1. A stream corridor connecting forest and native grass habitats
2. The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, crucial to the long-term recovery of grizzly bears and other wildlife labeled as one of the most endangered wild lands in the U.S.
Today in Professor Trumpey's lecture we heard about the importance of biodiversity and efforts to restore corridors for animals.
Groups around the world are working to establish "wildlife highways" with varying degrees of success. "In North America, the Wildlands Project is pushing for a huge "Yellowstone-to-Yukon" wildlife corridor. In Central America, conservationists are slowly and sporadically working on the Meso-American Biological Corridor. The dream: A monkey should be able to go up a tree in Panama and not have to climb down till it reaches Mexico," (Windstar Wildlife Garden Weekly)
"The corridor idea is relatively new: conservationists once thought that [preserves were enough. But groups of animals isolated from their species become genetically homogeneous, and don't develop the diversity necessary to adapt to threats- especially that of climate change," (Brandon Keim in Corridors Help Animals Flee From Climate Change).
What are your thoughts on these animal corridors?
They appear in our landscape as green, peaceful and graceful efforts to restore the natural environment and a natural way of life (migration) for animals... what else?
How might artists be a part of these efforts?
How do you imagine these corridors expanding into our world?
How might they extend into our urban spaces?
Also feel free to use this space to respond to the lecture as a whole, focusing on the importance of biodiversity.
Read More:
Corridors for a Healthier Environment
Article: Earth Times, San Diego
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
North Carolina State University Corridor Research
Anastassia Fulmer
ReplyDeleteDec. 2, 2009
ADP III-Joe Trumpey
GSI: Ashley Lieber
Can We Undo What We’ve Done?
It is pretty obvious that because of what man has done over time our world is going through a major downfall right down the toilet. There has been much concern that if something is not done now the world will fall apart. With global warming and lack of clean water being brought up in the media everyday there is no reason not to feel paranoid and trapped. There is some hope though and I do not understand why the media does not advertise this hope.
The way that media advertises the fall of the earth they never tell us that it can be fixed, it is a constant stream every single person has to be on board and that a single person does not make a difference. This is not completely true; if we hone all of the positive energy and channel it into creating a better world then it is possible to change the world.
I would like to think that there is hope for a better tomorrow even if it does mean that we have to live in a bubble or find a different fuel source. These are not bad things to think about. What we have been doing has not been working so it would only make sense to look at all of our options and be ok with failing every once in a while. I think that this may be the problem with why we are not having any success with fixing the problem, because we are too scared of failure.
Americans have been known for having a driving force like a greyhound chasing a rabbit, we refuse to stop until we get it and let nothing get in our way and do not accept failure. I feel that if someday we as a human race can get over this whole “she said, he said” thing that we can actually fix what we have done. If we admit that we may have been wrong in the past we will be able to survive to the next day and maybe the next day a much brighter one.
Weekly Response 11
ReplyDeleteI think that these animal corridors are a great idea. But we would definitely need to be careful should they be implemented. While these corridors would allow animals to naturally migrate, there may be some negative effects as well. For example, if an animal that people in the Southern states are not used to dealing with migrates from the North, they could be harmed or damage could be done.
Artists would be a huge part of these efforts. Maybe more landscape designers than anything else. Artists would be needed to make these corridors aesthetically pleasing because people will definitely have to look at them. Artists would need to camouflage these corridors into the currently existing environment.
In reference to our lecture on biodiversity, it is mind blowing that we only know and understand 5% of what is out there. It is interesting to think about biodiversity and invasive species next to each other, this is because biodiversity is a positive thing because it keeps things stable and creates a more complex web of systems which keeps the larger system in check. However, when some species are introduced to a system, they can turn out to be invasive. Considering this we can see the very fine line between a system being diverse and too diverse to the point where the system’s diversity leads to its downfall, which is ironic considering diversity is what causes systems to be stable, initially.
Eleventh Weekly Statement
ReplyDeleteJim Christian
12/2/09
Today, in lecture, Joe talked about the tropics and how the amount of biodiversity varies with location. He also said that biodiversity is more prominent in a competitive environment, where species have to specialize to stay fit. These environments are more competitive because the density of living organisms is greater. The density is greater because the energy put into the ecosystem is greater, mainly due to direct sunlight at the equator. Bring this all together, and we can conclude that biodiversity is greater in environments with more energy.
My interest in this conclusion is that it offers insight into our discussion of “Nature at the Mall.” This article was about the Nature Company selling replicas, trophies, and tools that teach us about nature. The article talked about how this company took root in the heart of an almost anti-nature environment, and how it was very successful at catering to the desire for nature that we feel. Then, we took this article on a tangent, and we started to question why the nature that this store exhibited was essentially the tropics. You couldn’t go in and buy a freshwater perch, but you could go in and buy monkeys, sloths, and beautiful butterflies.
On a quick sidenote: I started to think that maybe what we were finding at these stores was all of the nature that we could not reach. We were looking at the stuff that existed far away from us, and we were using the Nature Company as a way to satisfy our hunger for what we could not reach in our own backyard.
Now, I have a new understanding for why the Nature Company was successful. We are more interested in energized and competitive environments that are full of variety. Most everything at the Nature Company came from these environments, and that is because we, as Americans, live a lifestyle that does not coincide with our environment. Our lives are competitive and colorful. So shouldn’t the nature around us be competitive and colorful too?
An indirect proof for this would be to ask the following question: Do you think that people who live in tropical environments go to the mall to buy stuffed animal squirrels, deer, moles? Do they want paintings of weasels, or photographs of salmon on their walls? The answer is most likely “no”. Television at the equator isn’t about men and women going to compete for survival in the deciduous forest. The nature here isn’t exciting enough for American life.
Having established this theory, I must say that I haven’t ever visited the tropics, so I can’t really prove that people there don’t long for our nature. Also, I am not suggesting that our nature isn’t good enough. Quite oppositely, I’m suggesting that our culture has allowed the globalized world to define our interests. I think that if we expect to reconnect with our nature, we need to find a way to slow our culture down. Instead of adjusting our environment to our lives, we need to adjust our lives to our environment.
Twelfth Weekly Statement
ReplyDeleteJim Christian
12/4/09
As the cultures of the world become increasingly more global, many aspects of diversity change. Clothing, housing, religion, customs, and more, all change as different cultures become exposed to each other. This, I think, is a natural process. While I still feel that maintaining cultural diversity is important, the feeling seems to have no scientific foundation. Do we really need all of our cultures? What would happen if the world all followed a single culture? Would the system collapse? I know it seems natural to link this to biodiversity, but I’m not sure that these two can be put on the same scale. Is the loss of cultural diversity as catastrophic as the loss of biodiversity?
More specifically, how is the loss of language affecting our existence? Language is a part of culture, therefore the loss of language equals the loss of a small part of a culture. On one hand, it is never nice to let something beautiful slip away. On the other hand, losing a tool isn’t a big deal if you have another tool that can do the same thing. In a very pragmatic sense, losing languages will not make our society collapse. If 1,000 years from now the entire world speaks some form of Chinese and nothing else, the system won’t be broken.
In fact, you might argue that the system will be more complete. Language is a tool. It is a tool used to communicate information amongst people. It is functionally no different than a netbook – a tool to communicate information between a user and the web. Now, wouldn’t it be frustrating if the web was split into branches, and each branch was only accessible by a certain netbook. Now, people would have to own multiple netbooks to reach the entire web.
On a similar note, while eliminating languages may result in a cultural diversity loss, it is important to note that it may in fact be helping bridge the gaps of communication. This increased ease of communication could be helping improve cultural awareness. What is better, having a lot of cultures that are ignorant of each other, or having multiple cultures that all know about each other? As a tool, simplifying language may be helping out all cultures as an entire system.
Lastly, I think that Anastasia pointed out a very true fact. Cyberspace has been a place of inspiration for new languages. While these languages are simple, archaic, and heavily based on other languages, they are still new. These languages represent new cultures that are spawning within cyberspace, and they are probably quite similar in complexity to some of the languages being lost. So, I wonder if those stats on languages are considering the rate of new language development. I doubt that they are, because those scholars who would document this information probably don’t consider 1337 an official language.
Weekly Statement 9
ReplyDeleteSamantha Levy
Over the years, our roads and cities have increasingly separated animals from their natural environments and other members of their species. The animal corridors that are being constructed are our way of taking an extra step in promoting biodiversity. In addition to helping animals cross our manmade borders, I think that these corridors could be the gateway to new ideas that deal with preserving diversity. The animal corridors are also beautiful, fulfilling both form and function.
Artists are very important in the process of creating animal corridors. Designers are needed to create structures that will blend naturally into environments while performing their duties. Creative thinking is necessary in working together with conservationists to create something that will restore suitable areas for animals to migrate.
I personally imagine these corridors expanding into a larger network of passageways that will relocate animals from highway landscapes to more appropriate environments. They might become more decorative as well, making our unattractive highways into something more pleasing to the eye. I also think that seeing these structures will raise awareness in how much we are affecting biodiversity and will possibly cause people to take more action. They animal corridors may also extend into urban spaces by going either above or below the ground. I picture them looking a lot like the photographs of plants overtaking abandoned above ground train tracks in the middle of a city. This way, humans would not be in direct contact with the animals, but they would be able to coexist in the same environment. There are obvious issues that come up when I think about it going through polluted cities, so maybe it would be possible to avoid dense urban spaces.
Animal corridors or not, biodiversity is essential to our planet and we need to find SOME way of maintaining it. Without diversity in animal populations, there will be no competition, no natural selection, no predation and no evolution. As Keim says in your cited quote, animals will have no ability to adapt to our ever-changing world. If we are responsible for some of the change, then we should take responsibility for protecting animal species.
Weekly Statement 11
ReplyDeleteThe biggest reason why some of the oldest species on earth are still alive today is that they are able to adapt to their ever-changing environment. Such animals like sea turtles, and crocodiles have been around for centuries. There are turtles living all over the world in different climates and they are able to do this because they are able to adapt to those climates. Sea turtles play an important role in marine life and if they became extinct it would greatly influence marine life and then humans as well. Biodiversity is an important part to keep species alive, and corridors will help prevent extinction because they allow animals to adapt when needed.
Just like humans are able to adapt to different climates animals need to be allowed to do the same. Certain regions of the earth are being taken over by humans and the animals are forced to reside in different locations because of lack of habitat and food. Humans are not only affecting animals habitats because of our existence in them but because of how we are changing the planet and the entire earths habitat. Different regions of the planet are being affected more than others and at different rates. In order for the species in those areas to survive they need to be able to adapt to those changes. Humans need to give them space to do so because our existence depends on theirs as well. With one little disruption in the cycle of the food chain and in any ecosystem there will be a chain reaction and many other species will be influenced.
We have talked about how invasive species can be harmful to ecosystems because they will take over the native species and disrupt the flow and cycle of life in that ecosystem. I think that this is one of the things that we would have to be thoughtful of when creating these corridors. Obviously animals are able to migrate to other lands because of their own abilities (swimming, flying, running, etc.) and when lands are naturally connected these species will migrate on their own if needed. But I think that we need to be aware of those species that would take over other environments if given the chance. We do not want to allow those species to spread if it will be harmful.
One of the problems with the corridors is that we do not know about most of the species on the planet. As Professor Trumpey said in class we only know and understand 5% of the species on our planet. This could be dangerous when we decide to create these corridors because we do not know what we will be permitting to move about different places. I think that learning and discovery of our planet is also an important part of this process. We need to understand our planet before we can understand how to repair the damage that we have done.
I think these corridors are the closest things that we can get to natural because we have taken our own expansion too far and it is hard to take back what we have already done. I think that artists could be a part of these efforts by promoting these corridors and helping to show the importance of biodiversity through photography, posters, etc. I think that artists could also be involved in mapping out land that will be part of the corridors and how they will fit in with our urban environment.
Response 12
ReplyDeleteImportance of Bio Diversity and Animal Corridors
Animal corridors are a great way to reconstruct lost habitats and a successful way to increase biodiversity where it was once lost. The corridors are not only pristine and beautiful but tools that help support a healthy planet. Although they are such good things it is a shame that they have had to be constructed. Habitat destruction and other causes have left land ravished and decreased the amount of biodiversity in certain parts of the world due to human action. It is unacceptable that we destroy and take away so much from the earth and receive so many positive things in return although we hardly deserve it. Biodiversity is vital for the continuation of human existence. The planet requires a diverse series of living beings. While I agree with the theory of evolution and survival of the fittest, the term “fittest” has become redefined as humans and technology have developed. We have destroyed land, air and life. Animals are not suited to be covered in oil, have their homes destroyed or deal with human pollution and garbage that will not degrade in a reasonable span of time. Plants and animals are being destroyed at alarming rates and no drastic measurements are being taken by humans to stop this unacceptable behavior. We are obviously not living sustainable lifestyles if we have to set aside restricted lands specifically designated for re-growing populations of life that we have destroyed. Wildlife conservations, national parks and animal corridors are awesome but humans really need to make lifestyle changes so that every living thing can live in harmony. Artists can draw attention to the destruction humans have caused on the populations of other living beings. Public art, graphic design on billboards and advertisements can all be informational and move people in a more forward direction.
Although I like to think I make more personal work pertaining to my life at a more inward, existential and mental topics but I am so opinioned about politics, the environment and simply living and existence I should start making more work for the audience with a message that means just as much to others and it does myself. The lives of living things on this planet is important to me and should be more personal to me. It is hard not to compartmentalize what effects me directly and what effects me in the long run. Animals, plants and animals need to learn to live in harmony and humans absolutely need to live more sustainable lifestyles. People need to be better educated about the direct effects on their actions have in the world. I feel it is the only way for change to occur.
Weekly statement 11
ReplyDeleteBiodiversity lose can cause a lot of problems. It is scary to imagine that 30% of species we have today will extinct in 2050. Although evolution and extinction are natural, there are always causes behind them. The major cause is human activities. After industrial ages we are trying to manipulate nature and have it work better for us. Now things are catching up on us. Finally we realize that lose of biodiversity can cause the whole ecosystem to collapse.
I admit that wildlife corridor is a good idea to save wild animals and preserve nature. However it is really ideal too. No one knows what’s it like to restore nature. It is making up what we’ve done in the past. It looks like we are just putting what we’ve taken back to its original place. I feel like we are still manipulating the nature. To build animal corridor needs a lot of studies. It’s more than giving things back. Animals are already used to there habitats, which are divided and separated by human. Now humans are doing to change it again by building corridors. Can animals easily adapt to that is a question. I fill like humans are using mistakes to make up mistakes and leave a huge mass to the next generation. I’m not saying that restoring animal corridor is a mistake; I’ve seen successful cases. But what it brings in the future and what total cost behind it is unknown. The most helpful thing I can think of is as individuals we can consume less energy and resources to reduce the harm we do to the environment. Hopefully we don’t have to make up mistakes all the time but avoid them from the beginning.
Alexis Newton
ReplyDeleteWeekly Statement #11
Restoring Animal Corridors: The Importance of Biodiversity
After learning about the animal corridors, I think that they are a really great idea. I think that because there are so many things around that say that global warming is happening and our environments are being so destroyed, some people forget the fact that we can change things for the better, and fix a lot of the damage to the environment that has happened.
After doing my “My Home” project, I had learned about the types of trees that were used to make up my home. I learned that even though fires damage and kill many of these trees, they start to re-grow and repopulate the damaged areas within 10 years. Even though much of our land has been taken over by concrete and asphalt, we can turn that around and help bring back the nature and biodiversity that was once there. These animal and wildlife corridors are a perfect example of something that can be done.
One reason why I think these corridors are a great idea is the fact that more people will become aware of these environments, and maybe realize how much wildlife and biodiversity is present in them.
I also think that there are many ways that artist can help contribute to these movements. One way that an artist may contribute is to help design an animal corridor that is both wonderful for the animals, and is also artistic and beautiful for humans to look at or experience. Another way that artists could contribute would be to help raise awareness through posters or other visual art that the public could see and acknowledge.
I love the idea of these animal corridors extending into more urban spaces, because I think that if more people who are not used to being surrounded by nature are exposed to it, they might become more appreciative of it. Most people do romanticize nature when they strive to take vacations to tropical beaches and picturesque mountains. If more beautiful aspects of nature were brought to urban areas, people may realize that the mechanical and man-made urban life around them does not compare to the beauty of nature and natural environments. They may even realize that there needs to be more of it.