Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Irish Mammals Under Serious Threat from 'Invasional Meltdown'


Summary: Researchers from Queen University on February 21st, 2012, explain that in Ireland, some long time inhabitants the Red Squirrel, the Irish Hair, and the Red Deer, are on the brink of going extinct from a foreign species.  In a study for the past two years, the researchers have found that the foreign species are the bank vole and greater white toothed shrew -- on two native small mammals, the wood mouse and the pygmy shrew. This means the bank vole and the white toothed shrew are now endangering the wood mouse and pygmy shrew.  If this keeps happening, than in the future, the small mammals of Ireland will die out by 80%! So far, the wood mouse population has decrease by 50% in places where the white toothed shrew migrated into Ireland.  Researchers now are trying to figure out how to get the species out of Ireland and how to deal if the future negative affects of the rest of the food chain.
Impact:   In the article, it already explains how the new species have been killing small mammal species causing even more turmoil and extinction of other species that eat the small extinct mammals. In Southern Ireland, biologists are stressing on how to fix the food chain and the habitat that are now also destroyed from the lack of certain animals, and the new animals that took Ireland over. This could also lead to economic and sceneral problems in Ireland.
Critique: I believe this to be devastating because I really want to visit Ireland and see the scenery and the animals! If they’re all gone, than I can’t go to Ireland thus, causing me to be unable to fallow my dreams, and hate all those famous people who told me so many times that I could fallow my dreams! Also I hate any kind of nut and a shrew sounds like a type of nut to me so I want the evil white toothed shrew to leave Ireland! Maybe we can higher animal bounty hunters to go and kill all the foreign animals who invaded Ireland!! I wonder if a foreign animal that invades a different country with the same species already living on it, do you think they have accents to the homeland species? 

2 comments:

  1. I think its sad they they are dying out, and its good that scientists are trying to help, but personally, i think they should just leave it alone.
    yes, the food chain will most likely be effected, but i think they need to just let nature take its cores, or else we will be following the same patterns in our lifestyle for the rest of earths existence. I think this is happening for a reason. but that's just my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, personally I would relate these animals to robbers. They usually only steal because they have to, otherwise their way of living will get worse and worse until they just can't handle themseleves anymore. The same thing goes for these new animals. Competition is just something animals do. They aren't like humans who will either push you out of the way or say "sorry" like it will make up for stealing your property or possibly your mate. Nope, the animal kingdom has rules that even humans can't understand. It will be a while before we have proof of any of this.

    I'm no tree-hugger, but I think animals aren't smart enough to know what they're doing. If you're robbing a store, you're always at least vaguely aware that if you get caught, you're doomed. The End. These animals just want the land, darn it. And if they have to make the creatures who were here first extinct, then so be it.

    ReplyDelete