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In the 1900s, New England's harbor and gray seals were hunted to the brink of extinction due to bounty policies put in place to reduce their population. Although the bounty was dropped in 1962, seals continued to be hunted because of their perceived threat to the fishing industry. In 1972, seals became a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Since then, both harbor and gray seal populations have increased dramatically. This graph shows the harbor seal population in the Gulf of Maine from 1970 - 1995. If no other changes are made to the ecosystem, predict what you think would happen to the harbor seal population in the next 20 years. put it on a graph. the x and y axis

1 answer

To create a graph predicting the harbor seal population in the Gulf of Maine over the next 20 years based on historical data from 1970 to 1995, we need to make some informed assumptions.

Steps to Create the Graph:

  1. Define the Axes:

    • X-axis: Years (from 1970 to 2015)
    • Y-axis: Population of Harbor Seals (you can define a range based on the historical data, e.g., from 0 to a maximum observed population).

  2. Historical Data Analysis (1970-1995):

    • If you have access to specific population numbers from your graph, identify the trend. Generally, we could expect an annual increase based on the fact that the population was recovering after becoming a protected species.

  3. Extrapolating Future Data (1995-2015):

    • Given the trend observed, you can predict continued growth in seal populations. Harbor seal populations might follow a logistic growth curve rather than a linear one, indicating that after a certain point, growth rate may slow down as they approach the carrying capacity of the ecosystem.

Example Graph Description:

  • X-axis (Years): 1970 to 2015
  • Y-axis (Population): 0 to a maximum estimated value based on the last known data point (e.g., something like 20,000 seals).

Prediction:

  • After 1995, you could show:
    • A steep increase from 1995 to about 2005, reflecting rapid population growth as protections are in place.
    • A gradual leveling off from 2005 to 2015, as the population nears the ecosystem’s carrying capacity.

Graph Representation:

While I cannot create visual graphs directly, here is how you could visualize it:

  1. Start with historical data points from the graph up to 1995.
  2. Extend the curve upwards beyond 1995, showing a rapid increase until around 2005.
  3. Flatten the curve past 2005 to indicate slowed growth.

Sample Points (Fictional for Demonstration):

  • 1995: 8,000
  • 2000: 12,000
  • 2005: 18,000
  • 2010: 22,000
  • 2015: 25,000

Conclusion:

The prediction would show that if conditions remain stable and no significant threats emerge, the harbor seal population could continue to grow, reaching stability as it approaches the carrying capacity of the environment.

Feel free to use a graphing tool or software to plot these points and visualize the trends accordingly!