The Great Barrier Reef And The African Savanna
By: Nooran Masmali
November 29, 2015
Human activity has had harmful effects on organisms around the world. Two ecosystems that had been affected by human activity are the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the African Savannas.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef. It stretches over 1,420 miles and has 1,600 different kinds of fish. In the past 30 years, the reef has lost 50% of its coral. There are many reasons why this has happened. Water pollution is a big reason why the reef is dying. People are dumping dirt and wastes from projects and development along the coast. People use pesticides to kill weeds and insects on farms. But the poisons wash into the ocean killing coral reefs. Another reason the creatures are dying is because of illegal hunting.
Another ecosystem being harmed by humans is the African Savanna. One big reason is trophy hunters. They pay for permission to hunt. The lion is $35,000, rhino is $125,000, elephant is $60,000, leopard is $35,000, and giraffe is $3,800. The trophy hunters’ cut off the animal’s head and slice away its ski n and leaves the rest to rot. With that, they will bring the parts home as trophies. Some animals are trapped and brought to new areas just so hunters can kill them. If we don’t stop this, the animals will all die.
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