The Day They Parachuted Cats into Borneo
1: How does the story of Borneo exemplify the idea of ecosystems and the interaction of organisms (specifically the importance of all organisms in that ecosystem)?
When there is a species that has a small population that provides the food of a larger predator, the food chain starts to fall apart and the species dies off and the ecosystem falls apart.
2: How does the story exemplify how humans (in our attempt to fix one thing), cause unforeseeable problems in ecosystems?
This story exemplifies humans because when people try and solve a problem, humans do not take into consideration the effects their solutions might have on the environment. This can lead to more problems that humans have to try and solve.
3: Explain how a toxin in a food web will harm some while killing others- why did the mosquitos and cats die while other things lived? (hint: research bioaccumulation & biomagnification)
There are vectors that carry the disease, but do not get really effected by the disease. The vectors are not getting killed while those same vectors infect and end up killing others with the same disease.
4: Explain why you think DDT has been banned in the U.S. but is still in production and used in countries all over the world.
5: If DDT is still being used around the world, but not in the U.S.- are we still exposed to it? (Discuss).
6: Do you think scientists should have sprayed the island with DDT? If not, what should they have done about the Malaria issue?
When there is a species that has a small population that provides the food of a larger predator, the food chain starts to fall apart and the species dies off and the ecosystem falls apart.
2: How does the story exemplify how humans (in our attempt to fix one thing), cause unforeseeable problems in ecosystems?
This story exemplifies humans because when people try and solve a problem, humans do not take into consideration the effects their solutions might have on the environment. This can lead to more problems that humans have to try and solve.
3: Explain how a toxin in a food web will harm some while killing others- why did the mosquitos and cats die while other things lived? (hint: research bioaccumulation & biomagnification)
There are vectors that carry the disease, but do not get really effected by the disease. The vectors are not getting killed while those same vectors infect and end up killing others with the same disease.
4: Explain why you think DDT has been banned in the U.S. but is still in production and used in countries all over the world.
5: If DDT is still being used around the world, but not in the U.S.- are we still exposed to it? (Discuss).
6: Do you think scientists should have sprayed the island with DDT? If not, what should they have done about the Malaria issue?