Ecology and Environment

BY THOMAS R. SAWICKI

The one process ongoing in the 1980s that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly that our descendants are least likely to forgive us.

E. O. Wilson, 1985

Since life first appeared on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago, it has been estimated that more than 99.9% of all species have gone extinct (Raup, 1991a). Today, all the extant (living) species on Earth may represent less than one-tenth of 1% of all the species that have ever existed. Billions of species have gone extinct throughout geologic history. Many of these went extinct during mass extinction events, the most famous and well documented of which took place some sixty-four million years ago at the end of the Mesozoic Era. This mass extinction event marked the end of the reign of dinosaurs. Many conservationists worry that we have entered another time of mass extinction, this one not caused by meteorites, comets, massive climate change or other such natural processes, but by human beings. But why do conservationists and ecologists believe this? How does the current rate of extinction compare to the historical average? Lastly, if we have entered a human-induced mass extinction event, why should we care?

Read more: Ecology, Conservation and Extinction

BY Dr. Graham Blackmore

Even though not a great deal is known about them, it is still beyond the scope of this essay to discuss all the fishing activities prevalent in the South China Sea. This is a particularly worrisome fact given that, even though a great deal more is known about the fisheries of the North Atlantic, the Cod fishing industry still managed to collapse. With this in mind, and because Hong Kong highlights the regional situation, it is important to provide some information about Hong Kong.

Read more: Fisheries' Problems in the South China Sea

By David E. W. Fenner, Ph.D

Florida tourism is sometimes neatly categorized into “ecotourism” and “turnstile tourism.” Under this classification system, venues like Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and the Kennedy Space Center fall under “turnstile tourism;” activities like Everglades airboat tours, snorkeling and diving at John Pennekamp State Park, and fishing in the Keys and Florida Bay fall under “ecotourism.” I suppose that it is open to debate how “neat” this system actually is given that Florida has a host of tourist attractions that seem to bridge the turnstile/ecotourism distinction: e.g., attractions like Silver Springs, Cypress Gardens, Busch Gardens, Sea World, Miami’s Seaquarium, and a collection of zoos (like Metrozoo, Lowry Park, and the Jacksonville Zoo). In addition to these “bridge” sorts of tourism, Florida also has historic tourist attractions that, because they do not involve the turnstiles so familiar in Orlando, are sometimes classed by the Florida tourism authorities alongside nature-based tourist attractions, e.g., St. Augustine, Ft. DeSoto, and the town of Mount Dora. Nonetheless, however we choose to categorize Florida tourism, it seems clear that any classification system that ignores nature-based events and sites will be sorely incomplete. Florida has, among other things, the weather, sunshine, coasts, reefs, rivers, springs, wetlands, subtropical flora and fauna that absolutely ensure that people will want to visit this state.

Read more: The Ups and Downs of Ecotourism

BY E. Romano & C. Provenzani

Photo by Claudio Provenzani

The popular conception of a “reef,” generally refers to a coral barrier found in a tropical marine environment. Here people imagine a wide variety of tropical species swimming within a labyrinth of hard corals, gorgonians, and sponges in search of shelter, prey or a place to graze.

Read more: Artificial Reefs