Grasslands in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota experienced reconstruction to create suitable ecosystems again. According to Jack Norland, Associate Professor of Natural Resources Management at North Dakota State University, and his colleagues, these regions needed restoration because of excessive amounts of farmland, invasive species destruction, or invasive plants took over (408). These substantial problems forced local species, assets to the ecosystem, to leave as their home lost its native vegetation. Norland and his colleagues report that invasive grass destroyed 38 percent of past reconstruction efforts since the 1960s, but by mixing the grass seed, researchers found the grassland transformed into a sustainable environment…show more content… Éverton Renan de Andrade Melo, a researcher in ecology, conservation biology, and zoology, and his colleagues, discovered that species living in both protected and unprotected areas of the Amazon Rainforest had about the same number of individuals per given area. Melo and his colleagues conducted this research because deforestation and fragmentation already destroyed ¼ of the Amazon Rainforest (234). Conservationists also debate the effects of hunting in the Amazon Rainforest because of the dwindling population numbers of some species. According to Melo and his colleagues, as weapons advance beyond the simple bow and arrow and people in the Amazon obtaining more firearms, this leads to an increase in the time spent hunting (234). Many families in the Amazon rely on fresh meat, and firearms make it easier to go for the large, more sustainable, animals whose existence fades as they become overhunted. These trophy animals are also sold for money, making hunters eager for a prize to wander into their sights. According to Melo and his colleagues, overhunting has taken a toll on Jaguars, Bush Dogs, Nine-Banded Armadillos, and the Greater Long-Nosed Armadillos, as researchers did not sight them often (238). Overhunting takes a great toll on species and as many hunted to near extinction. Another growing issue comes from poaching, and concern grows over the…show more content… As humans try to undo damage they caused, the climate fights against them as thermometers continue to creep up, and invasive species wreak havoc for native species. In the past 60 years, 60 percent of Earth’s ecosystems became degraded, primarily caused by humans (Norland et al. 408). Humans destroy ecosystems through their various habits of polluting, overusing natural resources, and wasting non-infinite resources. According to Norland and his colleagues, by 2030, the human population will require two Earths for sustainability (408). Buildings roads, hunting animals, cutting down trees, destroying forests, and littering make up a fraction of the lengthy list of how humans decimate ecosystems. Destroying ecosystems has consequences such as sea levels rising from the glaciers melting, disrupting the food chain, and predators becoming extinct due to over-hunting and poaching. This situation will ultimately go out of control and affect human
