effects on animals as Alberta's ecosystem evolved

We will research the effects on Alberta's wild life as Aberta ecosystem evolves and industrialises.
Neil Hamilton Xavier von Engelbrechten
Grade 8

Problem

We would like to know how the evolution of albertas ecosystem and how it has affected animals and there behaviours.

Method

We will reserch by looking into the history of alberts environment and wild life useing recorded information(Internet,books) as well as the knowledge of others who are professionals in the feild.

Research

we are going to reserch the evolution of alberta for backaround info. Then we will reserch the relationship between animals before, and after setlers. Then we will reserch why the changes were made. To end it we are going to reserch the future.

Data

Background info:  Indigenous:Indigenous people lived with a connection to the land and its wildlife.They had made a balance with the wildlife of hunting but not to the point of making any animal go extinct Europiens arrive: in 1867 there was a rise in immigration rates but there was no complete population boom until 1896. Most of this population boom were European settlers or immigrants from places around the world such as Hungary, Iceland, Romania, China, and Ukraine.  More people came to Alberta in 1896 because the railroad offered a possible trading hub for oil and other things. Industry in the west was growing.  Animals before settlers: Indigenous people had such a good relationship with animals. They are seen as spiritual beings. Because of this the Indigenous people were careful and respectful to the natural cycle of life. They did have to hunt for food and clothes but they used every part of the animal for something, and they never hunted for something they did not need To the indigenous people the 7 sacred teachings were all important things a human should have and they were all represented by animals. A bald eagle represents love, a bear represents courage, a bison represents respect, a tortle represents truth, a beaver represents wisdom, a wolf represents humility, and bigfoot represents honesty.  Three examples Bison: They had herds that were incredible sizes that one indigenous man had seen a herd of bison that took 5 days to pass his campsite. Bison were the most hunted animal by the indigenous people but every single part of the bison was used Alberta population: 1300  Beaver: The beavers population was fairly high and they were primarily used for trading amongst the first nations. They were also a key part of the environment because they created small lakes,diverted rivers and provided habitats to many animals.They also had a great spiritual meaning to the first nations as it represented medicine and because of the sounds they made and the things they built they were sometimes called little people indigenous people hunted and trapped them for many years alberta population 750,000 Bear; They were spiritual animals to indigenous people being a symbol of strength and power both physically and spiritually.They were often teachers, warriors, or guides.They were also protectors of many lands with many indigenous tribes believing their spirit protected the land and its inhabitants. They were hunted and COOKED Population: 6,000  Animals after settlers in the modern era: The animals in Alberta's environment have been greatly affected by settlers and industrialization.Settlers went on a killing spree of animals like the bison reducing their numbers by the millions.They also killed bevers for trade with the indigenous people but fortunately left most bears alone.They hunted for sport and had no concern for the repercussions. Fortunately today we are reintroducing bison and bevers back into many environments,and it's working so go dona-just kidding were not sponsored. Bison: Bison were a core part of the grassland environment.They affected the landscape in ways that positively affected almost all of the animals on the plains. The bison population was reduced to almost 0 in the late 17th century by European settlers. After they were almost all killed the plains were virtually empty because of how large the herds were and how many had been killed. We are now reintroducing them into many national parks all across canada. Bever: After being largely hunted by the settlers their population had a dramatic decrease.Not as bad as the bison but bad enough to be reintroduced into some areas.After being reintroduced into some areas the ecosystem started thriving because of the bevers aid,making them one of the core parts of the ecosystem.15,000. Bear: They were not heavenly affected by hunting by settlers although now they are still a danger,not a big one but still a threat.There population is currently 1000 . What factors are making our animal populations decrease: First I would like to mention that all of these reasons are part of the biodiversity loss crisis. The biodiversity loss crisis is the fast decline of biodiversity in the world. Resulting in mass extinction. It is also the first mass extinction to be caused by a species (humans) Climate change: Climate change is our planet heating up past what it should be, It is causing lots of bad effects. There are many things causing it, but mainly greenhouse gasses are getting trapped in the planet’s atmosphere which then heat up the planet too much.  It is affecting Alberta animals by: Warming up. The cold river ways and lakes of Alberta are now much warmer water which is causing the trout population (which love cold water) to rapidly decrease. There are also insect outbreaks, specifically the mountain pine beetle. The mountain pine beetle is a beetle in jasper park that is destroying the jasper forests, and therefore a bunch of animals' homes. In earlier years the winter would kill all the beatles but now the winters are too warm so the beatles don't die and they keep destroying. Then finally wildfires which are destroying our forests (and therefore animal homes). The forest fires are constantly growing every year destroying more and more animal homes.  Lost of habitat: The loss of habitat in Canada may not seem like it's there but it is there.The mass amount of agricultural land has greatly affected the bisons roaming land and both bears and beavers forests.Agricultural land reduces the bison roaming space by a significant amount,especially considering that canada is very agricultural area.The forest are also affected by agriculture but also things like the expansion of cities cuts down the space they can live in.There is efforts to bring back there habitats and helping them survive. Over hunting: Over hunting affect animals primarily when settlers arived.They are still making a recovery today.Bevers and Bison were the ones primarily hunted for trade and for sport which drastically decreased their numbers.Hunters killed enough bison to stack there skulls in a massive pile as show in the image.Bears were not to heavenly affected but still affected.Today they are making a slow and steady come back into their habitats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

We concluded that most animals have been negatively affected by the evolution and industrialization of Alberta's environment and landscape. The bison did not go extinct like in our hypothesis stated but they almost went extinct, other animals like the beaver had their population decrease as well. 

 

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Neils mom for the help and to show us what we should do at times we were confused. We would also like to thank the teachers for organizing the science fair