The Last Great Wonder of the World
Valerie Riordan
Bio-220
11/24/2012
Gabrielle Vosteen
The last Great Wonder of the World People tend to believe that the greatest threat to human survival is pollution and global warming. Where these are dynamics that threaten our quality of life, they are also by-products of an even greater danger. The single most paramount menace that threatens human survival is the deforestation of tropical rain forests by the hands of man in the name of progress. The only way to remedy this ominous hazard is to get people to view tropical rain forests as more than mere varieties of vegetation and wild animals. The key to solidifying the necessity of tropical rain forests lies deep within the intricate layers of biodiversity that culminates into life sustaining resources for human life. In general, in order to obtain a basic understanding of the importance of tropical rain forests, one needs to comprehend the hierarchy of levels of species that live there. Whether the topic is the American, African, or Asian rain forests, each forest bustles with diverse species. With genetic diversity, there is a balance of different adaptations of the same gene within a particular species. Then there is species diversification, to which there are numerous assorted creatures within each individual ecosystem. Lastly, there is ecological diversification, which is the breaking down of elaborate complexities of a biological colony that collects energy, sustains food sources, and reuses natural materials to keep the life cycle flowing (A. Akesen, K. Isik, and F. Yaltirik). The abundance of life is mostly due to the ample supply of solar energy at lower altitudes allowing the species here to thrive (Rainforest Conservation Fund). In the same way, rainforests are designed in layers that house the many bustling species and numerous plant-lives. First, there is the emergent level, which holds the most visible attribute of the rainforest with its widely spaced trees that
Bio-220
11/24/2012
Gabrielle Vosteen
The last Great Wonder of the World People tend to believe that the greatest threat to human survival is pollution and global warming. Where these are dynamics that threaten our quality of life, they are also by-products of an even greater danger. The single most paramount menace that threatens human survival is the deforestation of tropical rain forests by the hands of man in the name of progress. The only way to remedy this ominous hazard is to get people to view tropical rain forests as more than mere varieties of vegetation and wild animals. The key to solidifying the necessity of tropical rain forests lies deep within the intricate layers of biodiversity that culminates into life sustaining resources for human life. In general, in order to obtain a basic understanding of the importance of tropical rain forests, one needs to comprehend the hierarchy of levels of species that live there. Whether the topic is the American, African, or Asian rain forests, each forest bustles with diverse species. With genetic diversity, there is a balance of different adaptations of the same gene within a particular species. Then there is species diversification, to which there are numerous assorted creatures within each individual ecosystem. Lastly, there is ecological diversification, which is the breaking down of elaborate complexities of a biological colony that collects energy, sustains food sources, and reuses natural materials to keep the life cycle flowing (A. Akesen, K. Isik, and F. Yaltirik). The abundance of life is mostly due to the ample supply of solar energy at lower altitudes allowing the species here to thrive (Rainforest Conservation Fund). In the same way, rainforests are designed in layers that house the many bustling species and numerous plant-lives. First, there is the emergent level, which holds the most visible attribute of the rainforest with its widely spaced trees that
References: Water-Pollution.org.uk. (2012). Retrieved on 11/25/2012, from http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/Environmental-Pollution-Tropical-Rainforests.html#more