Ap Environmental Science

1. There are many reasons as to why rats are not an endangered species. Naturally, rats are a highly reproductive species. Rats are a species that are not very much harvested or pursued commercially, though some are kept as pets or used in laboratory experiments. They are also highly adaptable to different environments, for they do not have many specific environmental requirements. Even with human intervention, such as poisons designed to kill rats, rats can learn to adapt to them over time. However, there are ethical and moral reasons as to why humans do not deliberately try to make rats an endangered species.

There is utilitarian justification that rats attribute to biological diversity and serve in use for medical research. There is the ecological justification that they play a role in food webs as prey for many birds, snakes, and crocodiles. Aesthetic justifications, though many view rats as pests or rodents, may be the reason for some people, such as those that keep them as pets. Moral justification in human values of preserving all life is a large reason as to why rats are not deliberately made endangered. There is also cultural justification that some cultures use rats as food.

2. In recent times, the main problems for extinction stem from harvesting and exploitation of species for commercial industries. Increase in technology and advancements in harvesting procedures have increased the rate of extinction. Destruction of habitats of the species not only from harvesting processes, but also from the urban need to expansion destroy the homes and thus the species as well. Urbanization serves as pollution, and instills toxins and chemicals that harm the individuals.

Before people existed on Earth, the main reasons for extinction stemmed from catastrophically events. There is also the extinction from predators eliminating all of the prey. Extinction of species also come from the evolution of new species.

3. These implements are not enough to assure the recovery of grizzly bears, because humans tend to ignore and evade restrictions on hunting. However, addition suggestions to help preserve the grizzly bears can be to preserve their habitat, for it states that a large reason as to why the grizzly become endangered was because of not only hunting, but also habitat destruction. Reduction in habitat destruction would require restrictions on urban expansion and commercial industries such as timber and logging, as well as a limit on pollution from urbanization or agriculture.

4. Firstly, researchers should gather information about previous blue hake populations, and estimate possible minimal viable populations. To preserve the endangered blue hake, firstly fisheries and harvesting of fish must be dramatically reduced. Although blue hake may not be the designated sought after fish, fisheries in general must be reduced for their bottom-trawling procedures may cause the blue hake to be caught