Howard Meyerson
Michigan Live LLC
March 1st, 2012
Article&Image- http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2012/03/why_michigan_plans_to_kill_tho.html
Image: The mute swan here is disturbing ducks in a Michigan lake. With the exponential growth the mute swans are in, swans need more food to sustain their population. They need to compete with other species for food sources.
Summary
The mute swan was introduced into the Americas from Europe in the 19th century. In most areas they are not huge problem, except in Michigan. The mute swans are a social nuisance, according to wildlife agencies that monitor the birds. The birds are aggressive to native species, and a threat to the marsh vegetation and other waterfowl. Ever since 2000, the mute swan population has about tripled from 5,400 to 15,500. The swans are seeing a growth of about 10% annually. The mute swans are both invasive and under exponential growth. The government and environmental agencies in Michigan have come up with an agreement that by 2030, the population of the swans needs to be no more then 2000. The agreement states that the swans can be removed only by killing them. Moving the swans will only cause problems for areas they are taken to.
Opinion
It's amazing how the population of the swans has tripled in nearly ten years. They are obviously under exponential growth, and it is a good thing that they are being tamed. However, I find it a little extreme to have to kill the swans. The agencies should just prevent the swans from reproducing, such as injecting a drug, so that the swans can die peacefully. Killing them and disposing of them is just too much work and resources needed, and it's inhumane. If I were in control of the situation, I would just prevent some of the current population from reproducing, just enough so that the 2,000 limit is reached. This seems really similar to the human population growth. However, with the swans, there is organisms that can tame the swan population. With humans, we have nothing taming us. It seems unfair for the swans, as they have something that can stop them and we don't. However, that's also a good thing since the swans now won't have to deal with problems we have like overpopulation and starvation.
Questions
1) Do you think it is humane to kill all the mute swans just because they have a large population? Do you think it is something that needs to be done?
2) Do you believe that the swans' growth is similar to human growth? Why?
3) Do you think increasing the population of the swans' food and removing other waterfowl will solve the problem? Why?
4) Do you think that if nothing was done, eventually the swan population will balance itself out, or will eliminate the other species? Why?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteAs we all know, a lot of invasive species can cause trouble to an environment and other native species. In this case, it is the mare swan causing problems in Michigan. As much as I would hate to see people solve the problem by killing the animal, I think it has to be done. The invasive species is not supposed to be there, and its presence is causing harm—and maybe extinction—to other animals. The only sensible solution is to eliminate the species before it causes permanent damages. The best thing about this solution is the plan keeps 2000 mare swans, avoiding the problems but not requiring full elimination. For me, that seems a balanced solution that, among other advantages, might allow me to see a mare swan when I visit my relatives from that area.
1) Do you think it is humane to kill all the mute swans just because they have a large population? Do you think it is something that needs to be done?
The reduction of mute swan populations is purposeful and proper because the mute swans are impinging upon other species and altering the previously established environment and ecological balance. Unfortunately, there is no other cost-effective way to protect and maintain endangered species from the swan except, by one means or another, a reduction in the mute swan population. Once one recognizes this necessity, the question then becomes just how the reduction is to be done—not whether it is to be done. So long as the killing is quick, there doesn’t seem to be much to gain arguing over various methods. Quick is the key. One other advantage of this population reduction is it reversibility: if circumstances and factors change, the mute swan can be allowed to repopulate.
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this summary, I now learned that there is another species on Earth, except for humans, that are undergoing exponential growth. However, as we learned in class, humans are having a much bigger impact on Earth, than the swans are, such as global warming, lowering biodiversity and destroying habitats. The swan’s impact in Michigan is a big deal though, since it is an invasive species, harming surrounding organisms. I agree with Nick that the mass killing of swans in 2030 is a drastic and inhumane because that is equivalent to us killing a bunch of innocent humans to lower our population. I read in National Geographic that they are experimenting with birth control injections in deer to control their population. Maybe we can do the same for the Mute Swan instead of inhumanely murdering them.
Question 4:
If nothing is done to stop the swan’s overpopulation, then Mother Nature will. The native species may be harmed or even go extinct due to the mute swan’s exponential growth, but I believe some limiting factor will come into play. In class we learned that density-dependent factors can be disease, food shortage, space, etc. and from the swan’s example, I think the most logical limiting factor will be a food shortage. This will happen because the waterfowl will eat some of the marsh vegetation and the swan will eat most of it. The vegetation is not large enough to support both, so the smaller population will die out. Then the swan population will have the marsh vegetation to itself, but it will not be enough for the exponentially growing species. Therefore, the swan’s population will decrease and level at carrying capacity
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article I was really sad because even though it is an invasive species it very cool. But like all invasive species they mess up the ecosystem and so must be removed or decreased enough so they aren’t a threat. It is amazing though how they tripled in population in just a couple of years. I do agree with Nick on how they should get rid of the every growing population of swans. But I think instead of giving the swans needles and injecting drugs, which would be way too expensive we should shoot them or capture and kill them. I know it is hash but that would be the cheapest and best way to do this. Doing these options would make having the population of swans at 2000 by 2030 seems a reality.
Question 1. Do you think that it is humane to kill all the mute swans just because they have a large population? Do you think it is something that needs to be done?
Yes because they are an invasive species and the swans are impacting the ecosystems in a negative way. What about the other animals that were already there? If the swans stay then the native species will either go extinct eventually or decrease in numbers. We must make the swan population decrease rapidly to protect the ecosystems and biodiversity. We should hunt or capture the swans to reduce the Mute Swan population or by any other means necessary.
Opinion/Reflect:
ReplyDeleteFrom learning about invasive species in class I thought that most were a nuisance and problem to the ecosystems but after reading about the mute swan I felt bad for them now. For humans to kill mute swans to only 2,000 of them seems good for the marsh vegetation and other waterfowls but I think killing any living thing is a sad sight to see. However it does seem necessary to limit the number of mute swans but to kill them directly seems too harsh. I agree with Nick’s idea of injecting a drug on them because it would be easier and better for the invasive species to reduce in that way than killing them. I have heard of species having problems due to invasive species invading just like the mute swan does and I think that it is an issue. If a species goes extinct because of the invasive species it seems logical to reduce the species like they are about to do in the areas. The mute swan growing at an exponential rate is surprising because the human population grows at an exponential rate too but definitely much faster than the swan.
Expansion: Question 4
4) Do you think that if nothing was done, eventually the swan population will balance itself out, or will eliminate the other species? Why?
Yes I think that if nothing was done the swan population would eventually balance itself out. The human killing factor is just one factor that reduces the population of species. There are many more factors that can take the role of reducing the swan population even without humans killing them. There are factors like space, food, weather, seasons, natural disasters, etc. From what I see I think food will be the biggest factor of all because the mute swan depends on marsh vegetation and water fowl. Water fowl is likely to reduce in numbers quickly because of the mute swan growing at an exponential rate. The thousands of mute swan will most likely soon end up as decreasing because of water fowl decreasing or being extinct.