Animals: Creatures That Roam The Planet (natural Resources)

NATURAL RESOURCES Animals NATURAL RESOURCES Agriculture Animals Energy Forests Lands Minerals Plants Water and Atmosphere animals Creatures That Roam the Planet Julie Kerr Casper, Ph.D. Animals Copyright © 2007 by Julie Kerr Casper, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 ISBN-10: 0-8160-6353-2 ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6353-6 Library of Congress ­Cataloging-­in-­Publication Data Casper, Julie Kerr.    Animals : creatures that roam the planet / Julie Kerr Casper.        p.   cm.—(Natural resources)    Includes bibliographical references and index.    ISBN 0-8160-6353-2 (hardcover)   1. Zoology—Juvenile literature.  I. Title. II. Series.    QL49.C376 2007    590—dc22     200603022 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text design by Erik Lindstrom Cover design by Ben Peterson Printed in the United States of America Bang NMSG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on ­acid-­free paper. All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication. Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction vi x xi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wildlife Concepts and Geographical Distribution 1 Evolution, Adaptation, and Extinction Through Time 23 Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources 42 Development and the Resulting Consequences 59 Uses of Animals 79 The Importance of Animals 92 Management of Land, Water, Animals, and Environment 114 8 9 Conservation of Animal Resources 130 Conclusion: Future Issues and Trends 158 162 168 173 Glossary Further Reading Index Preface Natural Resources: Priceless Gifts from the Earth Mankind did not weave the web of life. We are but one strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves . . . All things are bound together. —Chief Seattle T he Earth has been blessed with an abundant supply of natural resources. Natural resources are those elements that exist on the planet for the use and benefit of all living things. Scientists commonly divide them down into distinct groups for the purposes of studying them. These groups include agricultural resources, plants, animals, energy sources, landscapes, forests, minerals, and water and atmospheric resources. One thing we humans have learned is that many of the important resources we have come to depend on are not renewable. Nonrenewable means that once a resource is depleted, it is gone forever. The fossil fuel that gasoline is produced from is an example of a nonrenewable resource. There is only a finite supply, and once it is used up, that is the end of it. While living things such as animals are typically considered renewable resources, meaning they can potentially be replenished, animals hunted to extinction become nonrenewable resources. As we know from past evidence, the extinctions of the dinosaurs, the woolly mammoth,