Ecology - Life Without The Sun Case Analysis Research Paper

Ecology - Life Without The Sun Case Analysis - Research Paper Example Hydrothermal vents facilitate chemical processes that make possible the formation of several valuable mineral deposits and extreme heat down there serves as an alternative resource for electricity production. This new discovery has attracted the attention of humankind to these sites. It is not an unknown phenomenon that activities of humans continue to directly or indirectly affect the environment. Just like the depletion of the Ozone layer through harmful industrial and other activities, disturbance of aquatic life through mining, and decrease of depths of streams due to sediment formation leading to floods; this new development presents another disturbing prospect of being a danger to ecology and environment. The harsh reality that surfaces is that mining these vents for energy sources remains to be highly disruptive to the ecosystems that depend on it. The case study points out that the only source of energy for the species in this dark environment is through the extreme temperatu res produced by the vents. Bruce Marshall uncovers the ugly truth by saying that â€Å"if a vent is capped and the supply of heat and nutrients to the surrounding community is cut off, it will die† (Kraemer, 2009). Moreover, sediment plume and dissolution of heavy metals into the water and food chains will contaminate filter-feeding marine organisms and eventually lead to mortality of these species. Biologists are underlining recent findings for the protection of these species. Biologist Lauren Mullineaux explains one such research by stating that the focus can be put to facilitate the larvae from the vent animals as it can travel very far and assists in establishment of new colonies of life. Other scientific plans that can be adopted to protect the eco-systems is to establish temporary refuge away from the mining sites where the species could be assisted to relocate and to install appropriate artificial substrates so