The reading passage and the lecture have conflicting opinions about whether or not the arrival of humans to the Mauritius island was the main cause behind the extinction of a flightless bird species. The article strongly postulates that the dodo extinction was due to the actions of dutch settlers. On the other hand, the speaker in the lecture adamantly delineates that humans are not responsible for the dying out of the bird and it could be nature itself.
First and foremost, the author claims that since the bird was never exposed to humans, it was not afraid and as a result, it did not run away and it was easily hunted. In addition, farm animals that were brought by colonists could have destroyed the eggs and the nests, which were on the ground. However, the lecturer casts doubt on this argument by declaring that although humans were capable of catching the flightless bird with ease, they never liked its tough and bad-tasting meat. the listening further elaborates that the dutch named it the disgusting bird in their native tongue owing to the aforementioned fact.
Secondly, the professor indicates that even though newcomers tried to alter the land for agriculture by clearing up forests, this process did not affect the bird habitat since large portions of the island were still intact when the last dodo was spotted around the late seventeenth century. What's more, other bird species were able to survive after the disappearance of the dodo. this claim refutes the writer's implications of how people devastated the natural habitat of the bird by chopping down trees and depriving the bird from its food supply.
Lastly, according to the excerpt, humans, or the livestock they brought, might have transmitted a new disease to the area, which could have wiped out this specific creature, especially it's well-known that new species always wreak havoc on native ones. Nevertheless, the lecturer asserts that the bird population was already declining before the arrival of humans. Plus, nature could have played a major role in the loss of this species since cyclones and high winds were known to hit the island and they could have demolished the eggs and the nests that were on the open ground.
The reading passage and the lecture have conflicting opinions about
whether or not
the arrival of
humans
to the Mauritius island was the main cause behind the extinction of a flightless
bird
species. The article
strongly
postulates that the dodo extinction was due to the actions of dutch settlers.
On the other hand
, the speaker in the lecture
adamantly
delineates that
humans
are not responsible for the dying out of the
bird
and it could be nature itself.
First
and foremost, the author claims that since the
bird
was never exposed to
humans
, it was not afraid and
as a result
, it did not run away and it was
easily
hunted.
In addition
, farm animals that
were brought
by colonists could have
destroyed
the eggs and the nests, which were on the ground.
However
, the lecturer casts doubt on this argument by declaring that although
humans
were capable of catching the flightless
bird
with
ease
, they never liked its tough and
bad
-tasting meat.
the
listening
further
elaborates that the dutch named it the disgusting
bird
in their native tongue owing to the aforementioned fact.
Secondly
, the professor indicates that
even though
newcomers tried to alter the land for agriculture by clearing up forests, this process did not affect the
bird
habitat since large portions of the island were
still
intact when the last dodo
was spotted
around the late seventeenth century. What's more, other
bird
species were able to survive after the disappearance of the dodo.
this
claim refutes the writer's implications of how
people
devastated the natural habitat of the
bird
by chopping down trees and depriving the
bird
from its food supply.
Lastly
, according to the excerpt,
humans
, or the livestock they brought, might have transmitted a new disease to the area, which could have wiped out this specific creature,
especially
it's well-known that new species always wreak havoc on native ones.
Nevertheless
, the lecturer asserts that the
bird
population was already declining
before
the arrival of
humans
. Plus, nature could have played a major role in the loss of this species since cyclones and high winds
were known
to hit the
island and
they could have demolished the eggs and the nests that were on the open ground.