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Example research essay topic: 20 Th Century Tropical Forests - 1,791 words

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... been noticed that male orangutans tend to be less aggressive towards each other, when their social interaction occurs on permanent basis. Usually, this happens when males territories overlap. Female orangutans social role is reduced to raising offspring. Nevertheless, during the mating period, females become much more active. As a rule, males would not approach them, unless being welcomed by a specific mating gesticulation.

Male orangutans express their excitement with breaking branches off the tree and throwing them on the ground. Sometimes they engage in so-called mating dance, when they jump up and down on the branch, while making circular moves with their head. Very often, when female orangutan is around, male starts to build a nest in very casual manner, as if he is not noticing her presence. Still, this nest usually features many colorful sticks and leafs clearly for attracting a female. It is very common for the young males to form bands, until they become sexually active. This points out to the fact that orangutans used to be more social, back in history.

A so-called relict behavior is based on set of instincts that are being passed from generation to generation, even though that the objective reality renders such instincts as useless. The level of hostility towards each other among orangutans is significantly lower than among other primates. It can also be explained by the large size of orangutans, which increases the chance of sustaining a fatal injury, when fight breaks out between two animals. The recent studies suggest that the level of violence among orangutans is on a rise.

This is probably because their food is becoming scarcer, as the result of human expansion into the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra. The level of infanticide among orangutans is quite low. Nevertheless, mothers always stay on guard, in order to prevent any possible attempts, on the part of adult males, to kill their offspring. Augustin Fuentes is his research article Patterns and Trends in Primate Pair Bonds suggest that the social bonding among orangutans cannot be considered as strictly circumstantial: Orangutans bonding affiliations appear to be more structurally complex than most primatologies would like to admit (Fuentes. 2002, p. 960). It is quite impossible to describe orangutans social interactions in terms of pure logic. Just like people, orangutans seem to be able to rationalize their social behavior.

For example, some male orangutans would stay in proximity to the territory of their rivals, without showing any signs of aggression. On the part of competing male, this behavior is therefore considered as such that does not pose any danger. Nevertheless, while showing signs of submission, the intruding male pursues his own agenda. His task is to impregnate rivals girlfriend, while he is not around. Therefore, the signs of friendliness or hostility in orangutans world might have more than one semantic meaning. This proves once again that orangutans are very smart primates.

Home Range and Environmental Threats At the beginning of 20 th century, there were approximately 300. 000 orangutans living in tropical forests of Sumatra and Borneo. In 19 th century there were still some orangutans living in Thailand. However, throughout 20 th century, the population of orangutans was shrinking rapidly. At present time, it is believed that there are only a few thousands of orangutans remaining. It is important to understand that orangutans can only live in environment, which is biologically balanced. The tropical rainforest is a very complex system in the state of constant transition.

Even removing one element out of this system can result in extinction of the whole species of plants and animals. Herman Rijksen in his article The Tropical Rainforest Their Home considers the tropical forests of Sumatra and Borneo to be the most complex ecosystem in the world: Of the nearly 250, 000 flowering plants known, 170, 000 or 68 percent occur in the tropics and subtropics, making tropical rainforests among the most diverse and complex living environments on Earth. Those of the Far East, including Borneo and Sumatra, may be some of the most complex of all. Borneo and Sumatra support 10 % of Indonesia's known plant species, 12. 5 % of its mammals, and 17 % of its other vertebrates.

Borneo alone has 10, 000 - 15, 000 species of flowering plants (Rijksen, 2007). It is not by pure chance that orangutans made these two islands to be their home. The fluctuation of season temperature in this region is virtually non-existent. It always stays within 80 - 90 degrees. Orangutans are very sensitive towards the change of temperature; therefore, the numerous attempts to resettle some of them to Brazil and India have failed miserably. Even though that many different factors played their role in orangutans being unable to adjust to living in India or Brazil, the thermo factor is believed to be the most crucial one.

Thus, it appears that if mens commercial activity in islands of Borneo and Sumatra will continue with the same pace, it will lead to the extinction of orangutans, as specie, within next 20 years. Once again, as thousands of years ago, the gravest threat to orangutans very existence comes from vicious creatures that lurk beneath the trees. However, this time, orangutans will not be able to find a refuge, hiding behind leafs, because it is trees that men are after. More and more logging companies begin to operate in orangutans habitat. This results in fragile tropical ecosystem being mis balanced to the point, when it directly leads to the change in climatic conditions.

Thus, orangutans are left with no choice but to retreat deeper into the forest. Even as recent as 50 years ago, orangutans used to be a common sight for the locals of Borneo and Sumatra. In our days, people who saw orangutans in the wild with their own eyes are considered lucky. John Howard considers an illegal logging as the biggest threat to orangutans very existence: Indonesia contains ten per cent of the world's remaining tropical forests. Over 70 per cent of Indonesia's original frontier forests have been lost.

From 1996 to 2004, illegal logging has destroyed 5 million acres a year! Orangutans are sensitive to selective logging that makes passage through the trees canopy difficult or near impossible. And when logging becomes intensive in any area the orangutans disappear altogether (Howard, 2002). In recent years, many environmental organizations try to pressure Indonesian government to adopt stricter measures against illegal logging. However, it appears as very doubtful whether such pressure is going to have any effect. Indonesia is a developing country with many socio-political problems, which prevents government from prioritizing environmental issues.

In 1985 Taiwanese television featured a program, which described orangutans as ideal pet. From this time on, capturing baby orangutans and exporting them to foreign countries became a very profitable business in Indonesia, even though that in 1987 this country signed a convention, which makes the trade of endangered animals illegal. It is estimated that 20 - 30 orangutans are being smuggled out of Indonesia annually. Many zoos in Russia feature smuggled orangutans, while openly admitting that these animals were being obtained illegally. Some people suggest that smuggling orangutans out of Indonesia might be only the way to save them, as specie. Such point of view, of course, cannot be accepted as valid, because smuggling can never be a solution to environmental problems.

At the same time, it is known that orangutans live well in captivity. In zoos, orangutans life span increases significantly, along with their sexual activity. There is no doubt that the generations of orangutans that are going to be born in captivity, will be unable to survive in the wild, as it is a case with all the animals. Nevertheless, orangutans will get a practical chance to survive. As practice shows, only developed countries can implement effective measures to save the endangered species, like with the case of grizzly bear in Canada. In Indonesia, saving orangutans in the wild cannot be accomplished, because of economic realities in this country.

Conclusion Orangutans are very complex animals with well-structured social interactions. Their notion of communal living might not be as well developed as it is among other apes. Nevertheless, orangutans life style is the most adapted for their habitat. Despite their large size, orangutans rarely experience food scarceness. This is because their mental abilities allow them to rationalize the process of looking for food. Female orangutans are good mothers who take a great care of their young.

At the same time, the unchanging environmental conditions in Sumatra and Borneo, up until recently, reduced orangutans ability for adaptation. This will eventually lead to their full extinction, unless the government of Indonesia provides necessary preconditions for their survival. It is not very likely to happen though. Orangutans are greatly dependent on environmental factors. Being part of tropical ecosystem, orangutans play their role in maintaining ecological balance in the area of their habitat. They are associated with natural purity of an untouched tropical forest.

This is why we cannot simply talk of these animals from utilitarian prospective. Apart from having a high biological value, orangutans are also highly valuable from the esthetic prospective. It is simply impossible to imagine the nature of Sumatra and Borneo without them. Just as polar bear symbolizes Arctic and lion - African savannah, in public consciousness orangutans are strongly linked to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. People can easily eliminate orangutans as specie, but let us not forget that these animals represent nature.

If orangutans become extinct, nature will find a way to revenge the death of its representatives. Bibliography: Boyd, R. , Richer son, J. (1985) Culture and the Evolutionary Process. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago Cartoon, K. Orangutan (Porno) Behaviour. June 13, 2005.

Primate Info Net. Retrieved February 17, 2007 from web Harcourt, A. Schwartz, M. (2001). Primate Evolution: A Biology of Holocene Extinction and Survival on the Southeast Asian Sunda Shelf Islands. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 114, 4 - 17. Howard, J.

Orangutan. 2002. Honolulu Zoo. Org. Retrieved February 17, 2007 from web Fuentes, A. (2002). Patterns and Trends in Primate Pair Bonds. International Journal of Primatology. 23. 953 - 978.

Kappeller, P. (2002). Primate Biogeography. Encyclopedia of Evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 939 - 942.

Rijksen, H. The Tropical Rainforest Their Home. 2007. The Orangutan Conservancy Site. Retrieved February 17, 2007 from web Zimmer, C.

Tooling through the Trees - Tool use by Wild Orangutans. 1995. Find Articles. Com. Retrieved February 17, 2007 from web Abstract This paper discusses different aspects of orangutans existence as independent specie. Outline Origins p. 1 - 2 Lifestyle and Behavior p. 2 - 5 Group Size and Structure p. 5 - 7 Home Range and Environmental Threats p. 7 - 10 Conclusion p. 10


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Research essay sample on 20 Th Century Tropical Forests

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