In chapter 10 of the book, Kolbert begins by writing about thousands of bats that were found dead in a cave in Albany, New York, which scientisitslater discovered was due to a fungus growing on the bats called Geomyces destructans. Kolbert visits a cave near the Adrionicks mountains where she meets with Al Hicks, a scientist who first divocerved this fungus killing bats. Kolbert goes on to describe the danger of pathogens or other species to a new enviorenemnt due to their abiliity to wipe out existing species. For example, similar to how the fungus spread from Albany to as far as West Virginia, killing off bats, when humans brought over the brown tree snake to Guam from Australia, it killed off several of the bird species living there. This threat of invasuve species has made it ever more possible due to humans constantly moving around and bringing different species with them wherever they go, thus essentially recreating a new pangea due to species not having any barriers while travelling to new places. As a result of this invasive fungus, it has caused the biodiveristy of bats around the world to signficantly drop, for example species such as the brown bat are now being closely monitored as they have become an endagered species.
An APES theme that connects to this chapter is that environmental problems have a cultural/social context and it’s important to understand these factors in order to develop solutions. For example, in the chapter, it states, “one of the striking characteristics of the Anthropocene is the hash it’s made of the principals of geographic distribution...global trade and global travel do the reverse: they deny even the remotest islands their remoteness. The process of resizing the worlds flora and fauna, began slowly, along with the routes of early human migration, has in recent decades accumulated to the point where in some parts of the world, non- native plants outnumber native ones” (pg. 198). Humans have moved around species throughout history depending on whichever animal/plant suited their current needs. As culture and society shifted throughout the years, so did human desires and therefore people have always changed which species they relied on for what throughout changing eras. Therefore, in order to create a soloution for curbing the ammount of invasive species being introduced, humans need to first cautously evaluate and see that the new species they are bringing in, won't have a negative effect on the dominant specieis in the area. (P) However, I predict that though this may seem like a decision that would prove to be benefical for species as a whole, it is highly unrealistic. It is human nature to take whatever they need in order to aid in their surival and or pleashure. Therefore, humans won't take into consideration at first whether or not this new species will have an impact on the old ones. Adding on, it’s also very difficult to determine which species the invasive species will affect, this can only be determined in the later stages when the invasive species has alreayd started to take a toll on the enviorenment. Thereofre, it is either that humans dont move around species at all or they take the risk of moving them around anyways in order to fit their temporary needs, I believe that humans would be more likely to choose the second option.
Image of the Geomyces destructans bat. 
No comments:
Post a Comment