BIO Disc **ZEEK THE GEEK***

Daniel:

In my opinion Bees, classified with the Aculeata family, are by far better than their close relatives Ants and Stinging Wasps (BugGuide.net, n.d.). I favor Bees over the species of Aculeata because of their ability to help with the pollination of plants over 40% of the earth, and provide bi-products such as wax and honey which is used in our everyday life (A-Z Animals, n.d.). Although Bees are usually eaten by Birds, Small Mammals, and other insects they are also susceptible to a phenomenon called “Colony Collapse Disorder.” The American EPA describes this as “when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen (United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.). This disorder is critical for our human environment because of it’s effect on pollinating crops.

 

A-Z Animals. (n.d.). Honey Bee. Retrieved from A-Z-Animals.com: https://a-z-animals.com/animals/honey-bee/

BugGuide.net. (n.d.). Family Apidae - Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees. Retrieved from BugGuide.net: http://bugguide.net/node/view/3076

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Colony Collapse Disorder. Retrieved from EPA: https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder

Darryl:

For me the most majestic animal of all, bar none, is the African lion. According to a November 2013 article in the UK, The Guardian, all big cats can trace their ancestry to a fossilized skull found in Nepal. The article claims that the fossil dates back to “almost six million years” and that this finding challenges the previous belief that all lions, tigers and leopards originated on the African continent. (Jha, 2013). However, another more reputable source states that, “Our results suggest that extant lion populations derive from several Pleistocene refugia in East and Southern Africa (∼324,000–169,000 years ago). (Antunes et al).

The African lion and its sub species, are keystone species, apex predators and contribute to their ecological biodiversity by maintaining a healthy balance between ungulates and predators, thus keeping their respective habitats in check. For without the African lions to keep the grass eating mammals in balance, their ecosystem could quickly crash.

The African lion is sadly being threatened by blood “sport” for their skin, head, teeth, claws and even their bones are now being prized for their “medicinal” properties in certain parts of Asia like China. As a result, in some parts they are greatly endangered from excessive hunting and poaching. In the republic of South Africa for instance, the lions are being bred solely for hunting in a barbaric practice called canned hunting. This is a practice where lion cubs are displayed for tourists and when they are old enough, particularly when the young males start to grow a mane, they are released into an enclosed area and since they have grown accustomed to humans, they are called by their handlers and then in turn shot for fun!

Another growing problem that African lions face is the rise of the human population in and around their normal habitats on the plains of Africa. This interaction of lions and locals is always a losing battle for the lions. What is common now is that these lions living in close proximity to humans are deemed as pests and are sometimes poisoned.

African lions’ numbers have reduced drastically but they are found in the plains of West Africa, the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia all the way down to the Republic of South Africa. Its prey are zebras, wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, humans, antelope and many other animals like wart hogs. It is estimated that the African lions number about “20,000” animals throughout Africa today. (National Geographic,