This is something that I can see being a massive problem for conservationists, especially with a project of substantial efforts and resources. It's important to gauge a strategy of a top-down approach of getting not just local but a widespread study of how things connect and influence the more local areas. After adjusting your scope, you would hopefully see the errors in your misperceptions and work towards a more informed strategy.

There is a lot to learn from indigenous folks and how they handle conservation, sustainable use and taking good care of their land. On average, they are doing a better job of managing natural resources and environmental hazards like species decline and pollution. This is derived from the fact that they have strong ties to the land through livelihood and other factors. Although, indigenous peoples' efforts to conserve land and protect biodiversity has been threatened by challenged government failing to recognize their land rights.

Corals form one the most biodiverse ecosystems, yet they are among the most rapidly declining species groups to due rising oceans temperatures directly caused by climate change. According to the Paris Agreement, there needs to be less than 2 degrees Celsius in global temperature in order for the majority of Corals to survive.

One of the worst known habitat destructions took place in Southeast Asia. With large amounts of deforestation of the Indonesian and Malaysian rainforests, many iconic animals like Orangutans, tigers and elephants have seen significant drops in population.

Reef-building corals are restricted in their geographic distribution by their physiology. Reef-building corals cannot tolerate temperate below 18 degrees Celsius and many grow optimally in water temps 23 - 29 degrees Celsius. They are also restricted to the euphotic zone, where high light is available.

Much of bird habitat destruction is due to human impact and development. Quality habitat is extremely important during breeding seasons, when many nest in trees, shrubs, on the ground, or on rocks and rely on nearby resources to raise healthy young. Human development has accelerated to meet societal demands for food, space and energy.

The greenhouse emissions occur because plant life stores carbon to help them develop and when they're cut down, that carbon is released into the air, influencing climate change. Forests also have a counter interaction with climate change effects such as tree leaves absorbing more sunlight and the planet reflects less incoming sunlight back into space.

Acid rain can cause an enormous amount of harm that kills different species. As the rain flows through soils, it releases aluminum from soils into waters streams. This happens because fish require a certain pH level to live in and when the acid rain is mixed, it lowers that pH to an inhabitable level. Although some aquatic life is adaptable to various pH levels in water, biodiversity will definitely be reduced to from the event of acid rain.

Reducing an invasive species population can be tough to do. However, there are some ways that you can help prevent the species from populating. For instance, if you're a boat owner and use your boat on multiple lakes, it's beneficial to clean off the bottom before transferring. This way, there's no fish eggs attached to your boat that can be distributed to non-native bodies of water.

I found an interesting example of this happening. In 1970, the Asian Carp fish was introduced to Arkansas to filter pond water in fish farms. From there, they quickly spread all across the country by going northward up the Illinois river. At this point, they have reached the great lakes which brings great worry since it's the perfect climate for the Asian Carp. Plankton is favored by most native fish in the great lakes, so having the Asian Carp there in huge populations will threaten the supply of plankton, therefore threatening the pre-existing eco-system.

I remember I did a research project about South America - specifically Argentina and Brazil and deforestation was a HUGE problem that is going on. About 20% of the Amazon forest had been razed by humans and the rate does not seem to be slowing down. This makes me think about all the wildlife and ecosystems within the rainforests and how catastrophic it has been and will be. Along with human deforestation influence, wildfires have also threatened the landscape and wildlife.

Wow, how relevant! This really just goes to show how if we don't watch how our industries affect our environment, then the consequences can reek havoc on the entire world. Some people argue that we need our industries to be booming while blindly considering environmental repercussions. It has never been more evident that this is not the case since COVID has shut down our world and not only have the industries taken hits, but also normal people/families.

I never even considered the idea that pollination was so helpful to many insects and small animals. Since Pollination promotes bio-diversity, without it, many ecosystems would implode. Also, this makes me consider how really dangerous the loss of bee population can be for biodiversity and ecosystems :(

This piece really made me curious to how the first life could've been formed, specifically 'radiation'. I did some looking into this and found out that when ionizing radiation interacts with ice particles, certain particles are produced that can support life. In our solar system, Jupiter's moon, Europa, is known to have traces of ice, this could pose as a host for life.

It's astonishing to consider the idea that human's only know a small minority of species on Earth. Though at the same time, most of the organisms that we have not spotted are very miniscule or remain in unexplored ocean territory. I'm not sure if we'll ever be able to catch up with the vast variety of organisms. It's really difficult to imagine just how many there are considering there's a very rough estimate for every multi-celled species in the oceans.