The+Amaze+of+Harpy+Eagles

WAKE AUDUBON SOCIETY MONTHLY LECTURE: ON MULTIPLE WINGS AND A PRAYER

In this Wake Audubon Society lecture, Dr. Jasmie Rotenberg talked about one of the rare animals in the environment, the Harpy Eagles in Belize. They are one of the largest raptors and are really rare birds which most commonly found in South America (Brazil) but very rare in other places such as Belize. Maya mountain is the main force that let Harpy Eagles settled in Belize. It help provide clean water, clean air, maintain genetic biodiversity and also help create large agricultural areas. In twentieth century, scientists found that they are one of the endangered animals. Their living environment, the rainforests, are destructed by local's cow raising, wood cutting and other activities. Soon the BFREE organization was formed in Belize, scientists and even some local residents gathered to help preserve the various life forms such as Harpy Eagles and keep the integrity of natural forces.

This project is related to environmental science because first of all it talks about food chain. Dr. Jasmie mentions part of the belize rainforest food chain, the producer are plants in the rainforest, the second consumers are monkeys, sloths and opossums, the third consumer is harpy eagles. Secondly, he talks about the "Bottom-up" ecosystem in his speech which also refer to the pyramids of energy flow in the ecosystem. Only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. Lastly, harpy eagles are one of the endangered animals on earth because of the loss of habitat from clear cutting, destruction of nesting sites and shooting. Biodiversity conservation, wildlife protection and environmental protection are all one of the main topics in this class.