Exemplars for Writing a Baker Keyhole Research Paper
Survivor: The Galapagos Islands - Link's fifth grade multidisciplinary WebQuest on "How to Write a Research Paper". Acting as biologists studying the plight of the wildlife on the Galapagos Islands, students complied data from multiple online resources including primary documents to determine the factors endangering their survival and recommended solutions to protect them from possible extinction.
How Can the Galapagos Islands' Wildlife Be Protected?
By Matt 5R
The native creatures of the Galapagos Islands are becoming susceptible to outside forces. The Galapagos Islands' 15 islands are due west of Ecuador, which is fitting since the islands belong to Ecuador. When Charles Darwin visited the Islands in 1835, they were teeming with unique animals. They are no longer in that condition, due to alien forces threatening their very existence and now must be protected.
There are many species of Galapagos wildlife indigenous to the Islands that are in danger of becoming extinct, such as the Galapagos tortoise. The Galapagos tortoise is eaten by humans. They also have an extremely low birth rate, averaging 2 eggs per breeding season. Also, other non-Galapagos animals are taking over their habitat. The Galapagos fur seal is also endangered because commercial sealers kill them for their fur. They are killed by fierce dogs and caught in gill nets. They also starve due to El Nino, which causes their food to move away. Lastly, the Galapagos iguana is endangered because of goats that eat their habitat. This causes their young to become exposed to predators, including many kinds of birds, which eat their eggs and young. Their current birth survival rate is 10%. Many other conditions are also threatening the existence of the Galapagos wildlife.
Mankind has quite a lot to do with the destruction of the indigenous creatures of the Galapagos Islands. Man brings livestock, which eats the habitats of the animals. Dogs, cats and rats eat eggs, birds and iguanas. Due to an oil spill off of San Cristobal Island, many animals died. The population of the islands has soared from 1000 to 16,000 since 1950. They use mowing machines to cut down trees for houses and ranches, destroying the habitats of the animals. Tourism has exploded from 1000 in 1970 to 60,000 today. That's a large amount of people's trash on those islands! The indigenous animals need to be protected.
The rare and unique animals of the Galapagos must be protected from the alien forces that are destroying them. The main reason for the animals being endangered is loss of their habitat. The animals are also dying due to low fertility and starvation. They are being killed by domestic animals brought on to the islands. To solve these problems, we must protect the wildlife by making a fenced in wildlife reserve and replanting the area. We should get laws passed against over hunting and having animals without leashes. If not, the world will lose many wonderful creatures of the world.
How can the Galapagos Islands’ wildlife be protected?
by Rachel 5W
Did you know that the indigenous wildlife on the Galapagos Islands is being threatened by outside forces? The Galapagos Islands are located off the west coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. There are 15 islands that were formed by volcanoes. In 1835, Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands and found swarms of many different kinds of unique animals that are not found anywhere else. Now there are very few of these animals left. The indigenous animals on the Galapagos Islands must be protected from outside forces that are threatening their existence.
Did you know that, outside forces are actually threatening the life of three species? The giant Galapagos tortoises, the Galapagos fur seal and the Galapagos Island iguana are becoming extinct. People that come to live in the islands eat the Galapagos turtles and sell their shells. People bring animals that eat their eggs. You probably think that they can always lay more and more eggs, but actually they only lay two eggs per season. Commercial sealers killed many of the Galapagos fur seals in the 19th century. They have also been caught in gill nets and eventually it can suffocate them. They were also killed by El Nino were the temperature changed and the fish moved to different areas so the seals starved to death. The Galapagos Island iguana is endangered because goats brought to the island eat their protective vegetation and then birds of prey can eat their eggs. There are also many other outside forces that are hurting Galapagos animals.
Did you know there are other reasons why the Galapagos animals are being killed? Most of all, they’re endangered by population growth. The local Ecuadorian population has soared from 1,000 in 1950 to 16,000 today. This destroys the animal’s habitat by cutting down trees and vegetation to build houses, roads, farms and ranches. Meanwhile, tourism has increased dramatically. Tourist numbers have exploded from 1000 in 1970 to 60,000 today. Tourists cause pollution and trample the animal’s habitat. One tragic event endangered many marine animals lives. There was an oil spill off the shore of San Cristobal. Many animals got covered in oil and some died. Workers have tried to save as many animals as possible by bathing them and trying to get the oil out of their fur or feathers. Also, dogs, cats and rats brought to the island eat the indigenous animals and their eggs. The indigenous animals on the Galapagos Islands must be saved from extinction.
The indigenous animals on the Galapagos Island must be protected from conditions that are threatening their existence. The main reason the animals are becoming extinct is because of loss of habitat due to population growth, increases in tourism and the introduction of domestic animals. Other factors like over hunting and fishing, low fertility, oil spills, and El Nino also add to the problem. To protect the indigenous animals a fenced in animal reserve should be created on part of the island. This area should be planted with new vegetation and trees. They should limit tourism, unless they are scientists are there to study the wildlife and not destroy it. They should also make a law that all animals other than the indigenous animals should not be able to roam around free. They should especially make sure that any boat in that area should have to keep their radar on at all times to prevent further oil spills. Hopefully, one day, the Galapagos Islands will be swarming with animals once again!
How can the Galapagos Islands’ Wildlife be Protected
By Eeva
The indigenous wildlife on the Galapagos Islands is being threatened by outside forces. The Galapagos Islands are located off the west coast of Ecuador. The Galapagos Island has fifteen islands and are owned by Ecuador. Many strange animals live there that are found nowhere else. In 1835, Charles Darwin, a biologist, explored the Galapagos Island and found the Island swarming with unique animals. He found animals such as the penguin, mocking birds, turtles, iguanas, and scarlet crabs. Now the animals are endangered. The indigenous animals on the Galapagos Island must be protected from outside forces that are threatening their existence.
Three species of indigenous animals on the Galapagos Island are in danger of becoming extinct. The giant Galapagos tortoise is becoming extinct because men are preying on them. They only lay two eggs a breed season and animals are attacking them. They are also dying of disease. The Galapagos fur seal is also in danger because of over hunting by commercial sealers for fur. They get caught in gill nets, and they are starving due to El Nino. All the baitfish are moving away because of the water temperature change. The Galapagos Island iguana are becoming extinct because people are bringing in domestic animals, like goats that are eating and destroying their habitat. Without protective vegetation the birds are eating their eggs. Many other outside forces are also threatening the wildlife on the islands.
Many other conditions are endangering the Galapagos indigenous animals on the island. There was a major oil spill that occurred in Ecuador, San Cristobal. It was caused because the captain on the boat took off his radar and mistook a buoy for a lighthouse. Because of this accident many animals were covered with oil and so they died. Tourism has increased from 1,000 in 1970 to 60,000 today. The tourists are trampling the animal's habitat. The population has grown from 1,000 people in 1950 to 16,000 people today. Many machines are cutting down trees and destroying the native vegetation for building houses, farms and ranches. If people continue to destroy the habitat, then all the animals will disappear!
The indigenous animals on the Galapagos Islands must be protected from conditions that are threatening their existence. The biggest reason that the animals are becoming extinct is because of over population, increased tourism and animals eating their habitat. Other reasons are El Nino, which is starving the animals, over hunting, disease and low fertility. The oil spill was a huge disaster that killed many animals. We can do many things to protect them. We can make an animal preserve park and put fences around it so no one will hurt the animals. For the people that live on the Galapagos Island, they could also put fences around their backyard. We could limit where the tourists walk so nobody disturbs the animals. To help the fertility rate, we could breed the animals or we could clone them. To prevent the oil spills, we could make a law that you have to keep your radar on all the time. We could make ship roots so the ships wont go near the animals and hurt them. Also we could make a law about hunting that you cant use gill nets to catch anything. If we do all these things then we could enjoy all of these marvelous animals forever!