Blog 16 Eco 5

• 5. Conservation Ecology: In biomagnificaion, Rachel Carson published 'Silent Spring' which drew attention to how the use of pesticides was indirectly decimating bird populations by causing thinning of egg-shells in 1962. The model demonstrates how DDT in near-shore waters accumulates in a 'food chain' of phytoplankton, zooplankton, smelt, salmon, and pelicans. In Tragedy of the Commons  Garrett Hardin (1968) describs how multiple individuals acting in their own interests, while using a common resource, will overuse the resource.   This model shows the concept in a common field where four farmers are grazing cattle.