Английский язык: Сборник текстов и упражнений. Дьякова Н.П. - 33 стр.

Within an ecosystem, the flow of chemical elements, such as carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen and phosphorus, and the flow of energy from sunlight through photo-
synthesis into organic material and its utilization by respiration are linked.

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                           Text 11
          CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY IN THE BERING SEA

    Several years ago World Wildlife Fund (WWF) worked with scientists around
the world to identify the most critical areas for preserving biological diversity. As
a result of this work these experts identified over 200 areas which we call ecore-
gions. In theory, if we, the international conservation community, could preserve
the biodiversity in these ecoregions, we would be protecting most of the diversity
of life on the planet.
    Of these Global 200 ecoregions, 61 were marine. And one of these marine
ecoregions was the Bering Sea. Why did the international group of experts con-
sider the Bering Sea to be such a globally important area? Primarily because the
Bering Sea is one of the most productive northern marine ecosystems in the
world. As many of you know, the sea is home to… More than 450 species of fish,
mollusks and crustaceans;
    …Some 50 species seabirds, and million of birds which migrate annually from
all over the world to nest in various coastal and marine habitats;
    …Some 25 marine mammals, many of which occur in high concentrations
throughout the ecoregion.
    For centuries the Bering Sea’s bounty has supported economies around the
world, as nations have sought to exploit fur and other resources. In the mid-19th
century, whaling reached its peak as oil and baleen were sought after commodi-
ties. Today, the Bering Sea accounts for more than half the total seafood catch in
the U.S. In Alaska, fisheries provide the second largest number of jobs. There are
many signs that this «Sea of Plenty» is not an endless resource. People around the
Bering Sea are concerned about declines in species, and other changes signaling
that all in the Bering Sea is not well. For example,
    …numerous fisheries have collapsed in the last 2 decades, including red king
crab and more recently, opilio and snow crabs;
    …herring, capelin and other forage fish important to wildlife have been de-
clining since the mid-1990s;
    …seven of the great whales found in the Bering Sea are listed as endangered
under the federal Endangered species Act;
    …other marine mammals are in decline, such as the northern fur seal; and
    …the sea otter down by an average of 70% through out the Alentian islands.
Perhaps, no other species has received as much attention and notoriety as the
Steller Sea Lion. In the last 30 years the species has declined by 50–80%
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