PredatorPrey Relationships in West Virginia Essay

PredatorPrey Relationships in West Virginia - Essay Example Many believe the carrying capacity, the maximum number of animals the environment can support has been reached this can have devastating outcomes (Grafton 2008). There are major problems with deer populations in many states; however, in West Virginia populations can run as high as 75 deer per square mile (Williams 2005). In all cases, the root of the problem stems from a lack of natural predators and an ecological negative feedback loop that involves declines in forest health and composition. White tailed deer populations in excess of 20 per square mile are largely responsible for lack of woody and herbaceous regeneration (Grace 2008). Habitat impacts from such extensive deer overpopulation range from destruction of native understory, as deer are mostly browsers, eliminating low growing shrubs and herbaceous material to loss of small mammals and their predators. They are also responsible for dramatic changes in the hardwood diversity of eastern forests when they browse on immature hardwoods, killing them and thereby changing the fundamental structure of the canopy (Grace 2008). This affects every species in the system. The US Forest Service determined at more than 20 deer per square mile, there is a loss of many common bird species such as cerulean warblers, yellow-billed Cuckoos, indigo buntings, eastern peewees, and even robins disappear (Williams 2005). With the loss of these botanical species and associated birds, there is also a loss of small mammals due to lack of adequate cover and food resources (Broache 2005). Interestingly, it has been shown that silvicultural practices in managed hardwood forests of West Virginia have contributed to an initial increase of small mammal abundance diversity, usually until succession returns to the forest area (Kirkland 1975). This is thought to be due to an increase in consumption of seeds and seedlings, which in the long term has a deleterious impact on forest regeneration. In addition to anthropological restructuring of the forest's ecosystem, deer overpopulation has compounded the problem. Habitat alteration contributes to what still may be the root of the problem, which is the loss of the deer's natural predators from the system; bear, wolves and cougar that began in the 1700s. Numbers of the eastern timber wolf, black bear, and eastern cougar and all at historic lows since the area was first settled in the 1700s. Black bear in the state are estimated to be fewer than 8,000 individuals and both the wolf and cougar are listed on the Endangered Species list (Weaver 2007, USFWS 2008). Studies in Yellowstone have shown that large predators actually increase herd fitness by 30-40 percent when the herd has good quality habitat in which to bed, hide and feed upon (Brown 2006). Large predator prey relationships were studied over the long term at Michigan's Isle Royale National Park, where wolf and moose populations were shown to rise and fall in connected cycles (Milhill, 2008). The lack of predators in National Parks such as Yosemite and Zion has lead to large deer populations where stream bank erosion and loss of habitat for amphibians and butterflies have occurred (Milhill, 2008). With the lack of these large predators to help maintain deer populations, the dee r are beginning to overpopulate the landscape, which hurts not only the ecology of the

The Hero with a Thousand Faces Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Essay Example As per Campbell’s Monomyth, the journey of a hero is confined to a sequence of actions that includes three main stages, namely, - Departure, Initiation and Return. From these sequences, we could get a better idea about the phases that a hero undergoes and how his life would probably get transformed with each phase. Now let’s take a stance to discuss about two real life personalities, Daniel Suelo, the protagonist of the book The Man Who Quit Money and Abdulrahman Zeitoun, the primary character of the book Zeitoun. Could they be considered as a hero, on the schema of Campbell’s Monomyth? Let’s analyze this question further ahead to sort out the possibilities of these two characters to be claimed as a hero. Dave Eggers, in his book, Zeitoun portrays the life of Abdulrahman Zeitoun as a simple and loving man who lives in New Orleans with his family. However, the arrival of Hurricane Katrina collapses the lives of the people residing in the coastal regions in New Orleans. With his small canoe, Zeitoun aids his neighbors by rescuing them and even their animals, and also make arrangements to provide food, water and other essentials to the needy. Soon after the hurricane, abrupt changes encounter his life. He was fallaciously arrested by the police officials on account of suspicion for withholding possessions. During his incarceration, the torments he faced at the hands of the police were merely intolerable. He was treated inhumanely mainly on the basis of his ethnicity. Finally, he was released after the authorities understood his innocence. When the life of Zeitoun is focused, it conforms well to the Campbell’s notion of a hero. He lives in an ordinary world, with his wife and four children, holding his own business in the New Orleans. The departure phase of his journey is started with the onset of hurricane. He set forth his way crossing the threshold to face various challenges, which included imprisonment and eventually he returned back to his community. At the start, the call for adventure arrives for him in the form of a destructive hurricane that hit the coast. The awakening call for him was the natural calamity which gave him the arousal and pushed him to aid the needy people during the hurricane. It brought out the kindness and the generosity in him, and made him to deliver to his people and help them in the times of need. As a hero, he went forth on his own volition to accomplish the adventure. (Campbell 48). In his initiation stage of journey, he is destined to face various trials that reveal the true ch aracter within him. As Campbell states, â€Å"The composite hero of the monomyth is a personage of exceptional gifts. Frequently he is honored by his society, frequently unrecognized or disdained† (Campbell 29). These quotes aptly fit to the life of Zeitoun. Being hailed as a rescuer by his community people during the hurricane, soon after, he was imprisoned wrongly by the officials of the state and made to undergo intolerable trials. It was during his incarceration that he has to withstand all his emotional as well as physical temptations in order to endure the suffering. He was detained in a Greyhound bus stand on the suspicion of him being a terrorist, which was primarily due to his ethnicity or religion. During the imprisonment, he was denied medical aids and was even prevented from informing his family about his imprisonment.