By Maddi and Ryan

The Tasmanian devil is the worlds largest surviving marsupial carnivore and it can only be found in the wild in Australias island state of Tasmania. Tasmanian devils suffer from what is known as the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), an infectious cancer that can be found across 70% of Tasmanian devils. DFTD is killing Tasmanian devils in the wild at an alarming rate.

Conservation groups have been set up to help prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil. Australian Zoo Wildlife Warriors have put funds into an appeal which raises funds for Tasmanian Devil conservation appeal known as Black and White week. Tassie Devil program is another campaign which provides information about the Tasmanian devil, the disease, population monitoring and the grants that they have received. This program is actively funded and operated by the Australian Government and the Tasmanian Government. Population levels are declining however Zoos have introduced new breeding programs to ensure they do not become extinct.

Overfishing is a non-sustainable use of the oceans, triggered by catching too much of a particular type of fish which then leads to an overall degradation of the system. Over a billion of people in the world are dependent on our global oceans for the delivery of animal protein, with the sea often thought of as our never-ending food basket. In Australia, statistics have found that we each consume around 25kgs of seafood a year. Recently it has been found that the ocean is not an endless resource, with recent figures indicating that over 85% of the worlds fish stock are now fished up to full capacity or are over fished. The Bluefin Tuna is on the brink of extinction solely due to overfishing.

Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. Other uses are typically for urbanisation due to growth in population, the need for timber, large scale crops for palm oil and soy as well as for cattle. An estimated 18 million acres of forest is lost each year, which is approximately the size of Tasmania

Whole eco-systems are destroyed from deforestation.

70% of the worlds plants and animals live in

forests and are constantly losing their habitats due to human deforestation. A prime example is the Orangutan. The water cycle is damaged, trees play an important part in the water cycle, grounding the water in their roots. EG. The Amazon forest. If deforestation continues the climate will become dryer, contributing to Global warming.

The mining industry provides essential raw materials for our modern lives, yet when a mine shuts down the environmental and socio-economic impacts can be huge on the community around including on the animal habitats. Regeneration looks at the re-vegetation of old mine sites and trying to return them into their original form, so they can be used for farming/urbanisation. It is reusing the land appropriately instead of letting the land turn into waste.

Your task is to create a PowerPoint showing how humans have an impact with other living organisms. Researching whether humans have a positive or a negative impact on both flora and fauna.

Some examples that we will be researching further are the conservation of Tasmanian Devils, Overfishing, deforestation and post-mining regeneration.

During your slideshow you are also required to create a hyperlink of an image, some text and a link of your choice relating to the task.

You are also encouraged once you have finished your presentation to create transition slides.

Useful Resources
instaGrok Useful for all information to construct range of ideas Tasmanian Devil http://taronga.org.au/animals-conservation/zoo-basedconservation/australian-breeding-programs/tasmanian-devil/tasmaniandevil-breeding-program http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf/ Overfishing http://worldwildlife.org/species/bluefin-tuna Deforestation http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html