Sea urchins are fast adaptors, and they must adapt quickly in
order to live in the changing ocean conditions. The article SEACHANGE Can Sea Life Adapt? by Craig Welch, published November 2 2013
explains how and why these sea urchins in Santa Barbara are adapting. What seems
to be causing this change is high-CO2 levels in oceans.
These levels are increasing because “The oceans are absorbing a quarter of the carbon
dioxide emitted by burning coal, oil and natural gas.“ This means that one
fourth of the CO2 that humans and factories give off end up in the
oceans. Increasing CO2 makes
oceans more corrosive and also reduces the amount of carbonate ions which is
vital in building shells and skeletons.
In result of these increasing conditions it seems that the sea
urchin body often got smaller. To commercial fisher Bruce Steele this does not
sound good. He brought it to scientist attention, and they did further
research, but so far there does not seem like there is a solution at this
moment.
It is easy to tell that the author thinks this is a serious
problem and not just a conspiracy. He added many details that backed up the
claim of how high-CO2 contributes to sea urchin adaptation;
including a diagram along a written explanation of water ‘upwelling’ that effects
CO2. He also added further species that have been affected with high
CO2 levels. This shows he was very firm in his belief.
Although he had his point clear, the use and placement of
his back up explanations made the article confusing. The author put the other species
explanation in a place where you are not sure of which species he is talking
about, the sea urchins or one of the others. Also the placement of the diagram
and explanation of upwelling made the ending choppy and hard to follow.
This article reminded me of the movie The Lorax that we have
watched in class. Once the pond next to the Thneed factory was polluted the
fish had to leave. The fish could not live in the polluted water so in order to
survive they have to leave. In the sea urchins case they cannot walk away from
their home like the Humming Fish, but their way of surviving is adapting to the
increasing levels of CO2.
Also, in class we have learned a lot about the carbon cycle
and what humans contribute to it. Burning of fossil fuels release more carbon
into the atmosphere, creating many negative effects like the one in this article.
We have learned that there are ways humans can help decrease this problem like
using less energy, and having factory emissions modified. If we had taken more
precautions the sea urchins may not have needed to adapt as quickly.
This topic took me back to elementary school days, learning
about the evolution of man. Even though sea urchins are not changing as slow and
dramatically as man did, they are still adapting and evolving to their
environment. If a rise of CO2 can
permit such a fast change of the sea urchin, imagine what will happen when even
more environmental problem arises.
This blog post was very interesting to read. I find it quite odd how some animals and sea creatures react different to the change in CO 2 in our ecosystems. The sea urchin as you brought up is becoming smaller so that they need less carbonate ions to make their shell the same hardness. I like that you connected this to the Lorax because I can easily understand how closely related the pond becoming infected to the oceans. The connection to the carbon cycle made it easier for me to understand your writing which overall made it better. What was surprising to me the most about what you brought up in your post was just how fast the urchins were able to adapt to the rise in CO 2 because compared to man we took so much longer to evolve. This post was very insightful and interesting and helped show how animals are reaction to the environment.
ReplyDeleteI thought that your blog post brought an interesting topic to mind. I find it quite remarkable that rises in CO2 would kill other organisms, but the urchin survives by just not growing bigger. Your post was very relatable because you compared it to The Lorax which we all watched in class. I liked how you said the urchin’s way of walking out of the pond was their adaptation of not growing bigger. You said that most of your information was pulled right from the author with gives your information much stability. I think you have a very good article for the most part, but you don’t say how a shrinking sea urchin would affect the rest of its ecosystem.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job! Just by looking at your title it made me want to read more about this topic. You had a lot of great detail about CO2 and how it affects even animals under the sea and how they have to adapt to their environment. I like the connection that you made to class from the Lorax and how the Thneed factory was polluting the waters and how all the humming fish had to leave their home because they couldn't live their anymore. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI found this post to be very informative and interesting. I thought that it was amazing how the urchins adapted to the high levels of CO2 by growing smaller. I had never heard of such a thing happening before. I also wondered if you thought this source was viable since you said that the support for it's thesis wasn't very strong and was somewhat confusing. I really liked how you connected the article back to the Lorax and the pond that became polluted. One last thing that I wondered is if there was any other animals or species that the article mentioned, adapt to it's environment as well. Overall I thought you did an informative and a great job.
ReplyDeleteYour blog title is very catchy and instantly made me want to read your blog. Im surprised that the urchins were able to adapt to the CO2 in the water. People are always blaming humans for the high levels of CO2 in the ocean and in the air. This blog post proves that humans aren't the only things to blame for the problem. All of your details were really strong and the quote you provided was clear and connected to the problem perfectly. The connection you made to class was very interesting. It is cool to see how a children's movie can connect to so many problems in todays world. I also liked how you connected it to the carbon cycle lesson. I was able to understand the problem more once this connection was made. I wonder if scientists will find any other animals that do what the urchins do. I thought you last sentence was very well thought out. It left me thinking more about the problem and made me want to learn more about it! I think you did a wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Celina! I really enjoyed reading your post. I didn't know anything about this topic so I thought you did a great job giving details. I really liked how you connected the sea urchins to the movie the Lorax we watched in class. It really helped me better understand the topic. I was very surprised the sea urchins get smaller because of the levels of CO2. Overall great job!
ReplyDeleteThis post was interesting, while giving a lot of information. I think you clearly explained the issue. People who had never heard of this before will understand this issue after reading your post. The connections you made to what we've done in class were great, especially the one about The Lorax. I really enjoyed reading this! Great job, Celina!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Celina, Youre post was very interesting, while giving boat loads of information. It was different than most blogs and articles that give lots of information because at the same time, it was fun to read. I liked how you connected the sea urchins to the movie "The Lorax" which we watched in class earlier this year. Like Catherine said, I found it intersting to know that sea urchins decrease in size because of the levels of CO2. I enjoyed reading this a lot, and would recomend it to anyone!
ReplyDeleteI like how you explained not only how much the increasing levels of carbon dioxide are affecting aquatic environments, but also showed how much of the carbon dioxide that we produce ends up in the ocean. I find it interesting that the sea urchins (unlike the fish from The Lorax) are adapting because they have no other ecosystem to live in. I wonder if sea urchins will continue to get smaller, or if they will have to adapt in other ways to survive in the oceans of the future.
ReplyDeleteCelina, I really enjoyed reading this post. I found it easy to follow but also very informative. I thought you did an excellent job of explaining the author's point of view. I also really like that you not only praised the article, but you criticized it as well. You said which parts were confusing and I liked your honesty. I thought you had really strong connections to things we have learned in class and i really liked how you even related it to what you learned in elementary school. I really had no clue about anything having to do with this topic but your post taught me a lot. Great job!
ReplyDeleteCelina, I thought your post was very easy to read and interesting. This is not a very well known subject, and I think you explained the problem in a way that anyone could understand what is happening. It is interesting to see that the Lorax connects to this problem, as the story is as relevant now as it was when it was written, connecting to many of the issues being faced today. Overall, great job.
ReplyDeleteCelina-
ReplyDeleteCool piece of writing! I especially like your connections to other things, like the way you connected the sea urchins to the Lorax, which is in fact the entire purpose of this blog. I also liked your connection to the evolution of man, which is a controversial topic in itself. Another thing I noticed is that your writing flowed well, with thoughts that were easy to follow and cohesive. The only suggestion I have is to grab the reader's attention just a little bit better, but otherwise, really great job!
-Travis
This blog post was interesting, readable, and informative. Your summary, analysis, and criticism of the article were very well done. The connections to what we learned in class about the carbon cycle and the Lorax were also excellent. This post also really displays how fragile ecosystems are, like what we learned about in our vernal pool unit. With smaller urchins, there may be less food for organisms higher in the food chain. Overall, a great blog post!
ReplyDelete