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Posted on 01/14/2009 1:56:00 PM PST by em2vn
Acting as super-predators, humans are forcing changes to body size and reproductive abilities in some species 300 percent faster than would occur naturally, a new study finds.
Hunting and fishing by individual sportsmen as well as large-scale commercial fishing are also outpacing other human influences, such as pollution, in effects on the animal kingdom.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“To others it might say that man is the most lethal of all creatures and causes more death, including his own species,than any other.”
It is sorta true that manis the most lethal of all creatures, though some would argue that microbes are more lethal and succesfull; some might argue insects.
However, man is also the most successful at managing the environment and increasing bio output through irrigation, managed harvesting, flood control, and other technologies.
There is a strong arguement to be made that there is more biomass on the planet today than at anytime since man appeared on Earth.
“Nature” is not in balance, it is not purposeful, it is not benign, it is not an eden. It simply is. Man has improved the environment far more than he has destroyed it.
I keep waiting for deer to evolve to understand how fast cars go.
An arguement can be made that there is strong selection pressure for them to be frightened of bright lights at night.
Due to over-fishing, many fish species have adapted by being smaller than the allowed size for capture. Smaller sizes hurt them in reproduction and fitness, but the big boys don’t live long so they don’t reproduce as much.
The cats are still working on that second part.
Birds can (usually) dodge a vehicle going very fast - they have some superfast predators. Deer don’t get it and will try to cut in front of a vehicle going 60+.
That's pretty much what they think should happen.
My studies indicate it is 248% faster. Something is wrong here.
People are wholly ignorant of the fact that the Indians aka Native Americans aka First Peoples (myths in themselves) altered the natural landscape to benefit the animals they hunted. They burned and slashed as needed. Some even worked to change the course of streams.
But man is a part of nature, an animal or so I’m told.
Wait until GMOs take over the planet, pal.
That’s been altered by eliminating max sized catches in certain biomes.
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