The Biology Blogger

Alright, this is a topic that is a bit of a passion for me because I used to have ferrets as a kid.  I can remember when I was around the age of eight, I saved up my twenty five dollars and I adopted one of the few ferrets that were left.  The Black-Footed Ferret is quickly moving towards extinction.  Scientists say that a colony that currently has half of America’s population of Black-Footed Ferrets was recently hit back the Plague (the same as the Black plague) and a third of these 300 ferrets have died already from it.  This is scary, especially because of this…

In the 1970s, there were only 18 left in this area.  However, with the careful work of scientists and the contributions from different people, they were able to increase that population.  Three hundred might not seem like a lot, but when you only have eighteen to create that population, it’s a really great number.

The problem comes in, though, when the Plague hits again.  We can fight the Plague off like its no big deal.  A little antibiotics and we’re done.  For ferrets, if they get the Plague, they’re dead.  Simple as that, bada bing, bada boom, they’re gone.  No sickness, just death.  Because of this, if an outbreak happens in a ferret colony, a lot of them can die.

So, why should we care?  The ferrets are another species on this planet.  Although we have little interaction with them, they are an important part of the ecosystem.  If the ferret population was high, ranchers in the area would not need to worry about prairie dogs eating all the grass that their herds need for grazing.  A single ferret can eat 150 prairie dogs in one year.  Sure, that’s not an overly abundant amount.  But, 300 ferrets eating 150 prairie dogs is a bit more.

Scientists are finding ways to try and help the ferrets.  They have developed a vaccine to really fight against it, but the truth is, it’s a very time costly job.  Travis Livieri is doing everything in his power to try and save them.  He wants the colony to grow again because they’ve been using the offspring from this colony to start other colonies.  There aren’t many ferrets left.  It’s unfortunate and there’s little people can do.  But…There is something you can.  Stop by the Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Program.  Learn about it and if you can, donate.  The population is dying because of this Plague and if we can help, I say we do it.

When one species dies, it can have catastrophic consequences for the overall ecosystem.  Prairie dogs need their predator.  The Black-Footed Ferret can be saved; however, it does take some work.  This is just another example of how species are dying out and an example of the need for human intervention.

Earlier, I wrote about how the rise in temperature has caused a change in the type of fish in the Rhode Island Sound.  And I said in the article that the rise in the temperature on the Earth could impact us.  Well, it does.  West Nile Virus first appeared in 1999 as we all remember.  It was spread by mosquitoes and we were told to ensure that we didn’t keep damp environments around because of the fear of mosquitoes multiplying and then spreading West Nile.  That was a common fear, but it only spread even more when, in 2002, a new strand of West Nile Virus appeared.  By 2005, it had replaced the old strand and had caused numerous deaths.  Now, over 100 people a year die from this strand.

So, what happened?  How did this strand of West Nile Virus do so much damage while the other one didn’t?  And more importantly: how did it spread so fast?  Two scientists, Kilpatrick and Kramer, conducted an experiment to try and determine what effects temperature had on the spread of the virus and to try and determine when the virus can be transmitted by mosquitoes.  What the studies showed was that this new strand was much easier passed from mosquitoe to human than the old strand.  What they also found was that this new strand had a better advantage when the temperature increased.

Both strands were able to increase its spread when the temperature was higher.  What this means is that as the heat on the planet increases, the increased replicating of the virus will continue to rise and the spread of the virus will continue quickly.  This new strand is better at replicating in the mosquitoe because of the increased temperature, scientists suggest.  Now what they are looking to prove is whether or not the temperature had a connection in the new strain’s ability to invade so effectively.

A lot of people know about West Nile Virus…The increase in its ability to spread should be a warning call to people about the threat of global warming.  We’re told that global warming might melt the ice caps and that the water might rise.  Okay, that’s sort of a bothersome image.  But, because of global warming, we can suddenly see an increase in a disease.  This has a direct connection to us.  It’s not about fish this time…It’s about a disease that can kill humans.  And, if the virus continues to spread and replicate as fast as it is, it could start to kill more people.  Global warming is an issue…One that we, as a people, need to figure out a solution for.

With the general election going on now and Barack Obama going head on against John McCain, one of the big issues that will continue to pop up is global warming. Both candidates will try and say that they have the best plan to fix the global warming problems. Unfortunately, regardless of what either candidate says about the global warming issue, one thing is for certain: it most definitely is occurring. Despite what some critics might say about how it’s not happening and that we need to focus on other things, studies suggest that global warming is very real and that we need to do something to correct it.

When looking at the fish communities in Narragansett Bay and the Rhode Island Sound, scientists found something that was incredibly troubling. Normally living in these bodies of water are vertebrae species (fish), but scientists are noticing that more invertebrates (lobsters, etc) are starting to appear. And, rather than species that feed on the bottom (benthic), there are species that are now feeding higher up in the water column (pelagic). So, the big question that people ask is: why does this matter?

It matters because of the domino effect. Consider this food chain…Phytoplankton normally sink to the bottom of the ocean to the bottom fish. However, more and more, it is being found that the phytoplankton are being consumed by the zooplankton by fish that prey on plankton. This has led scientists to a conclusion about the increase in the number of lobster and crab: because there are less bottom feeders to eat the phytoplankton, the invertebrates are eating them instead which is resulting in an over population of the species.

When looking at this, we can see that the food web has altered. Sure, it might not matter much to you and I, but the food web leads up to us one way or another. Fish is a big market in that area and normally, they would catch cold water fish which are bigger. Fishers are finding that they are catching more fish, but they are smaller. Warm water fish are naturally smaller, but more abundant. The waters are getting warmer and that is, scientists argue, only possible because of global warming.

The big fear that scientists have now is that this area of water (in Rhode Island) will begin to change and turn into estuaries to the south. They have similar problems where animals that would not usually appear in the area are suddenly popping up. And, there is only enough space for so many animals. So, these new, dominant animals are beating the other ones out. So, I think you can see where this is leading…Sooner or later, where do the cold water fish go when there is only warm water? No where. Global warming is an issue that we need to worry about because as much as this article only talks about the fish, it will harm us as well.