Kroeker 1

Breanne Kroeker

Prof. Loudermilk

ENG 1201

13 July 2019

Annotated Bibliography

My essay will explain how the physical features of plants and animals correspond to the

conditions of the environments they are found in, and how human interference affects this. I

would like to find out how plants and animals are able to thrive in varying conditions, and if

human interference has any sort of effect on the process of adaptation.

Kaplan, Melissa. “How Humans Affect Animals” http://www.anapsid.org/animalshumans.html.

1 January 2014. Accessed 13 July 2019.

“How Humans Affect Animals,” by Melissa Kaplan, first appeared online in 1995, but

has since been updated. Kaplan writes about how humans affect animals in bad ways. Humans

destroy wild land to build homes, factories, and much more environmentally unfriendly

buildings. The factories not only destroy land, but also release chemicals into the air that affect

the birds flying over. Farmers spray chemicals onto their crops, affecting the insects that do not

necessarily hurt the crops. Next, Kaplan writes about animals in the food and fashion industry.

Humans raise and kill animals for food. Other animals are raised or hunted for their skin and fur.
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The author’s purpose for writing this article is to inform the audience about how humans

are negatively affecting animals. The audience is people wanting to learn about how humans

affect animals and what they can do to help. The information is presented in a straightforward

manner. At the end of the article, there are related readings and works cited. Since the

information stretches 19 years, it has been kept up-to-date with current human affects.

The writer and author is Melissa Kaplan. I know the author is credible because she is the

author of the whole website. I know the author has adequate information to write the article and

is reliable because everything that was written is common knowledge that can be found

anywhere.

I will use this information to explain how humans affect animals which ultimately affect

animals’ physical features. This article could also help me form my counterargument because it

shows very clear affects humans have on animals.

Khan, Salman. “Human Impact on Ecosystems Review”

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-ecology/hs-

humanimpact-on-ecosystems/a/hs-human-impact-on-ecosystems-review. 2019.

Accessed 13 July 2019.

“Human Impact on Ecosystems Review,” by Salman Khan, is a review that was created

online in 2019 to help students understand how humans impact ecosystems. Human impact is a

major threat to the planets’ organisms. Humans harm the environment by destroying natural

landscapes, polluting, introducing species, and resource exploitation. Humans also change the

Earth’s atmosphere, causing climate change which also affects animals and humans alike.
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The writer’s purpose for creating this review is to help students who are having trouble

understanding how humans affect ecosystems. The audience is students who need more help, or

teachers who need help explaining human impact on ecosystems to their class. The layout of the

website clearly states that the purpose of the information is to help students and teachers learn

more about the subject.

The writer and author is the creator of KhanAcademy, Salman Khan. The author is

credible because he is high profile and has won awards for his website. The review is credible

because Khan follows a strict way to include and edit information on his website, so everyone is

getting the correct information.

I will use the information to include human impacts on ecosystems. Also, I will use his

website to define some of the key terms I will include in my essay. Like the site prior, I could

also use this information to help form my counterargument.

Malmstrom, Carolyn M. "Ecologists Study the Interactions of Organisms and Their

Environment" https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/ecologists-study-

theinteractions-of-organisms-and-13235586. 2010. Accessed 13 July 2019.

“Ecologist Study the Interactions of Organisms and Their Environment,” by Carolyn M.

Malmstrom, appeared online in 2010. Malmstrom believes every organism is shaped by its

environment. Organisms inhabit nearly every environment, but organisms in tropic areas need

different features than organisms in polar regions. Environmental resources and constraints shape

the structure of organisms. Not only the physical environment, but also the amount of sunlight an

environment gets directly affects the photosynthesis of plants. The temperature affects organisms

too. Species have had to adapt to freezing temperatures to survive in harsh climates.
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The writer’s purpose for writing this article is to inform how organisms interact with their

environment. The audience is anyone willing to learn about how the environment affects

organisms and how the organisms, in return, interact with the environment. The website suggests

the information is family-friendly, given the bright colors and pictures. There is a search bar that

allows the reader to search through any content.

The writer is Carolyn M. Malmstrom. She is credible because she is in the Department of

Plant Biology at Michigan State University. The author has adequate information because since

she works in the Department of Plant Biology, she has access to adequate and reliable

information.

I plan to use this source in my essay to explain how organisms interact with their

environment. Unlike the other sources, this one has an equally large focus on plants and animals.

The article also branches out to focus on sunlight and temperature rather than only the physical

environment.

MarineBio. “Structures & Adaptations to Marine Living”

https://marinebio.org/conservation/marine-ecology/structures-adaptations/. 16 February

2019. Accessed 13 July 2019.

“Structures & Adaptations to Marine Living,” published by MarineBio, appears online

and was last edited in February of 2019. MarineBio published this article to show some of the

adaptations marine life endures to thrive. Each form of marine life has become adapted to certain

levels of salinity, temperature, and light. At depths, the ocean exerts enormous pressures on

marine life. Collapsed lungs give deep-diving animals a huge advantage because it allows the

mammal to sink and not use energy to change depths. Thusly, mammals must be adapted to the
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temperature that come with certain depths. Reptiles, mammals, and animals with shells all have

certain adaptations that allow them to thrive in the salty ocean.

The writer’s purpose for writing this article is to list adaptations marine animals must go

through to survive the ocean. The audience is anyone wanting to learn about marine adaptations.

Since the article was written by MarineBio, all the information listed in the article is pertaining to

the ocean. The website is straightforward with pictures and videos to help viewers comprehend

what is being written about.

There is no specific writer listed, but the writer comes from the organization MarineBio.

MarineBio is credible for writing about marine life because the whole organization revolves

around marine life, and the organization would want the correct information being distributed. It

is a reliable source for marine information because that is all the organization focuses on.

I will use the information from this source to show how the environment affects animals

in the ocean, and not just land animals. The mammals at different depths in the ocean with

different lungs help answer how environmental factors affect the physical features.

NHPBS. “Natural and Human Impacts on Wildlife”

https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/nwep16b.htm. 2019. Accessed 13 July 2019.

“Natural and Human Impacts on Wildlife,” published by NHPBS, appeared online in

2019. It was written to explain how natural and human interaction impacts wildlife. Humans are

responsible for changes in the environment that hurt plant and animal species. Humans take up

land, animals are illegally hunted, and exotic species are brought into the environment. Human

activity destroys habitats plants and animals need to survive. Animals can also suffer from
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natural factors. Natural extinction, unfair competition, and many other factors can cause animals

to be negatively affected.

The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of how humans negatively affect animals.

The article also raises awareness to the natural causes for adaptation/extinction. The audience for

the article is anyone who wants to learn about environmental and human-caused extinctions. This

is a PBS article, so it is for the general population.

There is no specific writer listed, but the writer is from NHPBS. The information is

credible because PBS is a large, public organization who would only release accurate

information. PBS is an informative, public organization that is not concerned with money, just

with informing people.

I will use the information in this article to show both human and environmental factors

that can cause adaptation and extinction. This article will answer how human interference affects

how animals adapt to their environments.

Sequin, Molly. “Frogs that Can Freeze Their Bodies and 6 Other Crazy Ways that Animals

Survive Their Treacherous Environments” https://www.businessinsider.com/these-

7animals-have-crazy-adaptations-to-help-them-to-survive-in-their-habitats-2016-7. 15

July 2016. Accessed 13 July 2019.

“Frogs that Can Freeze Their Bodies and 6 Other Crazy Ways that Animals Survive

Their Treacherous Environments,” by Molly Sequin, is online and it was written in July of 2016.

Sequin writes about how the natural world is a tough place. Some animals have interesting and
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unusual ways to adapt. Wood frogs freeze their body and stop their heart from beating to survive

in as low as -80 degrees Fahrenheit. Kangaroo rats survive in the desert by no needing to drink

water. Antarctic fish have antifreeze proteins in their blood that allows them to survive in frigid

water. African bullfrogs use mucus on their skin to survive the dry season. Cuttlefish bled into

their surroundings when threatened. Tubeworms turn toxic water into food in the deep ocean.

And the last adaptation listed is okapi have scent glands on their feet to mark their territory.

The writer’s purpose for writing this article was to prove how interesting some animals’

adaptations are in their extreme environments. The tone of the article is informal, so I believe the

article is directed at children and young adults who want to learn a little about animal

adaptations. The article was published by Business Insider, so it was written to inform by talking

about different animals in different environments.

The writer is Molly Sequin, and she must be credible because her article was published

by a big organization who would not distribute false information. I know at least some of the

information is accurate because some of it is stuff I learned in the past. The source is reliable

because it is nonbiased and published through Business Insider, which is a huge organization.

I will use the information in this article to prove how animals adapt to their physical

environments. The article features many different environments and different animals that that

live in those environments. This article will answer how the environment affects physical

features of animals.

Turner, Josie F. “Types of Adaptations in Animals” https://www.animalwised.com/types-of-

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adaptations-in-animals-2887.html. 5 March 2019. Accessed 13 July 2019.

“Types of Adaptations in Animals,” by Josie F. Turner, was last updated online on March

5, 2019. Turner writes about all the types of adaptations animals can have. She starts by stating

that all living beings need to adapt to their environment to survive. The adaptations can be

physiological, structural, or behavioral. Physiological adaptations, such as hibernation and

estivation, are related to changes in the metabolism in different organisms. Temperature is a big

factor in physiological adaptations. Structural adaptations, such as growing fins or thicker fur,

allow animals to better survive in their physical environment. Behavioral adaptations, such as

fleeing predators or hiding during sleep, lead to animals developing certain behavioral

characteristics. Animal adaptations are extensive, but some adaptations are not being allowed to

happen because of human influence.

The writer’s purpose for writing this article was to inform the readers of the three

different types of adaptations and give examples of them. The audience is anyone wanting to

learn more about the different types of adaptations animals can go through. The article was

published by a website called Animal Wise, so the article only contains information about

animals.

The writer is Josie F. Turner and her credentials are listed under the title of the article. I

know the author has adequate information because she included a list of references at the end of

the article. The information is reliable because it was published on a website with information

about animals, and, again, has a list of references at the end.

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I will use this information to talk about how animals adapt to different environments. I

will mainly focus on the structural adaptations because that pertains to my thesis, but I might

include something about the other types of adaptations. This article will also help me describe a

little about how human interaction affects adaptations.