Activity 2.3.1 Ranchers, Anglers, and Beavers

 Six-Point Critical Analysis Worksheet

1. Exploratory

    The video and article discuss the restoration of streams that have been degraded over time due to different stressors that have been put on the environment and lowered the overall condition of the water as a result. By changing the grazing practices of the cattle that are nearby and introducing beavers into the area, the water quality began to improve significantly over time and allowed vegetation to begin restoring itself. “Biodiversity provides many ecological services that are critical to the stability and integrity of ecosystems as well as the welfare of humans. They include nutrient cycling, biological productivity, control of erosion, provision of oxygen, and removal of carbon dioxide and its storage as organic carbon.” (Freedman, 2018.) This can be attributed to the species being reintroduced to the area, increasing the overall biodiversity, and therefore having positive effects.

2. Diagnostic

    The state of an ecosystem can have a large effect on the ecological food chain, and, as a result, on biodiversity as a whole. If one aspect of nature’s resources is disrupted or depleted, it will have similar effects on other species nearby.

3. Cause and Effect

    When the water is preserved, its quality is improved, providing the opportunity for vegetation to return to the areas around it. This attracts wildlife such as beavers, which further allows nature to recover. Both the land and the wildlife that rely on the area to sustain life do better as a result, including the herds of cattle.

4. Priority

    One of the most important issues discussed in the video and article is that land can be damaged easily if efforts are not taken to maintain it responsibly in order to ensure that land is conserved well enough to continue supporting life.

5. Application

    This applies to the real world because it is a display of how the balance in nature is very fragile, and when one part of it is disrupted, it can cause the entire area to be affected too. With proper conservation efforts, nature has a chance to recover from even severe damage.

6. Critical

    This changed my thinking because the article shows how much a seemingly small part of the environment can have very large effects on the nature around it to a large degree.

References:

    Fesenmyer, K. (2016). Restoring streamside vegetation using grazing and beavers. Trout Unlimited. https://www.tu.org/magazine/science/restoring-streamside-vegetation-using-grazing-and-beavers/ 

    Freedman. (2018, August 27). Environmental Science Subtitle: A Canadian Perspective (6th ed.). Dalhousie University Libraries. https://digitaleditions.library.dal.ca/environmentalscience/