Budao

Project on Environmental Issues 1

Bird Population on Scilly Isles

The article on The Guardian is about how the bird population was increased after the non-native rats on the island were killed. The rats caused the were feeding with the eggs and the new born babies of the birds, thus the bird population decreased since the rats first came to the island. Scientists think that the rats came from ships that sank close to the islands. The birds on the islands where important breeds and the researchers where concerned of the increase in the population. Now the islands are rat-free.

In my opinion the rats where a part of the ecological cycle of the isles and by killing them the researchers made an impact on the cycle. But because the rats were “non-native” and they came to the isles it might be acceptable. I don’t think that people should touch nor kill any animals. But I put myself in a dilemma because the reasons the rats were on those isles were humans, so the decrease in the bird population was actually caused by humans. The rats were feeding with the eggs and the baby birds, and thus decreasing the number of the bird population. But the bird population was feeding with other animals too. So the increase on the bird population will affect the other parts of the ecological chain.

When the bird numbers increase, the number of organisms that are eaten by the birds will suddenly decrease. And the animals that started to feed from the rats will suddenly decrease. So by killing the rats they will again change the cycle. The cycle changed when the rats came to the island, but the environment adapted to the rats and some animals started evolving slowly. Now the rats are removed from the environment and those who evolved will now be in disadvantage. Which is all because of humans.

Article:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/13/bird-population-on-scilly-isles-recovers-after-islands-are-declared-rat-free