Saturday, April 14, 2012

Biochemistry Week 13: Living Diversity

 1. In what ways do you feel we have changed our attitudes to ecosystem services?

The kind of wreckless dominate nature tendency man has had is starting to crack and give birth to an interest in creating a global network of biodiversity science to study the intricacies of different ecosystems and what is needed to keep it all in balance so that we have a healthier relationship to nature which in turn will take care of us. Scientists are taking not just a scientific look at biodiversity, but an economic and practical one too to see how to best prioritize biodiversity issues and how to promote individual human behavior to intervene or adapt to ecosystem losses. A global network of biodiversity conscious warriors would at its best not just include scientists but indigenous peoples and participants in all interdisciplinary fields (including the social realm to spread awareness).
We are waking up to the fact that it is going to take a group effort based on The Law of One to save the planet, her species, and out health which is dependent on the health of the  different ecosystems’ species.

2. Discus why top predators are a healthy sign in an ecosystem.

Top predators like sharks are a healthy sign in an ecosystem because they naturally keep the balance of other wildlife ocean as it should be. In one study of a part of the Atlantic where sharks were virtually eliminated, 12 species that they fed upon became more abundant and caused great harm to the ecosystem. For example, the cownose rays- which the sharks usually fed upon- grew to out of control numbers and destroyed the population of bay area scallops. There were less scallops available for human consumption and no scallops to help clean and filter ocean water.

Sharks tend to hunt efficiently, which means they eat the sick and old fish of other species. This is actually good for the prey fish species as it helps prevent the spread of disease amongst the fish, outbreaks that are potentially devastasting. Sharks strengthen the gene pool of prey fish species by eating is weakest and sickest members, which leads towards greater numbers of strong and healthy fish who in turn reproduce greater numbers of strong and healthy fish for human consumption, keeping everyone healthier.

3. Chocolate’s health effects?

In health cases where the heart is not getting enough blood flow, dark chocolate eaten regularly can help coronary blood flow. The less sugar and fat the chocolate has, the better its impact on your health, especially if heart attack is a risk, in which case saturated fat would be best kept to a minimum in chocolate treats. However, chocolate is a hot food, and so a person has excess heat, eating chocolate in smaller quantities may be advised.

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