How are new species created?

Our planet is smothered with unique life forms, made up of an estimated 8 million species. But what processes cause new species to develop creating the wide array of organisms we can see today. Well there are two main mechanisms that allow speciation (creation of new species) to occur.





Allopatric Speciation:

Allopatric Speciation occurs when geographical barriers cause groups of the same species to become separated. Once separated these groups survive in differing environments, evolve and adapt to their surroundings, their genes change due to mutation, gene flow and genetic drift etc, and become genetically different to the original population enough to be classed as separate species.

To give an example, imagine a population of deer survive on a wide-stretching area of land, but due to geographical changes a river forms in between the area of land, causing one group of deer to be isolated from the other members of the population. This separated population is now subjected to natural selection in its own environment, random genetic mutations that constantly occur, while being unable to swap genes with their original population as they could before. This leads to them becoming more varied than the old population, and if at some point the river barrier were to disappear and allow them to have contact with their old species, they may be too genetically different to be able to reproduce and create viable offspring, making them a new species.

Sympatric Speciation:

Sympatric Speciation, unlike with Allopatric Speciation, can occur within populations without the need of geographical barriers to isolate populations.
For Sympatric Speciation to occur, separate ecological niches must usually develop first. An ecological niche is an organisms interactions with its biotic and abiotic environment, and by changing or developing a variation in its ecological niche relative to the other members of its species, sympatric speciation can happen.

For example, say there is a population of small birds that only feed on a berry from one species of plant. Then due to a random mutation in one birds DNA, it decides to start feeding on a different berry from another species of plant. If this new plant is of benefit to the bird it will survive, and it will produce offspring that also have the trait causing them to feed from a different food source. As this lineage evolves to survive on this new food source .i.e. develops a bill shape to improve feeding, digestion changes to accommodate the new foods source etc, a new species could slowly evolve through the generations that is unable to mate with the original species.

-Thomas Glen

Images: Thomas Glen

Why should people accept evolution as fact?

As a zoology student and a lover of the Natural World, I have always had a huge interest in evolution. The fact that every organism on Planet Earth has been moulded by its environment and the other living organisms around it, and how  random changes that occur in the DNA can give certain organisms a higher chance of survival over others, allowing its particular traits to carry on into future generations, which has lead to the rich diversity of life we see today, continues to blow me away. But what blows me away even more than this is the fact that millions of people all over the world still disregard evolution as a lie. A hoax. Something easily falsifiable, and nothing more than just a theory; a statement that makes no logical sense in the scientific community. 

Obviously religion is a major factor in whether you accept evolution or not. As someone who is not at all religious, I tend to look at life as an accidental occurrence. That of which has formed due to Planet Earth having had the correct conditions in terms of temperature, atmosphere, and other abiotic factors to allow certain chemical processes to happen, leading to the development of reproductive life as time progressed. 

However for the majority of christians for example, who believe that every living creature on Earth was designed in its existing form today by an omnipotent God, my views must sound ridiculous and blasphemous. These conflicting views have and continue to create difficult questions, one of the most arduos being "What viewpoint should be taught in science class?". A question that has turned scientists, theists, as well as the general public against each other many times. 

Many scientists have even made it one of their life goals to get more people to accept the theory of evolution. Famous zoologist and iconic atheist Richard Dawkins has written many books discussing the evidence proving evolution to be fact, and to this day gives public talks and appears on TV discussing the subject.

But why should more people accept evolution? Why not let atheists and agnostics believe it, and leave everyone who doesn't believe it alone? Well in my opinion this would be detrimental because of  how much evidence there is for evolution by natural selection, and how illogical it is not to agree with this evidence. 

The rich fossil record which not only shows an increasing in complexity of many lineages, while also linking ancient organisms with their living counterparts, is evidence enough as it is. But along with the genetic evidence, the ability to view evolution occurring in fast-producing organisms, atavistic mutations and much more, it is irrefutable. 

And when people teach others that evolution is a lie, they are teaching them to ignore substantial evidence because they counteract their own beliefs, which is not a useful characteristic if we want a forward thinking, and intelligent society. Also, all of biology from its rich diversity to the physical and behavioural traits that make up this living world, is explained by evolution and nothing else. And by teaching people that evolution is false, adequately studying the biological world becomes impossible.

The question highlighted above "What viewpoint should be taught in science class?" has and continues to cause debate as well as outrage. Outrage for the religious when children are taught that we evolved from ancient life forms and are closely related to Chimpanzees, and outrage for atheists when Adam and Eve is taught as the origin of life. To conclude I would like to say that creationist views should never be taught in science class for three main reasons. 

Firstly, creationist texts from the bible to the qu'ran lack scientific evidence (regardless of what Ken Ham spews), so do not belong in a science class. 

Secondly, due to the many religions that exist today, how can one religion take precedence in the classroom over all of the hundreds of others. 

And thirdly, science-based topics such as evolution, as well as the big bang theory exist because they have scientific backing, and teaching people, be they children or adult, to take subjects with scientific evidence more seriously than others is vital to improving our society.

-Thomas Glen 

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Why do Song Birds sing? And why do they do it so early in the Morning?

Song birds constantly lift our spirits with their quaint, erratic and most of all beautiful trilling music that is commonly heard very early in the morning at dawn. But why do Song Birds sing at all, and why do many choose such early periods in the day? 

One of the main reasons Birds sing is because it acts as a signal telling rival Birds to keep away from their territory (the louder it is, the better as this reveals to the rival the health and strength of the Bird making the sound). This is because other Birds encroaching on their breeding areas and nest site could have dire consequences for the Birds chances of procreation.

Males (and occasionally females in certain species) will usually sing as a way of attracting females for mating, the song continually evolving over the generations (through experience, not inheritance) to be more intricate and complex as a way of out-competing other males for the females attention. Females are evolutionarily wired to be attracted to the loudness and intricacy of Bird song as it shows them that the male creating it must be physically healthy with good genes which are ideal traits for possible offspring.

So Bird song is a vital skill that enables Birds to avoid competition and to attract mates, but why do it so early?
Well there are a number of theories that try and explain this behaviour, but there are two that seem to have the most backing by scientists in this field.

Dawn Chorus Theory 1: Early in the morning, there isn't enough light to forage for food adequately, so it is a great period to spend singing.

Dawn Chorus Theory 2: At this period there is less noise from most other animals which are asleep at the time, meaning Bird song is more likely to be heard by other Birds making it an appropriate time for this task.

-Thomas Glen

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The importance of gardens in Conservation

Last year David Attenborough came up with what is considered a radical approach in wildlife conservation.

He claimed that at the moment, due to mass logging, plastic ocean pollution and climate change, as well as many other threats affecting the Natural World, nature reserves and parks are not enough to allow wildlife to survive and flourish in healthy populations. 
He went on to say that the best (and possibly only) way to protect wild animals is to allow wildlife to flourish within our own towns and cities. Greater amounts of plant life should be allowed to grow in urban environments, roadside verges should be used as areas for wildlife, and gardens should also used as areas where wild plant life and animals can live.

I completely agree with this, as us humans have destroyed gigantic swathes of wild land for our own selfish use, and it is only fair to now share our developed world with the wildlife whose lives we have made more difficult. However although I feel that turning most if not all of the urban cities and towns all over the world into more natural environments is a must, it is a project that requires a great amount of time, effort and government funding, so is probably unlikely to happen anytime soon. Especially considering how little attention conservation seems to gain by acting politicians anyway.

But gardens are owned by normal people, who have complete control on how their gardens are looked after and designed.

Which is why I implore you to make your garden as wildlife friendly as possible. Plant a wide array of wild flowers to attract Bees, Beetles and other pollinators that will get fed by the flowers and aid in the plants own reproduction. Put out a Bird feeder or ten (making sure to change the food regularly), as well as a bird bath. Create log piles to provide food and shelter for invertebrates and small mammals. Even a small window box outside your window containing wild flowers can be of great use to a range of wildlife if you live in a apartment without a garden.

Millions of people all over the world have gardens, and if most of these were to transformed into environments healthy enough to act as homes for wildlife, it would make one hell of a difference to the natural world.

-Thomas Glen

The strange story of the exploding toads

In 2005 in Hamburg-Germany, strange tales of exploding toads were being reported. Local people were claiming that thousands of toads around a certain pond were violently bursting, their entrails being thrown metres into the air in the process.
This news spread worldwide, and people all over the world were completely mystified as to why this was happening. Some claimed it was some sort of fungal disease affecting the amphibians, others claimed it was too ridiculous to be true and must be some sort of hoax. However this story was far from false, as was discovered by scientist Franz Mutschumann who decided to investigate this phenomenon.

Franz visited the site where the exploding toads had been discovered and collected their carcasses, and what he noticed after studying the bodies, was that every single one that had exploded was missing its liver. He also noticed that there was a small hole on the back of the frogs, which appeared to have been made by a bird.

It turned out that the exploding toads was the work of Crows. These birds had discovered the nutrient rich organs found within the toads, and would peck through their soft bodies and remove and eat the livers, leaving the rest of the body intact. The natural defence mechanism of these toads is to inflate their bodies with air to look more intimidating when threatened, but due to a lack of liver and the huge hole that now existed in their bodies, as they filled with air their lungs and blood vessels would rupture, causing them to explode.

This explains why the toads had been exploding, but why were the crows only removing the liver, and not eating any other part of the body. Well the skin of these toads is highly toxic, and the liver is the only part of the amphibians that are good for the crows to eat. Somehow these highly intelligent birds worked out that by pecking through the skin and taking one part of the toad, they were able to eat without a risk of ingesting deadly toxins.

-Thomas Glen

Why fund Space Exploration?

 Our Planet, although beautiful and awe-inspiring is not exactly lacking in problems. From mass-starvation and genocide, to ocean acidification and loss of rainforest, we humans have our work cut out as we attempt to combat and eradicate the devastating obstacles that stand in the way of a perfect Planet Earth. And yet, with all these issues that greatly need addressing in the form of time, energy and money, billions of Dollars are spent on NASA as well as other space exploration programs. 

To many this seems unfair. Why potter about in Space collecting rock samples from distant worlds when there are people here combating life-threatening illnesses and living in fear of militant terrorists that require our attention? For this reason and more, many are against Space Exploration, however space programs are of greater benefit to us than you may think.

Future catastrophe:

Space is an incredibly dangerous place, and it is likely one day our Planet will be on the receiving end of devastation from solar flares, large asteroid impacts and many other threats.
Space Exploration improves our knowledge of these and other dangerous phenomena and allows greater monitoring of the Universe, giving us a chance to avoid them in the Future. 

NASA is also aiding in combating the current threat of Climate change through its Earth Science division by monitoring fluctuations in temperatures, ozone depletion as well as other planetary changes with the use of satellites to improve our knowledge on climate change, which will hopefully allow us be ready for its future effects.


Development of Technology:

While developing ways to study the universe and allow humans to survive in space, a great deal of technology has been produced. Technology that was later used in other ways that has been of great benefit to the human race.

For example, NASA developed digital image processing technology to allow more detailed images of the moon’s surface to be developed. This technology was later used to create MRI scanners that allow detailed images of the inside of our bodies to be produced which has saved many lives.

Water filters were produced by NASA to keep water as clean as possible for people staying in Shuttles and Space stations which has become invaluable for protecting people from toxic substances that may be in water supplies.

Other inventions produced from technologies intended for Space exploration include memory foam mattresses, ear thermometers, cordless tools, adjustable smoke detectors, freeze-dried food and scratch-resistant lenses. 

Exploration: 

Human beings have always been very unique and intelligent creatures. Unlike most other forms of biological life we have a strong sense of morality, and we have become intelligent enough to no longer rely on pure instinct alone to live our lives.

We are also incredibly curious, which is why Space Exploration brings so much excitement to millions of scientists as well as the average person. The thought of traveling through space, exploring alien planets and answering unknown questions such as: Why are we here? What other lands exist in the Universe? And What other life forms have developed since the dawn of the Universe? Brings hope and inspiration to many. 

Science continues to answer amazing questions on the World around us, but we are still painfully ignorant on the vast and complicated universe we find ourselves in. We must continue to search and study to not only improve our knowledge of the Universe, but to give us an aim in life. 

Inspiration:

As god awful TV shows such as Geordie Shore, Keeping up with the Kardashians and Big Brother continue to be made, and pop stars continue to be shockingly bad influences, today’s youth is going to continue becoming more superficial and less intelligent.

Space exploration is one of the few scientific projects that gains wide media coverage and is even capable of knocking Miley Cyrus’s nude pics off of the front page of newspapers. This is why it must continue. 

If space shuttles continue being built, Astronauts continue being interviewed on TV, and robots and satellites continue being sent to the furthest reaches of the Solar System, more and more young people will continue being inspired to take up science as a career and to choose physics, biology, mathematics, Astronomy or geology over less academic and intelligent subjects.

As technology advances and knowledge increases, we need a population of people who are able to understand it and that means producing smart, passionate and logical young people.

-Thomas Glen

Why is Nature worth appreciating?

I've always believed that every single person on Planet Earth must have some kind of interest in the Natural World. Whether its a love of the cute and cuddly, or a fascination with the barbarity of predator-prey relationships, some form of excitement in this subject must be present in every human being. I sincerely hope my personal belief is true, as an appreciation of nature by people is one of the main forces that allow it to be protected.

If a person walks through a nature reserve everyday to get to work, and during the journey admires the birds and insect life, enjoys the colours and smells of the wild flowers, and really notices the thriving wildlife within the area, she/he will likely be horrified if talk of tarmacking over it is discussed by the local council. Whereas, if someone else walks through this same nature reserve to get to work with his/her headphones on, while paying very little attention to the surroundings, talk of tarmacking over the reserve will likely not faze this person at all.

 Greater appreciation of nature by the public is a necessary conservation tactic, as the more people learn to love wildlife, the more likely they are to make a fuss if it is not treated with respect, whether in terms of protecting wildlife reserves, or if a politician decides the Natural World is not a high priority. 

For example in London not long ago, Mayor Boris Johnson (left) proposed a plan to build an airport on a large nature reserve (Isle of Grain-Thames Estuary) that supports thousands of migrating birds, as well as a range of other wildlife. Luckily due to many rejections of the idea, the majority of which coming from wildlife activists and conservation organisation such as the RSPB, this idea has so far been scrapped, and the nature reserve remains today vibrant and biodiverse.

Although an appreciation of nature is vital to its ultimate protection, it is also important for the health and happiness of human beings. The natural World is undeniably beautiful and exciting, and provides million with incredible spectacles (the exuberant starling murmuration springs to my mind). It allows city folk to escape their urban environments and to catch a glimpse of the real world, it educates the young and old on the strange behaviours of other life forms,  and it generallymakes life more interesting.

A true passion for the Natural World is not found in everyone however, and many prefer to sit in front of their laptop than in front of a badger sett. 

But an effective way to create a future world where more people love and enjoy nature is to introduce it to young children. So if you have children, please give them books about birds and bugs and other life forms. Take them to the park to feed the ducks, and to the woods to look for fungi. And if you are a primary school teacher, create a nature table for the kids to look at, and teach them about ecology and the art of bird watching. This is important as if more children develop a love for the Natural World, future adults will be more inclined to protect and respect it.

-Thomas Glen

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Micro-beads: Tiny, yet dangerous:

 In many cosmetic products, most commonly facial scrub, small plastic particles that range from 0.0004-1.24 millimetres can be found that act as skin exfoliators .i.e. removers of dead skin and dirt when scrubbed against body.

While these small plastic particles are widely used in many consumer items, they are in fact incredibly detrimental to aquatic life.

As we know, the ocean has been suffering from plastic pollution for many years.
Due to the fact that most plastics take ridiculously long periods of time to decompose (450 years for the average plastic bottle), oceans, lakes and rivers all over the world have become overrun with shopping bags, crisp packets and other plastic items that have adverse effects on aquatic life.
And in many ways micro-beads are the worst plastic pollutants, mainly due to their size and the quantity that has accumulated in the planets oceans.

As Micro-beads are so small in size they are not filtered out by sewage treatment plants, so when you wash your face with Clean and Clear facial scrub and it flows down the drain, rest assured the small plastic particles have a one way ticket to the beach. Once these particles enter the ocean they have highly adverse effects on the ocean environment.

Firstly, many aquatic life from fish to turtles and seabirds tend to eat micro-beads (probably due to their resemblance to fish eggs). This can cause the digestive systems of these creatures to become blocked and cause illness and death.
It can also cause malnutrition, as instead of finding actual food to eat, the ocean wildlife have been filling themselves on a diet of nutrient-absent plastic particles.

Secondly, plastic micro-beads act as sponges to industrial chemicals such as pesticides, and can carry a range of substances on their surfaces. These can be toxic to ocean life, and may lead to dangerous substances entering the food chain, and possibly ending up inside a fish on a plate in front of a hungry human being.

Microbeads can also accumulate in huge amounts on the ocean floor and choke growing plant-life, which has huge ramifications for all of the species that depend on such vegetation.

Sadly their doesn't seem to be any way of removing micro-beads from oceans, rivers and lakes at the moment. however many environmentalists and scientists are working to prevent these particles from being used as ingredients in grooming products in the future, therefore stopping more of these pollutants entering fragile aquatic environments.

As plastic microbeads have been proven to be detrimental to aquatic life, (and even to be useless as exfoliants, which is surprising seeing as thats their only reason for existing), many cosmetic companies keep them as they are cheap to manufacture. 

If you wish to help in the fight against these pollutants, you could only use products that use more natural exfoliants .i.e. salts, sands, sugars etc and avoid the products that use plastics.

You could also spread the word on the dangers of micro-beads, help your friends and family discover more environmentally-friendly products to use, and donate money to organisations such as the WWF, and Greenpeace; organisations fighting to keep our oceans as healthy and bio-diverse as possible.

-Thomas Glen

Photo's: not my own

Why we should learn to live with Wildlife

Here in the UK, the re-introduction of the lynx back into its native homeland of Great Britain is being seriously considered.

 For conservationists this would be a huge victory as by re-introducing this wildcat, it not only improves the ecological health of the landscape due to the presence of a vital long lost predator (especially since wild deer populations continue to grow and remove vegetation from the environment due to lack of predation), but also acts as a way of making up for humans hunting these animals to extinction over 1,000 years ago.

Many conservationists do not want to stop with the lynx, but would like to re-introduce larger native animals such as Bears and Wolves back into Britain. However many other people are worried about conflicts between animals and humans in Britain in terms of human safety and loss of farm livestock, and therefore refute most re-introduction projects. 

This world-wide state of mind of putting humans before animal conservation in my opinion needs to change. Many wild species that survive on planet earth today are endangered due to human development, overhunting and general persecution at the hands of people, and biologists and conservations work tirelessly to improve their chances of survival. But this is made ever more difficult by the backlash that occurs by the general public at the news of some sort of injury or accident at the hands of animals. 

For example, in London 2 years ago, news hit the newspapers that a young child had been bitten on the finger by a red fox (which are very common in london, and mostly left alone by the public). Soon after, the news was full of articles claiming that foxes are dangerous, and that a cull may be in order to decrease their populations, even though these animals will only attack when threatened and are otherwise harmless and mostly fearful of people. In other countries such as India and parts of Africa there are many examples of farmers killing predatory wild animals so they do not feed on their livestock such as tigers and leopards. 

Understandably people are concerned at the sight of wild animals, as obviously many animals can in fact be dangerous to the safety of humans, and people have indeed been killed by wild animals that have entered human environments. However, us human beings have and continue to destroy wild habitats and place our human developments in their place. This leads to a decrease in land size for wild animals, which will cause more and more wildlife to enter our man terrain in their search for food and/or mates. 

I personally believe we should attempt to cohabit with wildlife native to the land we ourselves live on, as animals deserve to survive as much as we do, and will usually be of benefit to the land they evolved in, and were sadly removed from.  So before turning on wildlife, planning culls and turning our noses up at the idea of re-introductions, the thought of incorporating  wildlife in our human world and learning to survive alongside them in a safe and sustainable way should be our first priority.

-Thomas Glen

The debate for Zoos-Should they stay or should they go?

 London Zoo is famous worldwide as a vibrant, exciting and informative experience for the visiting public who wish to see and learn about wild animals. However, although the many staff work tirelessly to not only create a wonderful experience for visitors, but to also create enclosures that provide enough space and mental stimulation for the animals, it seems to me to not always be good enough. While visiting London Zoo (as well as others in England), I have seen signs that certain animals are not being completely catered for in terms of their environment; these signs being known as stereotypies.

Stereotypies are behavioural abnormalities that cause an animal, due to a lack of space and mental stimulation leading to mental boredom and/or frustration, to start repeating a certain motion over and over again. Pictured above is a Serval Cat that I saw at London Zoo a couple of years ago that would constantly walk up and down its enclosure (the trail it has created from this pacing is slightly visible to the right of it), probably due to the fact that this wild cat that would naturally live in a wide open savannah is being kept in quite a small enclosure. Although you can’t help but feel sorry for this cat that is being put under mental frustration, London Zoo is one of the leading Zoos when it comes to adequate enclosure design and healthy, functioning captive wildlife; and in many ways this cat is luckier than most.

When we look at other Zoos around the world, a bleaker story is revealed.

The many Seaworld sites around the world are home to a range of marine mammals, most famously Killer Whales, that exhibit stereotypic behaviours such as continuous circling around their tanks, a complete lack of movement for long periods, and viscous attacks on staff (watch the documentary Blackfish). This is due to the small enclosures which do not allow these large animals the ability to travel great distances in large areas as they would in their own natural habitats, therefore leading to the development of these behaviours.

There have also been cases, most notably in Central Park Zoo in the 1990s of a Polar Bear that would continuously swim in a figure 8 shape in the pool in its enclosure for hours on end due to ill-conceived and inappropriate enclosure conditions. Other stereotypic behaviours that have occurred due to bad environments in zoos include bar biting in Horses, wall licking in Giraffes, vomit eating in Gorillas and foot biting in Bears.

Due to the terrible conditions many animals all over the world are kept in, made obvious by stereotypic behaviours seen, Zoos are considered by many to be detrimental. Many wildlife organisations (such as PETA) claim that the educational benefits that are gained by visiting Zoos are not worth putting animals in unnatural conditions for, and should be banned. But in my opinion, there are many existing zoos that are carefully planned out and designed, providing the animals with space, mental stimulation and social interactions as well as a high quality of life. Of course there are also many that exploit the menagerie of animals in their care for the money, while keeping them in deplorable conditions, and of course these Zoos need improvement or should be shut down altogether.

Zoos achieve very little all according to some:

After years of hearing the many pro's and con's given about zoos by scientists, animal activists, vegans and general lovers of wildlife, one point keeps being brought up over and over.

"Zoo animals don't educate the public, they entertain them for a few hours until they go home." "The vast majority of the public aren't made to think about conservation issues and ways they can help. They are enjoying pointing at lions and monkeys, and will probably stop thinking about nature entirely once they leave."

 Now I agree, many people visit the zoo for fun as a day out, to see gorillas hanging from branches, and elephants stampeding around their enclosures. But when I was a child my parents used to take me to a number of zoos, and each time I went I became more and more fascinated by the many strange, colourful organisms before me. I would marvel at the intricate patterns of butterflies in the butterfly house, the long necks of the Giraffes, and the ugly faces of the bats, and I would have an urge to learn more about them. I truly believe that it was these many visits to zoos around Britain that has lead to me studying Zoology today, in the hopes that I will be able to conserve wildlife in the future.

Although as I highlighted above that certain Zoos, even the ones considered the most modern and advanced in terms of welfare, require certain improvements (which do occur continuously), they are very important for scientific research in topics ranging from animal behaviour, conservation science and veterinary science, as well as the captive breeding of species to aid dwindling wild populations. But in a world of increased human development, where millions are completely incapable of seeing wildlife and lose touch with the natural world, Zoos are also important as a reminder that other animals share our planet also. They deserve to be remembered, taken into account as part of our society as we make groundbreaking political decisions that could impact them, and appreciated for the incredible biological marvels that they are. And hopefully, as the public continue to visit these wonderful, exciting places portraying examples of the planets rich fauna, many more will start to take a real interest like I did. Start to read every piece of information the zoo has to offer and after leaving, go on to read more on nature in their own time, discovering more about them and the many threats they face. Until one day they discover they are hooked on the subject of zoology and wish to play a part in helping wildlife also.

The future of the Natural World depends on people like this, which is why the the future of the Natural World is partly dependent on zoos, and although improvements are definitely necessary, Zoos must always remain.

-Thomas Glen

The Blackfish effect: How one documentary made a difference

The Blackfish effect:

Sea world is a hugely successful chain of ocean-based theme parks that use marine mammals such as Sea Lions, Dolphins and, most famously, Killer Whales to entertain millions of visitors every year. This successful corporation had been incredibly profitable for decades since it originally opened in 1964 and was known as a place of fun and enjoyment. That is until a poignant documentary called Blackfish was created.

Blackfish is a film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite that aimed to expose one violent Killer Whale called Tillikum, who stays at one of the Sea World resorts and has been involved in the deaths of 3 people. The documentary discussed the violent behaviour of Tillikum, along with other Whales that have been shown to act aggressively towards humans. 

It also revealed how inappropriate the tanks used to hold the Whales were in terms of size (especially when compared to the large oceans that is their natural habitat), the cruel practice of keeping certain members of this highly social species in solitary tanks, and the many other devastating effects the conditions provided for these large animals by Sea World are having on these intelligent creatures, leading to the injuring and death of Sea World staff members. 

Once this film was released in 2013 and became incredibly popular, SeaWorld, a place that was famous for giving people close encounters with huge marine mammals, as well as for raising awareness for conservation, had been exposed as a prison for some of the most widely admired organisms on Planet Earth. 

Famous musical artists such as Willie Nelson, Bare Naked Ladies and Tricia Yearwood who had performances schedules at certain Sea Worlds venues pulled out once the Blackfish film had been released. The attendance of Sea World had decreased by 1 million visitors in 2013 and has continued to decrease since then due to the bad publicity produced by the documentary. The company also reported a 60% drop in stock price and a loss of 2 million dollars in 2014. 

Sea World has been and continues to battle this revealing documentary by attempting to debunk the claims against them, and has recently discussed its plans to increase the size of Whale tanks to show they are taking measures to improve the quality of lives of the animals (although conservationists are aiming for the entire corporation to be closed down instead).

However Sea World has truly felt the full effect documentaries can have, and the seedy underbelly of this company has been exposed to millions and is unlikely to recover any time soon.

-Thomas Glen
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Photo: Orlando Sentinel MCT—Getty Images