Question

Give brief note on Habitat loss.

Answer 1

Habitatloss—due to destruction, fragmentation, or degradation of habitat—istheprimary threatto thesurvival ofwildlife in the UnitedStates.When anecosystem hasbeen dramaticallychanged by humanactivities—suchas agriculture, oil andgasexploration, commercialdevelopment,or water diversion—it may nolongerbe able to providethefood,water, cover,andplacesto raise young thatwildlife need to survive.Every daythere arefewer placesleft thatwildlife can callhome.
Major Kinds of Habitat Loss
Habitatdestruction:Abulldozer pushingdown treesis theiconic image ofhabitatdestruction.Other ways people directly destroy habitatinclude filling inwetlands, dredgingrivers, mowingfields, andcuttingdown trees.
Habitatfragmentation:Much of theremaining terrestrialwildlife habitatin theU.S. hasbeen cutup intofragments byroadsand development.Aquatic species’ habitatshave been fragmentedby damsandwater diversions. These fragmentsofhabitat maynot be largeor connectedenoughto supportspeciesthat need alarge territorywherethey can find mates andfood. The loss and fragmentationofhabitats makes it difficultfor migratory speciesto findplaces to restandfeed along their migrationroutes.
Habitatdegradation:Pollution , invasivespecies ,anddisruption of ecosystem processes (suchas changingthe intensity offiresin anecosystem) aresomeofthe ways habitatscan become so degraded,they nolongersupport native wildlife.
Main Causes of Habitat Loss
Agriculture:Much ofthehabitat loss fromagriculturewas donelong agowhensettlers converted forests andprairies to cropland. Today, thereis increasingpressure to redevelopconservation lands for high-priced food andbiofuelcrops.
Landconversion for development:The conversion of lands thatonce providedwildlife habitatto housing developments, roads, office parks, strip malls, parking lotsandindustrial sites continues, evenduringthecurrent economiccrisis.
Waterdevelopment:Damsand otherwater diversions siphon off anddisconnect waters,changing hydrology andwater chemistry (whennutrientsarenot able to flowdownstream). Duringthe dry season, the ColoradoRiverhas littleto nowater initbythe time itreaches theSeaofCortez.
Pollution:Freshwaterwildlife are most impactedbypollution. Pollutants suchasuntreated sewage, miningwaste, acid rain, fertilizers andpesticides concentrate inrivers, lakes and wetlands andeventually end up in estuariesandthefood web .
Climatechange:The emerging driverofhabitatloss is climate change .Wildlife thatneed the cool temperaturesofhighelevations, suchasthe American pika ,may soonrun out ofhabitat. Coastal wildlife mayfind their habitat underwaterassealevels rise.
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