concern” category. Near Threatened Animals in this group aren’t in trouble yet, but could be if humans aren’t careful. This includes animals like the Maned Wolf, which will become threatened with extinction if its habitat keeps being destroyed. Essentially, we want to keep an eye on these animals.

Man’s Effect on Nature Vulnerable These species are going to become threatened unless something changes. They’re like “near threatened”, but instead of just watching, we have to do something or they’ll be in trouble. This includes animals like the zebra and lion. Endangered These are animals that have limited numbers in the wild and are in real trouble of going extinct soon without help. Many animals here are being bred in captivity to keep them from disappearing. This includes animals like tigers, African elephants, certain giraffes and wolves.

Man’s Effect on Nature Critically Endangered These animals exist in only small areas in the wild. There have to be less than 250 of them left and they likely won’t last 3 generations without human intervention. This includes certain cheetas, chinese alligators, spider monkeys, and the California condor. Extinct in the Wild As the name suggests, these are animals that only exist in private collections or zoos. Some of them can be reintroduced back into the wild if we do things right, but most die off. New animals are being added to this list all the time.

Man’s Effect on Nature Extinct These are species that are gone. We’ve hunted or destroyed the habitat of all of them and they no longer exist. Some of these creatures go extinct on their own, but most die off from human interference.

Homework Time You have the rest of class to get started on your homework.

Exit Question There’s a certain species of animal with only 400 left in the wild. However, there are 4,000 in captivity in zoos. What level would you classify this animal? a) Least Concern b) Near Threatened c) Vulnerable d) Endangered e) Critically Endangered f) Extinct in the Wild