Part 3- Cost-Benefit Analysis

I will be representing the parents of students at the over crowded high school.

Three benefits to expanding the over crowded high school are smaller class sizes to optimize better learning environments, Hiring of more teachers, More people in the community with jobs to help stimulate the economy.

We'd prefer to commence to building right away so we can provide our children with the best education possible.

We feel conflicted in we don't want to disturb an endangered animal's habitat, but we need to expand the school for our children.

The biggest obstacle right now is finding proof for or against the fact that an owl is nesting on the land adjacent that we need to build on.

"If you hear a hoot, this site is kaput," means that if you hear an owl on the property there isn't going to be any building on the site.

A 404 permit is part of the WSA, it is given by the Army Corps of Engineers in regards to discharge of dredged or fill material into U.S. waters.

Ecological Sustainability is using our natural resources wisely in short-term to ensure they are available in the long-term.

Science is evident when stated that Richards has been studying pygmy owls since 1994, and neighbors stating they occasionally heard the owl in 97 and 98 and more frequently in 96.  Also, when Richards is talking about the small home range of the owls.

I definitely think that the Endangered Species Act of 1973 should be revised a little bit, it is 42 years old, a lot has changed in that timespan.  I'm sure that there are things that we once thought important but have found that keystone species are a huge part of our ecosystem.  It is definitely time for revisions.

Part 2 SPECIES

A.     Visit Earth's Endangered Creatures or Center for Biological Diversity to view a list of the species in North America that are endangered.

1.     Choose a species from one of these lists by matching the first letter of its common name to the first letter of your last name. Some of you will have more choices than others! Let me know if run into any trouble. State the scientific name of your organism in proper format using the binomial system

                      Afghan Tortoise Testudo horsfieldii

2.     Write a four-sentence description of the species itself not its endangerment.

       Afghan Tortoise's shells are often as broad as they are long, growing up to 29cm in length.  Unlike other tortoises in the family that have 5 toes on their front legs, Afghan Tortoise's have only 4 toes.  They are very inactive, usually only active for 3 months out of the year.  They aren't considered full grown until they between the ages of 20 and 30 years, reaching sexual maturity at 10 years of age.

3.     Include one photo or one video (no more than two minutes in length) showing the organism in its natural setting. Do not use any material showing harm to this organism.

4.     State one specific cause of its endangerment (might match with the characteristics from Figure 9-3).

       They are often used as a food source from local people and their overexploitation is leading to decreased numbers.

5.     State at least one of this organism’s ecosystem role (foundation, keystone, indicator species, generalist, specialist, etc.). Explain your answer.

       Afghan Tortoise's play the role as generalists within the ecosystem.  They are able to survive in sandy/arid areas as well as grassy areas, with their diet consisting of vegetation and/or succulents.  They are able to live virtually anywhere, as they hibernate for almost 9 months out of the year they either avoid the excess heat or the excess cold.

6.     Find an Internet link to one recent scientific article or story about this organism written or produced in the last two years. Summarize the argument for protection for this species and one specific conservation effort on its behalf. Cite this source using MLA format. Suggestions for sources include

      There are over 89 species of tortoises all of which are threatened by extinction.  The more rare a tortoise is the more valuable it becomes on the blackmarket.  We need to find a way to protect them against illegal trade.  World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is raising public awareness of the plight of the tortoises, as well as helping to set up protected habitat. 

"Asian Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles." WWF. 2015.  19 July 2015. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/asian_tortoises_and_turtles/

·       Science News

·       Sierra Club Magazine

·       The Nature Conservancy

·       Other conservation group publication or news sites that give fair reporting on endangered species

Part 1 THE ACT

1.     How many species were included when the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was put in place? 92

2.     What are the steps for a species to be on the endangered list?

       -the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range;

      -overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;

-disease or predation;-the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms;-other natural or manmade factors affecting its survival.

3.     What are three general causes for endangerment of species?

       -Over Hunting

       -Pesticides

       -Habitat Destruction

4.     According to the Act, what happens once a species is listed as endangered?

Once a Species is listed as Endangered they are protected from being transported, taken/picked, being sold, and gives Enforcement officials the authority to develop and carry out recovery plans, as well as using Federal Aid to purchase important habitat.

Freshwater Ecosystems- PART B

PART B

The Great Lakes Water Agreements, Brief 2, By Peter Schulte tells the history of how the US and Canada came to a mutual agreement and Compact in 2008.  Previously they had a mutual agreement, but once the compact was signed by President Bush, it made it mandatory that all 8 states needed to have state mandated laws that governed water consumption and sustainability.

I think that it is great that 2 countries were first able to recognize that there was a need to sustain our Great Lakes and secondly were able to come to a mutual decision to help govern responsibilities.  Although it did surprise me that the US only made it mandatory for the 8 states to create laws regarding water supply so recently in 2008.  If I hadn't of read this article I definitely would have assumed that there was some sort of state mandated water sustainability act in place previous to 2008.

Freshwater Ecosystems Lab

Part A

 Water Sampling at the Verde River Greenway Area

Sample Site 1- 100 feet downstream from sign                             Sample Site 2- 1 Mile upstream

Temperature Test

Site 1 Water Temperature

Site 2 Water Temperature

Turbidity Testing

Site 1

Site 2

Dissolved Oxygen Test

Site 1

Site 2

Site 1

Site 2

PH TESTING

Nitrate Testing Site 1	Site 2
Phosphorus Testing Site 1	Site 2
Coliform Testing Site 2 Biological Oxygen Demand COMING SOON!!! On Tuesday 7/14/15	Site 2

The Poor amount of Dissolved Oxygen could be from the fact that I pulled water from a pool area, where the water wasn't cascading over rocks thus incorporating oxygen into the water, instead it was very still.  However poor results on with any of the minerals would mean that it would be difficult to maintain a health plant life within the water or along the edges of the banks.  Excellent levels indicate that the ecosystem is thriving or has the ability to thrive due to having the ideal amounts of minerals.

Measurements and Field Methods

Lab 4 Part 1
20 points
MEASUREMENT AND FIELD METHODS LAB (Online)

Qualitative

1.  Freshly cut grass smells amazing.

2.  My shorts are Teal.

Quantitative

1.  I caught a 3# Trout.

2.  I am 5’10” Tall.

A. Dimensional Analysis

a. A four-pound bass weighs how many grams?

i. Step 1:  Convert 4 pounds to grams

ii. Step 2:  1 pound = 453.592 grams

iii. Step 3:   4 pounds  X  453.592 grams = ? grams

                                                 1 pound

iv. Step 4:  4 pounds  X  453.592 grams = ? grams = 1814.37 grams

                                                     1 pound

B. Linear vs. Exponential Growth

Linear Growth:

Exponential Growth:

1. Answer these questions.

a. Which earning strategy is the most profitable? Linear Growth is much more profitable, earning an additional $6/day.

b. Which would have seemed most profitable if you had stopped at six days? If the Y-axis wasn’t labeled, it would seem as though exponential growth would be most profitable after six days.

Part II. Measurements of Biodiversity, Field Methods, Soil Testing 

A. Measurements of Biodiversity

Submit on your blog:

1. A photo of your sample site before the quadrat is laid out (1 point)

2. A photo of your sample site after the quadrat is laid out (1 point)

I used piles of rocks rather than string or rope.

3. Your random numbers (.5 point) My Random numbers were 1, 4, 7, 11, 9, 14, 15, 16

4. A photo or screenshot of your quadrat grid drawn on paper (or created in another form) showing the squares in the quadrat you sampled (1 point)

4 Sampled	3	2	1 Sampled
5	6	7 Sampled	8
12	11 Sampled	10	9 Sampled
13	14 Sampled	15 Sampled	16 Sampled

5. A list of species names with sketches (1 point)

Square 1:

Species Name	Number of Species in this square
Quadrant 1:
Clumpy Grass	5
Light green bush	3
Quadrant 4:
Tall Clump Grass	2
Poky Scallop Bush	3
Quadrant 7:
Clumpy Grass	4
Tall Grass Clump	2
Bark Bush	1
Quadrant 9:
Clumpy grass	3
Quadrant 11:
Tall Grass Clump	2
Bark Bush	2
Poky bush	1
Quadrant 13:
Tall Grass Clump	2
Poky Bush	3
Light Green	2
Quadrant 15:
Light Green	3
Grass clump	3
Quadrant 16:
Light Green	3
Poky Bush	2
Seed Pod	1

11. Answer these questions.

a. This exercise did not require random sampling to chose your site. State how you chose your site, and explain any biases you discovered in yourself while doing so. I walked down the road from my house, it was the most unvegetated area I could find.

b. Describe the differences in the number of species using each method. Which one seems to “capture” the scene the best? Remember we are not trying to get the most but a representative sample.

c. Discuss what you would change for either method to determine a more accurate species count (not to get more species!) I would have made sure my phone was still charged, so I could have taken more pictures, as well as to take ribbon to tie onto the species I had already counted as to make sure I didn’t count it previously.

C. Soil Testing

Submit on your blog:

1. Completed Table 2 (1 point)

2. Answers to questions a through i. Please number your answers accurately (.5 point each = 4.5 points)

3. Two photos with captions of the process of soil testing (2 points)

1. Collect soil and describe location of soil.

2. Test according to instructions in the soil test kit.

3. Record your results in Table 2. 

4. Find the ratings for your sample from the booklet in the kit and record in Table 2 or another version of this table, handwritten and photographed, ,spreadsheet, etc.

5. Take 2 photos of the process of soil testing.

Location       N level/rating    P level /rating      K level/rating     pH level/rating

Sample A                              Sycamore	N0	P1	K2	7.0
Sample B                            Across the road	N0	P2	K2.5	7.0

6. Answer these questions.

a. What is soil made of?  Soil is made up of minerals as well as decomposed plants and animals.

b. What nutrient (chemical cycles) are related to soil formation? The Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycles.

c. How do you know what soil is best for what plants? Using a Soil kit you can test for the levels previously tested then do research to see what plants would grow best in those conditions.

d. What would the world be like if there was no soil? There would little to no plants, as the soil supports plant life.

e. Why is soil important? Soil gives nutrients to plants, without plants then Earth’s atmosphere would change drastically, mankind and animals would struggle to if they weren’t able to adapt to very little oxygen.

f. Why do you think it is important to test soil for pH, N, P, and K? In other words, what is the role each of each of these elements in plant growth or health? Remember to cite any sources.  pH level is the acidity of the ground and certain plants prefer different amounts of acidity as well as Phosphorus, Nitrogen, and Potassium.  Too little or Too much of a good thing is never a good thing.

g. How is soil type related to biodiversity?  Biodiversity is variety in species, these species decompose after they die, and enrich the soil.

h. How does soil type relate to biomes? Soil types mirror their biome, desert soil is generally dryer with clumps of vegetation. Whereas a Savannah grassland biome has more porus soil to absorb water and with a more even cover of vegetation.

i. Name 3 factors that might cause soil type to change over time in short term (days to hundred of years) or long (geologic) term. Forest Fires, Floods, deforestation.