Webster's dictionary defines a sport as recreation that includes physical activity. Most people would think of a sport as an athletic competition that demonstrates skills such as physical strength, stamina, agility, and speed. Humans recognized centuries ago that many animals possess such skills naturally and could be used in sporting events. In the United States today, the major sports in …
Birds belong to the class Aves, which contains dozens of orders. Birds are warm-blooded vertebrates with wings, feathers, and light hollow bones. The vast majority of birds are capable of flight. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), more than 800 species of birds spend all or part of their lives in the United States; more than 9,000 species of birds have been identified around th…
The Human Genome Project defines three distinct types of cloning. The first is the use of highly specialized deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology to produce multiple, exact copies of a single gene or other segment of DNA to obtain sufficient material to examine for research purposes. This process produces cloned collections of DNA known as clone libraries. The second kind of cloning involves the…
Humans have used wild animal and plant products for numerous purposes since prehistoric times. Clothing was made from animal skins, and tools from bones. In many societies, products from rare species symbolized wealth and success. For example, flashy feathers from South American birds were given as a tribute to Inca chiefs by their subjects, and women in nineteenth-century Europe sported ostrich f…
Insects are the most diverse group in the animal kingdom, with close to a million named and described species and countless species yet to be discovered. Insects have not been nearly as thoroughly studied as the vertebrate groups, and so there are likely to be many endangered insects whose desperate state remains unrealized. In 2004 there were 39 endangered insects (35 U.S., four foreign) and nine…
The majority of threatened and endangered mammals are imperiled for the same reasons as other biological species—habitat destruction, pollution, competition with invasive species, and so on. However, some mammals have also been intentionally killed-off by humans. For example, in the nineteenth century, the quagga of southern Africa was hunted to extinction because it competed with sheep for…
Well over half the threatened and endangered species listed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are plants. There are a total of 714 threatened and endangered flowering plants (713 U.S. species, 1 foreign species), 5 threatened and endangered conifers and cycads (3 U.S. species, 2 foreign species), 26 listed ferns and allied species (all U.S.), and 2 listed lichen species (both U.S.). Listed U…
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) is generally considered one of the most far-reaching laws ever enacted by any nation for the preservation of wildlife. The passage of the ESA resulted from alarm at the decline of numerous species worldwide, as well as from recognition of the importance of preserving species diversity. The purpose of the ESA is to identify species that are either endangered…
Fossil fuels and uranium are nonrenewable resources. Nonrenewable resources are defined as concentrations of solid, liquid, or gaseous hydrocarbons that occur naturally in or near the earth's surface. These resources must be currently or potentially recoverable for economic use. They are formed much more slowly than they are consumed, so they are considered nonrenewable. Knowing estimates o…
Entertainment animals are those that perform or are displayed publicly to amuse people. These animals appear in circuses, carnivals, animal shows and exhibits, amusement and wildlife theme parks, aquariums, zoos, museums, fairs, and motion pictures and television programs. Although these venues are diverse, they all have one thing in common: They use animals for human purposes. Many of these purpo…
Rapid advances in genetics and its applications pose new and complicated ethical, legal, regulatory, and policy issues for individuals and society. The issues society must consider include how to protect and manage genetic information and who should have access to it; the consequences of knowledge about personal genetic information for individuals; and the repercussions of genomic information for …
Earth is richly supplied with different types of living organisms, including animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Various living organisms co-exist in their environments, forming complex, interrelated communities. Living organisms depend on one another for nutrients, shelter, and other benefits. The extinction of any one species can set off a chain reaction that affects many other species, partic…
The far planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. They lie far from the Sun, in the coldest and darkest part of the solar system. In ancient times people noticed that some lights in the sky followed odd paths around the heavens. The Greeks called them asteres planetos, or wandering stars. Later they would be called planets. The ancients could see only two of the far planets in the n…
The far planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. (See Figure 8.1.) They lie far from the Sun, in the coldest and darkest part of the solar system. In ancient times people noticed that some lights in the sky followed odd paths around the heavens. The Greeks called them asteres planetos, or wandering stars. Later they would be called planets. The ancients could see only two of the fa…
Farm animals are animals that are kept for agricultural purposes. This includes such domesticated animals as cows and chickens, and wild animals that are raised in confinement, including mink and fish. Animals are farmed for a variety of reasons. Most are raised to be killed. Meat from cattle, hogs, and chickens provides the bulk of protein in the American diet, while animals with beautiful fur ar…
It has long been known that heredity affects health. Genetics, the study of single genes and their effects on the body and mind, explains how and why certain traits such as hair color and blood types run in families. Genomics, a discipline that is only about two decades old, is the study of more than single genes; it considers the functions and interactions of all the genes in the genome. In terms…
The dawn of the new millennium saw explosive advances in biotechnology. Technological breakthroughs offered scientists and physicians unprecedented opportunities to develop previously inconceivable solutions to pressing problems in agriculture, environmental science, and medicine. Simultaneously, researchers, politicians, ethicists, theologians, and the public were challenged to assess, analyze, a…
Over the course of the last decade, the definitions of health and disease have been transformed by advances in genetics. Genetic testing has enabled researchers and clinicians to detect inherited traits, diagnose heritable conditions, determine and quantify the likelihood that a heritable disease will develop, and identify genetic susceptibility to familial disorders. Many of the strides made in g…
The term "evolution" has multiple meanings; it is most generally used to describe the theory that all organisms are linked via descent to a common ancestor. Evolution also refers to the gradual process during which change occurs. In biology it is the theory that groups of organisms, such as species, change or develop over long periods of time so that their descendants differ from the…
Although large changes in climate are a natural part of Earth history, there is little doubt that human activities have caused observed patterns of global warming in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Global climate change has large implications for both humans and wildlife. Many threatened and endangered species, which already lead a precarious existence, are likely to suffer further decli…
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is designed to protect plant and animal species in danger of extinction. During the 1990s there was a growing concern that traditional methods of species protection, which take a species-by-species approach, were ineffective. Many alternatives were proposed. One of the most popular was a method variously termed the "habitat," "ecosystem,"…
Genetics is the biology of heredity, and geneticists are the scientists and researchers who study hereditary processes such as the inheritance of traits, distinctive characteristics, and diseases. Genetics considers the biochemical instructions that convey information from generation to generation. Tremendous strides in science and technology have enabled geneticists to demonstrate that some genet…
In 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick described the double helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Their molecular DNA structure was published in Nature on April 25, 1953, in an article that was little more than one page. Their article ushered in a new age of discovery in genetics and laid the foundation for the sequencing of the human genome. The word "genome" was derived…
Amphibians and reptiles are collectively known by biologists as herpetofauna. At present, there are over 5,000 described amphibian species and over 6,000 reptiles. New species in both these groups are being discovered every day, particularly in remote tropical regions that are only now being explored. Amphibians and reptiles are also among the world's most threatened groups. The World Conse…
Alzheimer's Association 225 North Michigan Ave., Suite 1700 Chicago, IL 60601-7633 (312) 335-8700 1-800-272-3900 FAX: (312) 335-8700 E-mail: info@alz.org URL: http://www.alz.org/ American Board of Genetic Counseling 9650 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20814-3998 (301) 571-1825 FAX: (301) 571-1895 E-mail: srobinson@genetics.faseb.org URL: http://www.abgc.net/ American Cancer Society 1599 Clifto…
American Ground Water Trust 16 Centre St. Concord, NH 03301 (603) 228-5444 FAX: (603) 228-6557 URL: http://www.agwt.org/ American Petroleum Institute 1220 L St. NW Washington, DC 20005-4070 (202) 682-8000 FAX: (202) 682-8099 URL: http://www.api.org/ American Water Works Association 6666 West Quincy Ave. Denver, CO 80235 (303) 794-7711 FAX: (303) 347-0804 URL: http://www.awwa.org/ Association of St…
American Anti-Vivisection Society 801 Old York Rd., #204 Jenkintown, PA 19046 (215) 887-0816 1-800-SAY-AAVS FAX: (215) 887-2088 E-mail: aavs@aavs.org URL:http://www.aavs.org/ American Humane Association 63 Inverness Dr. E Englewood, CO 80112 (303) 792-9900 FAX: (303) 792-5333 URL: http://www.americanhumane.org/ American Meat Institute 1150 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Fl. Washington, DC 20036 (202) 5…
A space station is an orbiting structure designed to accommodate visiting crewmembers for an extended period of time. In 1984 the U.S. government envisioned building a continuously manned space station in which scientists would conduct long-term research in a micro-gravity environment. The station was to be large and spacious, with room for up to ten crewmembers at a time. The U.S. space shuttle w…
A space station is an orbiting structure designed to accommodate visiting crewmembers for an extended period of time. In 1984 the U.S. government envisioned building a continuously manned space station in which scientists would conduct long-term research in a micro-gravity environment. The station was to be large and spacious, with room for up to ten crewmembers at a time. The U.S. space shuttle w…
Humans have always been explorers. When ancient peoples stumbled upon unknown lands or seas they were compelled to explore them. They were driven by a desire to dare and conquer new frontiers and a thirst for knowledge, wealth, and prestige. These are the same motivations that drove people of the twentieth century to venture into space. By definition space begins at the edge of Earth's atmo…
Humans have always been explorers. When ancient peoples stumbled upon unknown lands or seas they were compelled to explore them. They were driven by a desire to dare and conquer new frontiers and a thirst for knowledge, wealth, and prestige. These are the same motivations that drove people of the twentieth century to venture into space. By definition space begins at the edge of Earth's atmo…
Marine mammals live in and around the ocean. They are warm-blooded, breathe air, have hair at some point in their lives, give birth to live young (as opposed to laying eggs), and nourish their young by secreting milk. Dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions, walruses, polar bears, manatees, and dugongs (manatee relatives) fall into this category. Historically marine mammals have garnered a high level o…
Enigmatic means mysterious. Mars has been a mystery to humans for thousands of years. Although we know much about it now, there is still much more to learn. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the planet most like Earth in the solar system. It is named after the mythical god of war who the Romans called Mars and the Greeks called Ares. Mars is also known as The Red Planet, because it looks…
Mars has been a mystery to humans for thousands of years. Although we know much about it now, there is still much more to learn. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the planet most like Earth in the solar system. It is named after the mythical god of war whom the Romans called Mars and the Greeks called Ares. Mars is also known as the Red Planet, because it looks reddish from Earth. Mars i…
Natural gas is an important source of energy in the United States. Methane, ethane, and propane are the primary constituents of natural gas, with methane making up 73 to 95% of the total. The natural gas industry developed out of the petroleum industry. Wells drilled for oil often produced considerable amounts of natural gas, but early oilmen had no idea what to do with it. Originally considered a…
Nuclear energy is used in the United States to generate electricity and to power some navy ships. In the decades since the first commercial nuclear reactor went into operation in 1956, the nuclear power industry has had a difficult time persuading the American public of the safety of its enterprise. In the early 1970s most Americans favored the use of nuclear power because it appeared to provide c…
Pets are animals that humans keep for pleasure rather than utility. Their value is mostly emotional. They help to fulfill human desires for companionship, affection, entertainment, and ownership. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) was founded in 1958 and is the nation's leading pet industry trade group. More than 750 companies were members of the association as of 2…
Plants belong to the Plantae kingdom. Biologists estimate that there are up to 350,000 species making up this kingdom. In general, there are two types of land-growing plants—vascular and nonvascular. Vascular plants have specially developed organs similar to veins that move liquids through their systems. This category includes the trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses. Nonvascular plants are …
Humans seem to have an inherent desire to surmount great obstacles and push into new frontiers. There have always been brave people willing to risk their lives on bold and dangerous journeys into uncharted territory. They have climbed Mount Everest, traversed wild jungles, crossed barren deserts, and sailed stormy seas. Successful explorers become popular heroes. Their achievements thrill and deli…
Humans seem to have an inherent desire to surmount great obstacles and push into new frontiers. There have always been brave people willing to risk their lives on bold and dangerous journeys into uncharted territory. They have climbed Mount Everest, traversed wild jungles, crossed barren deserts, and sailed stormy seas. Successful explorers become popular heroes. Their achievements thrill and deli…
Research animals are animals that humans use solely for scientific and product testing. They are used in medical and veterinary investigations and training; in the testing of drugs, cosmetics, and other consumer products; and in educational programs. It is estimated that as many as 100 million animals per year (mostly mice and rats) may be used in research, testing, and medical and veterinary trai…
There are many published accounts of the history of genetics, but some of the most exciting versions were written by the pioneering researchers themselves. Although many sources were used to construct the historical overview and highlights contained in this book, James Watson's The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA (New York: Simon & Schuster, …
A first source of information on endangered species is the U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service. Their Endangered Species Program Web site (http://endangered.fws.gov/) includes news stories on threatened and endangered species, information about laws protecting endangered species, regional contacts for endangered species programs, and a searchable database with inform…
Responsibility for the protection, management, and use of water is spread across many federal agencies. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior, has the principal responsibility within the federal government for appraising the nation's resources and providing hydrological information. Among the USGS publications used in this book are several USGS F…
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the premier resource for information about the space activities of the United States. NASA headquarters operates a very informative Web site at www.nasa.gov. There are links to all of the facilities operated by NASA around the country. A great number of these NASA Web sites were consulted for this book. In addition, some specific NASA pub…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors the status of the nation's environment and publishes a wide variety of materials on environmental issues. Publications consulted for this book include EPA's Draft Report on the Environment 2003 (2003), 2000 National Water Quality Inventory (2002), Water on Tap: What You Need to Know, (2003), Factoids: Drinking Water and Ground Water …
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is the major source of energy statistics in the United States. It publishes weekly, monthly, and yearly statistical collections on most types of energy; they are available in libraries and online at http://www.eia.doe.gov. The Annual Energy Review 2003 (2004) provided a complete statistical overview, while the Annua…
A first source of information on endangered species is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Fish and Wildlife Service oversees the Endangered Species List. Their comprehensive Web site (http://www.fws.gov/endangered/) includes news stories on threatened and endangered species, information about laws protecting endangered species, regional …
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the premier resource for information about the space activities of the United States. NASA headquarters operates a very informative Web site at www.nasa.gov. There are links to all of the facilities operated by NASA around the country. A great number of these NASA Web sites were consulted for this book. In addition, some specific NASA pub…
Several resources useful to this book were published by agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including the Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and Food Safety and Inspection Service. Other federal agencies providing information were the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Customs and Bor…
Sending humans into space is expensive and risky. It takes great resources to protect them and sustain them every time they leave the planet. Losing a crewed spacecraft means loss of lives. This is a high price to pay to learn about the universe. This explains why robotic spacecraft are so vital to space science. Since the beginning of the space age satellites and probes have been sent out to take…
Sending humans into space is expensive and risky. It takes great resources to protect them and sustain them every time they leave the planet. Losing a crewed spacecraft means loss of lives. This is a high price to pay to learn about the universe. This explains why robotic spacecraft are so vital to space science. Since the beginning of the space age, satellites and probes have been sent out to gat…
Service animals are those that work for humans doing particular tasks. These tasks may be as mundane as pulling plows or as sophisticated as finding underwater mines. Throughout history, animals have helped humans hunt wildlife, herd livestock, guard people and property, and wage warfare. Animals are also trained for more humanitarian causes, such as rescuing the lost and providing aid and comfort…
Once it became obvious that space exploration was an achievable reality, it became a national priority for rich and powerful countries. Following World War II there were only two superpowers in the world—the United States and the Soviet Union, and they considered each other enemies. Both superpowers had military, scientific, and political reasons to go into space. Outer space was a potentia…
Once it became obvious that space exploration was an achievable reality, it became a national priority for rich and powerful countries. Following World War II there were only two superpowers in the world—the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and they considered each other enemies. Both superpowers had military, scientific, and political reasons to pursue space trave…
Although NASA is the best-known space organization in the world, it is not the only one. The U.S. military has an active space program that existed even before NASA was formed. Most modern military space ventures center around ballistic missiles and data-gathering satellites. These are unmanned projects. There are also many foreign governments with space programs. Chief among these is the Russian …
Although the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) is the best-known space organization in the world, it is not the only one. The U.S. military and many foreign governments also have active space programs. In fact, the U.S. military program existed even before NASA was formed. Most modern military space ventures center around ballistic missiles and data-gathering satellites. These are unman…
The space shuttle was supposed to make space travel a routine and frequent occurrence. Its conceivers envisioned shuttles regularly transporting humans and cargo back and forth between the Earth and a fleet of orbiting space stations. The shuttle was expected to be much cheaper than previous spacecraft, because it would be reusable. This would mean low operational and maintenance costs and a quick…
The space shuttle was supposed to make space travel a routine and frequent occurrence. Its conceivers envisioned shuttles regularly transporting humans and cargo back and forth between the Earth and a fleet of orbiting space stations. The shuttle was expected to be much cheaper than previous spacecraft, because it would be reusable. This would mean low operational and maintenance costs and a quick…
Birds have always been among the best-studied biological groups, in part because of the efforts of countless amateur birdwatchers. In 2003 the World Conservation Union (IUCN) reported that 129 bird species have gone extinct, with another four species extinct in the wild. The rate of extinction among birds has increased every fifty years. Bird species have died out because of habitat destruction, h…
At any one time, more than 97% of all the water in the hydrologic cycle is contained in the earth's oceans. By comparison, the rivers contain only 0.0001% of the earth's water at any one time and its lakes 0.007%. Nonetheless, this tiny fraction of the total water supply has shaped the course of human development. Throughout human history, societies have depended on these surface wat…
Terrestrial animals are animals that inhabit the land. Mammals are warm-blooded, breathe air, have hair at some point in their lives, give birth to live young (as opposed to laying eggs), and nourish their young by secreting milk. The biggest cause of terrestrial mammalian decline and extinction in the twentieth-first century is habitat loss and degradation. As humans convert forests, grasslands, …
The study of genetics—the inheritance of traits in living organisms—is a basic concept in biology. The same processes that provide the mechanism for organisms to pass genetic information to their offspring lead to the gradual change of species over time, which in turn produces biodiversity (the variety of life and the genetic differences among living organisms) and the evolution of n…
One of the consequences of a modern society is the generation of enormous amounts of waste. The scale of materials use by industrialized countries dwarfs that of a century ago. By 2000 the stock of materials drew from all ninety-two naturally occurring elements in the periodic table compared with just twenty in 1900. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that, in the United States alone, con…
Water is precious for many reasons. It is an essential resource for sustaining human, animal, and vegetative life. A living cell is mostly water. An adult human's body is about 65 percent water; blood is 90 percent water. Agriculture is absolutely dependent on water to produce food crops and livestock. Water is crucial to tourism, navigation, and industry. Enormous amounts are used to gener…
Water is a fundamental need in every society. Very few human activities do not require its use. Individuals use water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and recreation. Industry uses it to make chemicals, manufacture goods, and clean factories and equipment. Cities use water to fight fires, clean streets, and fill public swimming pools and fountains. Farmers give water to their livestock, clean thei…
Most people living in the United States assume they will have plenty of clean, safe water for drinking, that crops and gardens can be regularly irrigated, and that sewage will be taken care of by their local treatment plant. In many parts of the world, however, the availability of water for personal and public use cannot be taken for granted. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WH…
Wildlife are animals that have not been domesticated by humans. This does not mean that wild animals live without human interference. Humans control, manage, manipulate, use, and kill wildlife for various reasons. Humans tend to think of wild animals in terms of the threat they pose to people or the value they hold for them. Some wildlife threaten human safety, health, property, and/or quality of …