Panda Bears

Panda Bears

Ecological niches are descriptions of the role that a species plays in an environment. The way that a species gets its food, that is, “earns its living,” can be of significance to other species. Some species such as panda occupy a narrow niche as do koala bears, which live entirely on eucalyptus leaves. Pigs, in contrast, are generalists and feed on almost anything.

Habitats can be destroyed by natural or human causes (Esmein, 2007). Volcanoes can cover wide areas burying all living things under a layer of ash and lava. If a unique species has developed a special niche in the area of a dormant volcano that returns to life, it can be destroyed by geological developments.

The Communist victory in China in 1949 resulted in the whole of China being put under central planning for the first time. Initially, the changes were minor and administrative in many areas, with so much of the population at peace in the country since the warlord period of the 1920s, the civil war, the war with Japan and the final stage of the civil war from 1945 until 1949. China's industry was badly damaged in the fighting, as well as substantial amount of the country's infrastructure—roads, railways, hospitals, and schools (Elvin, 2008). This meant that the new government had to divert many resources to these projects, as well as to sending soldiers to Korea from 1950 to 1954, and giving support to other friendly governments such as North Vietnam (Elvin, 2008).

After land reform, the breakup of the big estates, and destruction of the landlord class, the next program embarked by the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong was to see through his plans for the industrialization of the country. The Great Leap Forward campaign of 1958-60, urging for the creation of a large steel industry, ...