What is a Carnivore?

A carnivore is an animal that gets food from killing and eating other animals.

Carnivores generally eat herbivores, but can eat omnivores, and occasionally other carnivores.

Animals that eat other animals, like carnivores and omnivores are important to any ecosystem,

because they keep other species from getting overpopulated.

Since carnivores have to hunt down and kill other animals they require a large amount of

calories. This means that they have to eat many other animals over the course of the year. The

bigger the carnivore, the more it has to eat. You should make sure that you have many more

herbivores and omnivores than carnivores.

Carnivore

A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' (Latin, carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour')

is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or

exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging. Animals that depend

solely on animal flesh for their nutrient requirements are considered obligate carnivores while

those that also consume non-animal food are considered facultative carnivores.[2]

Omnivores also

consume both animal and non-animal food, and apart from the more general definition, there is

no clearly defined ratio of plant to animal material that would distinguish a facultative carnivore

from an omnivore, or an omnivore from a facultative herbivore, for that matter.[3]

A carnivore

that sits at the top of the foodchain is an apex predator.

Plants that capture and digest insects are called carnivorous plants. Similarly, fungi that capture

microscopic animals are often called carnivorous fungi.

What is a Herbivore?

A herbivore is an animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants. Omnivores can

also eat parts of plants, but generally only the fruits and vegetables produced by fruit-bearing

plants. Many herbivores have special digestive systems that let them digest all kinds of plants,

including grasses.

Herbivores need a lot of energy to stay alive. Many of them, like cows and sheep, eat all day

long. There should be a lot of plants in your ecosystem to support your herbivores. If you put

carnivores or some omnivores in your ecosystem, they'll eat your herbivores, so make sure you

have enough herbivores to support them.

Herbivore

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A deer and two fawns feeding on foliage

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based

foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats

autotrophs[1][page needed]

such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally,

organisms that feed on autotrophs in general are known as primary consumers.

Herbivory usually refers to animals eating plants; fungi, bacteria and protists that feed on living

plants are usually termed plant pathogens (plant diseases),and microbes that feed on dead plants

are saprotrophs. Flowering plants that obtain nutrition from other living plants are usually termed

parasitic plants.

A herbivore is not the same as a vegetarian, a human who voluntarily undertakes a primarily

herbivorous diet.[2][3]

What is an Omnivore?

An omnivore is a kind of animal that eats either other animals or plants. Some omnivores will

hunt and eat their food, like carnivores, eating herbivores and other omnivores. Some others are

scavengers and will eat dead matter. Many will eat eggs from other animals.

Omnivores eat plants, but not all kinds of plants. Unlike herbivores, omnivores can't digest some

of the substances in grains or other plants that do not produce fruit. They can eat fruits and

vegetables, though. Some of the insect omnivores in this simulation are pollinators, which are

very important to the life cycle of some kinds of plants.

Omnivores

Omnivores (from Latin omni, meaning "all, everything"; vorare, "to devour") are species that

eat both plant and animal material as their primary food sources. They often are opportunistic,

general feeders not specifically adapted to eating and digesting either meat or plant material in

particular.[citation needed] Many omnivores depend on a suitable mix of animal and plant food for

long-term good health and reproduction.

What causes destruction to coral reefs?

Coral reefs can be destroyed in many ways; they can be damaged by physical or biological

means. Physically, the action of waves or storm surges can destroy or weaken the platforms that

hold a reef. Biologically, organisms prey on live corals. For example, crown-of-thorns starfish

and parrotfish eat live coral, and can cause extensive damage to reefs.

Humans also cause problems for coral reefs, directly and indirectly. Some reefs have been over-

fished, destroying the balance of life, and others have been damaged by commercial fishing

practices that use poisons and explosives. Reefs have been nearly buried by an over-abundance

of silt and sediments that have washed out to sea from land—the result of bad forestry, farming,

and construction practices. Coral reefs have also become polluted by sewage and other

environmental contaminants. In addition, corals have been broken by ships and divers;

sometimes the corals have been altogether removed, along with their accompanying fish species,

for use in aquariums.

Global warming has also been blamed for a recent die-off of coral. Almost two-thirds of the

world’s coral reefs are in decline or threatened. High sea temperatures—the highest on record—

were determined to be the direct cause of the large-scale death of some reefs. The hardest-hit

areas were in the Indian Ocean, such as the Seychelles, Mauritius, and the Maldives, where the

die-off was between 70 and 90 percent. In the western Pacific, from Vietnam to the Philippines

and Indonesia, thousands of miles of corals have died-off or have been bleached. So far, the only

large areas of coral that have escaped this massive devastation are located in the atolls of the

central Pacific.

Coral reef destruction is threatening our world's oceans

The World’s oceans are under threat from coral reef destruction.

Most scuba divers are aware of the threat to and destruction of coral reefs, what is maybe not so

well known is the impact this will have on the oceans as a whole and perhaps the impact on

humans on shore.

There is a lot of news coverage on global warming and its impact on our world with not so much

being said about what is happening to our seas, beyond the usual commentaries about how fish

stocks are dwindling. Not very much is said about why, how and what that means beyond there

being less fish to eat.

Much too slowly people are beginning to realise how the well being of the earth is as a whole,

upon the health of the oceans and vice versa.

Global warming is happening, no-one is disputing that, the causes are being disputed though.

The analogy that the earth has a fever may be relevant and we humans are making her sick.

Even if you put aside the global warming problem, no-one can deny that humans and their

activities, on land and sea, are harming our oceans at an alarming pace.

Our waste that we throw into landfills (when we are

‘controlling’ it) as well as the human waste in

sewerage, industrial pollution and agricultural

pollution which we carelessly dipose of in the most

convenient manner at hand, very often ends up in the

sea, in the form of rainfall runoff or purposely thrown

into our rivers and lakes. A vast amount of this

pollution finally comes to be in our oceans.

I have on another page, discussed the North Pacific Gyre which is an example of an unexpected

result of land originating waste having significant impact on ocean ecosystems.

The importance of coral reefs

We are witnessing the dwindling fish stocks, coastal erosion on unprecedented scales without

most of us realising the reasons are that all of this poison we are pouring into our waters is

killing our sealife and included in that ocean ecosystem is our coral reefs.

Coral reefs are the foundation for the seas ecology, providing habitat for approximately 25% of

all sea life.

They form coastal barriers protecting the shorelines from wave erosion.

Without healthy reefs fish populations will seriously decline and coastal erosion will increase

significantly.

Human population will suffer as a result, particularly coastal populations and those dependent on

fish for livelihoods and/or sustenance. Coral reefs are the heart of the oceans.

The reefs are a lynch pin around which thriving tourist industries revolve – the Caribbean coral

reefs alone are estimated to generate over USD10 billion a year.

The coral reef destruction we are witnessing now is projected to cost over USD300 000 000.00,

in lost scuba diving revenue alone, per year by 2015.

Caribbean Reefs endangered

The World Resources Institute released a report Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean categorising the

threats contributing to the world’s coral reef destruction being in the following main categories:

coastal development watershed-based sediment pollution (like runoff of fertilizers and pesticides from farms) marine-based pollution and damage overfishing

The reefs are categorised under four levels of threat:

Very High High Medium Low

To put that into some sort of perspective – high levels of threat indicates considerable coral reef

destruction already taken place with the likelihood of further damage over the coming five to ten years.

Coral reef destruction in the Caribbean

20% of reefs are threatened by – Agricultural based activity which may be pesticide spills

Increased algae growth, from fertilizers, which smothers the reef and blocks sunlight from the

corals.

Increased siltation from land based soil erosion which also suffocates the reef.

15% of reefs are threatened by – Marine pollution from boats and ships

Anchor damage

Waste water (including sewage

Ocean oil spills.

Coastal development has also had a part to play in terms of dredging, land reclamation, sewage

discharges and sand and limestone mining for construction all contributing to the coral reef

destruction.

Storm activity has only increased the damage to reefs. The fact that the reefs are already stressed

has made them less able to cope with naturally occurring events like storms.

While this situation is dire and unchecked will wreak havoc upon the worlds reef systems and the

ocean ecosystem, measures to control this are relatively low cost.

These include better management practices, sustainable fishing, protection of the reefs from

direct damage and holistic approaches to reef conservation including all stakeholders.

Governments need take coral reef destruction seriously rather than leaving it up to groups in the

private sector as often seems to be the case.

According to Reefs at Risk, only 6 percent of the 285 designated marine protected areas (MPAs)

in the Caribbean region were rated as effectively managed, while 48 percent of the MPAs were

rated as inadequate.

My own opinion is that whilst some governments are swayed by lobbyists and others are subject

to corruption’s diseased grip, progress towards sustained and effective reef conservation will be

slow and time is running out.

as the song says -

’Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got till it's gone, They paved

paradise and put up a parking lot’…….

Source: Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows

Here are some statistics:

33% of 704 coral species studied, face a greater threat of extinction as global warming takes effect.

In some reefs there are declines of up to 80% in the number of species living on the reefs. 25% of sea life inhabits and is dependent on the coral reefs. 1% of the earth is covered by coral reef. An average of 600 square miles of living coral has died each year in the Pacific Ocean since 1968.

Coral reef destruction has doubled to 1200 square miles a year after 1995.

Other factors:

The removal of certain fish species by way of overfishing has a second impact – these

fish are responsible for the control of algae, without these fish in sufficient numbers the

algae increases and takes over the reef, destroying coral by blocking vital sunlight – in

the Caribbean 30% of reefs are under high threat and 30% under medium threat due to

this development.

Increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are increasing the acidity levels of the

seas which causes the shells of shellfish and corals to soften or crumble because the

acidity starts to dissolve the shells. This is known as ocean acidification.

Coral reef destruction from bleaching of the Coral happens when warmer seas deplete

corals of the algae they feed on. Without the algae the coral polyps starve and die. The

corals go white in death and so it is known as ‘bleaching events’.

The increasing frequency of bleaching events means that there isn’t enough of an interval

between those occurrences to allow the reefs to recover and there is an incremental

decline, the coral reef destruction is greater each time.

Warmer seas seem also to be cultivating diseases which are devastating reefs – such as

Whitepox which seems to attack healthy reefs more than damaged reefs, may be caused

by bacteria from human fecal waste.

Experts believe focus should be on overall protection of reefs rather than focusing on

individual species. Evidence has shown that reefs can in fact recover quite quickly when

protected from mans' activities like water pollution and overfishing and harmful coastal

development.

Researchers have discovered one coral that survives bleaching events by changing its

feeding habits by increasing its consumption of plankton when algae is depleted by

warmer seas.

According to Geologist Andrea Grottoli of Ohio State University, biologist Lisa

Rodrigues of Villanova University and ecologist James Palardy of Brown University,

some corals seem to bounce back from bleaching events more quickly than others.

M. capitata managed to regain all its strength by increasing its feeding on plankton more

than fivefold.

In effect, this polyp had gone from an efficient <u)grower< u=""> of algae-provided food

to an efficient hunter of plankton, by doing that avoided the starvation killing other

corals.

</u)grower<>

At the end of all this, the problem at heart remains that all estimates are just that –

estimates.

The impact of each decline or extinction can in no way be fully taken into account when

all of the ramifications are unknown.

Just how acidic does the sea need to become before the shell life and corals begin to

dissolve?

The Elkhorn and Staghorn corals which were placed on the endangered list in 2006 are

major reef building species, if they decline or disappear what else is exposed and in turn

threatened?

The sooner the world at large realises the extent of the importance of coral reefs, the

better.

Submitted by:

Kyle Andrew O. Gumtang

Grade V-Earth

Submitted to:

Mr. Ricardo V. Mijares

Adviser