Definition of fixed cost and variable cost

Definition of fixed cost and variable cost Fixed cost (FC): is a cost that remains constant, in total, regardless of changes in the level of activity. Fixed costs are not affected by changes in activity. Consequently, as the activity level rises and falls, total fixed costs remain constant unless influenced by some outside force. But fixed cost per unit decreases as the activity level rises and increases as the activity level falls. (Garrison etal., 2006, P49). Fixed costs include salaries of executives, interest expense, rent, depreciation, and insurance expenses. . Variable cost (VC): is a cost that varies, in total, in direct proportion o changes in the level activity. The activity can be expressed in many ways, such as units produced, units sold, miles driven, beds occupied, lines of print, hours worked and so forth. But variable cost per unit remains constant. ((Garrison etal., 2006, P48). Direct cost, indirect cost and overhead costs Direct costs: is a cost that can be easily and conveniently traced to the particular cost object under consideration. The concept of direct cost extends beyond just direct materials and direct labor. (Garrison etal., 2006, P50). Example: the salary of supervisor in marketing department is the direct cost for marketing department. The salary is likely the same each month not depend on the quantity of sales product. Indirect costs: is a cost that cannot be easily and conveniently traced to the particular cost object under consideration. (Garrison etal., 2006, P50).   Each business has its own method of allocating indirect costs to different products, sources of sales revenue and  business units.  Business managers and accounts should always keep an eye on the allocation methods used for indirect costs. Example: Depreciation on the production machine is also an indirect product cost, it stays the same each year not depend on the volume produced on the machine. Costs can be direct and indirect depending on the cost object: product, department,  and others such as division, customer, or geographic market. The total amount of the  cost remain the same as volume changes, it is fixed cost. It is a variable cost if the total cost change in proportion to the change in the activity or volume. Overhead costs: the indirect recurring costs of running a business that are not linked directly to the goods or service produced and sold. Overhead costs can include payments for the rent of premises, utility bills, and employees salaries. Controllable costs and uncontrollable costs Controllable cost: are those costs which can be regulated or controlled by specified member of an undertaking. Most of the variable costs are controllable costs. For example, direct material, direct labor and direct expenses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦are controlled by the lower level of management. Uncontrollable cost: can not be controlled by the specified member of the undertaking. Most of the fixed costs are uncontrollable cost. For example, factory rental expense, supervisors salary, depreciation. Evaluate the statement I have trouble with the terminology-direct costs, also called variable costs, are the ones that are controllable. Whereas indirect costs or overheads, also called fixed costs, are uncontrollable. Based on the definitions above, I strongly disagree with the statement because the delegate assumed wrongly about the cost. There are many ways to classified cost depending on the purpose of management. According to association with products, costs are divided into product costs and period costs. According to identifiably, costs are divided into direct cost and indirect cost. According to behavior, costs are divided into fixed cost, variable cost and semi- variable cost. According to controllability, costs are divided into controllable costs and uncontrollable costs. Direct cost can be fixed cost and variable cost depending on situations For example: the salary of supervisor in manufacture department is the direct cost for manufacture department. The salary is likely the same each month not depend on the quantity of product. It is a fixed cost of manufacture department. Raw material supply for manufacture department is a direct cost for department but it is a variable cost, total amount of supplies use in the department increases if the volume in the department increases. Indirect costs can be fixed costs and variable cost also: In opposition to direct cost, most of indirect cost is fixed cost. For example rental cost is indirect cost for part production, it is a fixed cost of manufacture department stay the same each month, its not depend on the number of product. But indirect cost can be variable cost also. The cost of electricity for administration of manufacture department is variable cost monthly depending on the number of electricity use more or less. Controllable cost and uncontrollable cost Most of variable costs are controllable. To illustrate: low level manager in manufacture product is the direct monitoring and control of production process. They can be managing the raw material use to create product and direct labors that mean control the number of employees needed to complete product. Management can organize the use of resources effectively in the short term. On the other hand, many of fixed costs are uncontrollable. They are imposed in terms of management such as business can not decide the rental fees of factory, the rent for his unit negotiated by higher management, or the rates dictated by the local authority. Question 2 1. Participative budgeting Budget preparation is the process by which organizational goals are translated into a plan that specifies the allocated resources, the selected processes, and the desired schedule for achieving these goals. There are two main types of budgeting: bottom-up budgeting and top-down budgeting. Participative budgeting is a method of preparing budgets in which managers prepare their own budgets. These budgets are then reviewed by the managers supervisor, and any issues are resolved by mutual agreement. Manager Marketing Manager Sales Vice President Sales Vice President Finance President and CEO Vice President Production Cashier Controller Manager Manufacturing Manager Distribution All level of an organization should work together to create the budget. Each level in organization should contribute in the way that it best can in a cooperative effort to develop budget. Lower level management is responsible for setting the estimate of budget data in a participative system and submits them to the next higher level of management. Before the budget is accepted, they must be reviewed and evaluated by middle management before they are transferred to the organization. Advantage of participative budgeting Participative budgeting is relevant to all member of particular project, it helps to encourage all participants contribute idea to built a project effectively. Budget information is given clearly and fairly accurate because it use of the data available at the project management level Working motivation is higher when an individual directly involved in setting goals rather than goals imposed from above. Self-imposed budget made commitments to implement the goals. If the budget has been setting from top management, managers can say that budget is unreasonable or impractical to start, could not be performed. With participative budget, it does not happen when the managers set a budget for themselves. Disadvantage of participative budget Time consuming and costly because too many participants involved in setting budget project. The influence of top manager is limited over the budget process. However, when the lower-level managers plan the short budgets and mid-range budgets, outlining organizational policies and goals, they can influence the outcome by issuing a statement. Individual tend to overstate the real resource needs because they think that all budget will be cut in certain proportion by top manager and set a goal lower than actual for easy to achieve the goal. 2. Budget variance a. Definition of budget variance: Total budget variance is simply the difference between the actual cost of the input and its planned cost. Total variance = Price variance + Usage variance In standard costing systems, the total variance is broken down into price and usage variance. Price variance is the difference between the actual and standard unit price of an input multiplied by the number of unit used. Usage variance is the difference between the actual and standard quantity of inputs multiplied by the standard unit price of the input. Total variance = (AP x AQ) (SP x SQ) ACTUAL COST (AQ x AP) STANDARD COST (SQ x SP) STANDARD COST (SQ x SP) ACTUAL COST (AQ x AP) > FAVORABLE VARIANCE (ACTUAL UNFAVORABLE VARIANCE (ACTUAL > STANDARD) AQ means the actual quantity of input used to produce the output AP means the actual price of the input used to produce the output SQ means the standard quantity SP means the standard price Favorable variance and unfavorable variance are not equivalent to good and bad variance. The terms indicate the relationship of the actual price or quantities to the standards prices and quantities. b. Budget variance investigation Managers responsibility is carefully calculated the variance because that is a part of effective control of organization. In general, it is difficult to manage external sources of budget variance (government policy, stock market, fluctuation of exchange rateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) rather than internal sources (raw material, cost per hour on direct labor). Management should know about the acceptable range of performance. If the budget has a favorable balance that means it has brought the profit to the company. Conducting an investigation to find out the reason why the variance of budget was favorable and it could be made more than in the future. If the variance is small, it should not be too worried. In fact, a little variance between actual budget and the projected figures is always happens. With the very small difference, the manager can ignore them, no need to adopt strong action because it does not bring terrible consequences for the business. So, with little difference, the best way to solve is simply putting it into stride. If the budget has unfavorable variance, head of department need to conduct an investigation to find out the main causes by external influence or internal influence. For example the increase of raw material usage per unit more than allowed standard because it was poor condition of machine or poor manufacturing. Find the cause and how to fix the problem; it is a good measure to prevent a similar situation may occur in the future. After having adverse variance the budget needs to rewrite or the budget needs to verify by internal audit. Question 3 Explain the term used in the statement 1. Committed fixed costs Committed fixed costs relate to the investment in facilities, equipment, and basic organizational structure. The two characteristics of committed fixed costs are that they are long term in natural, and they cannot be significantly reduced event for short periods of time without seriously impairing the profitably or long- run goals of the organization. Even if operations are interrupted or cut back, the committed fixed cost will still continue largely unchanged (Garrison etal., 2006, P190). For example: Vietnam airlines has total 80 aircraft, the company must pay money for depreciation, maintenance and insurance expense. The expense is not depend on the number of times the plane fly or the number of passenger in plane. It is a committed fixed cost. Decisions to acquire major equipment or to take on other committed fixed costs involve a long planning horizon. Management should make such commitments only after carefully analysis of the available alternatives. Once a decision is made to acquire committed resources, the company may be locked in to the decision for many years to come (Garrison etal., 2006, P191). For example the total committed fixed cost of renting the building for the hotel is very high and the company must commit to pay for it at least 5 years in Vietnam. Uneven revenue flows It is showed that the difference of demand (low or high) for product or service in different periods. At times the company is very busy and at others it suffers from very slack periods. The hospitality industry is often divided into two distinct seasons: high season and low season. The period time between two seasons can move and change each year. In high season, the hotel does not have enough room for customer and the room rate is very high that bring large of profit for the hotel. In contrast, in low season the hotel must reduce the price and apply promotion to attract tourist. It is a common situation of hotel and resort. The implication of the above situation for the company Many of our cost are committed fixed cost. Our revenue flows occur very unevenly. To be profitable we have to take a flexible approach to pricing The company in hospitality industry has large proportion of fixed cost for the initial investment so the break even point is also very high. Company will operate with high level of capacity before earning a profit. But when passed break even point the profit will increase rapidly. Committed fixed cost has a little effect to the level of costs in the short term. Revenue is the money the company receives for selling their product or service. It is calculated by taking the selling price and multiplying it by the number of units sold. Profit is the amount of money left over after costs have been covered. It is calculated by: total revenue minus total costs. Therefore, profits will not be improved by a greater emphasis on cost management of costs. The company will get profit if the revenue is maintained consistently above break even level. Due to the nature of leisure industry, the product is not in storage so the focus on revenue during the period low level of demand is the necessary task of this company. By adopting a flexible approach the company is adapting the price of the product or service to suit the situation of the company and the amount of money customers are willing to pay. But the given price must be greater than variable cost and above break event point. This pricing strategy is designed to attract as much business as possible when the company has spare capacity. The price will be increased for busy periods when the company can expect to operate near to full capacity. For example: In Vietnam, Da Nang has a long beautiful coastline. Seaside hotels have a high level of demand in the summer (from May to August), this time mainly to serve domestic tourist. The room rates are usually higher two times as much as normal. The hotels have maximum revenue in this period. In the low season from October to February next year, the hotel has launched promotions to attract tourist such as discount 30% room rate at Furama Resort or stay 2 night get 1 night free at Golden Sand Resort. In this case, at times of low volume an inflexible, cost orientated approach to pricing.

The Lie of the Land :: Haydn Middleton Davids Story

The Lie of the Land The Lie of the Land, written by Haydn Middleton, is a novel about protagonist David Nennius and his past, present, and future. David tells readers about his past through sections entitled "David's Story," a narrative that he is writing in which he reveals secrets about his conception, birth, life, and impending death. Through this, we learn that David is the son of the sky and that there is a woman who has claimed him as her own. This woman haunts him with the statement "I know you, I have found you, and I will not let you go," and in the end, he will "dance in the brightest light the dance of death at the gateway to Albion" (p. 84-85). He constantly lives in this woman's shadow and cannot know happiness with another, so after his is married to Melissa and fathers a son, Art, David knew "that he would dance before his time" and "that there would be more than one end" (188). In this so-called "end before the end," David found his 13 year old son being forced to give a man oral sex in a bathroom in a park, and, outraged, David kills the man. Soon after, Melissa and Art leave, and after some time, David believes that he is given a new beginning when he finds a man named Quinn at his allotment on top of the mound under which he had buried the man he murdered. In time, David loses faith in this false hope and believes that he has to die to atone for what he has done. This he shares with a girl named Rachel whom he meets at the Good Samaritan center. When Quinn and Rachel find David's Story, they are convinced that it is "the beginning of a very long suicide note," and the two intervene to keep David from taking his own life (154). Middleton, Haydn. The Lie of the Land. New York: Ballantine Books, 1989. Ordinary People Ordinary People is a novel about an adolescent boy named Conrad Jarrett. The story begins after Conrad has returned home from spending eight months in a hospital for attempting to commit suicide after he was involved in a sailing accident in which his older brother Jordan was killed. In the accident, a storm arose while the boys were on the lake with their sailboat. The two worked to control the boat, but it tipped and they fell into the icy water.

Preoccupation with Death in Hamlet Essay

â€Å"Hamlet† is a play permeated with death. Right from the opening scene of the play death is introduced, where the ghost of Hamlet’s father introduces the idea of death and its consequences. Preoccupation with death is a major theme in this play as shown in the numerous deaths of the main characters of Hamlet, Polonius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Claudius and Laertes. Taken off the web accurate definitions of â€Å"preoccupation† are the following: 1)a state in which you think about something so much that you do not think about other things; 2)something that you think about and want to do because it is important. This is exactly what the main characters are preoccupied by-death. An example would be that Hamlet is preoccupied by death throughout the story. It is apparent that Hamlet is haunted by his father’s death. When Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father, their conversation raises all kinds of unthinkable questions, for example murder by a brother, an unfaithful mother, that triggers Hamlet’s obsession. He feels compelled to determine the reliability of the ghost’s statements so that he can determine how he must act. Ultimately, it is his obsession with death that leads to Hamlet avenging the death of his father by killing Claudius. Although Hamlet’s preoccupation is deeply rooted in his character’s fascination with death, it could be a product of his grief. Hamlet’s most potent consideration of death comes in Act 4, Scene 3. His almost gruesome fixation with the idea of death is revealed by his mockery and such when asked by Claudius where he has hidden Polonius’ body. Hamlet’s answers seem to reveal an extremely morbid state of mind. Hamlet exclaimed how once the body dies, it goes through a cycle where it is eaten by worms, these worms are used to get food for another person therefore, that person digests the dead body. Finally, the graveyard scene shows how Hamlet views death and that he fears how no matter who you were or what you did that someday you too, will be at one with the earth and dirt only to become decayed, fed upon and then nothing. â€Å"No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty enough and likelihood to lead it; as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was uried, Alexander returned into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam: and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop at a beer-barrel? † (Act 5, Scene 1 Lines 201-206) As Hamlet continuously postponed the death of Claudius he became more preoccupied with the various ways he could have his revenge. Hamlet has completed his transformation from an unhappy young man to a hardened killer. He has no hope and despite Horatio’s praise, by this time he would not have made a good king.

Buddhist Monk in Letter Form essays

Buddhist Monk in Letter Form essays Growing up I was very poor and unhappy. I decided very young that the only way to truly understand happiness was to become wealthy. At the age of 12, I went out and got a job as an assistant for a scientist. However, I wanted to make a lot of money. Therefore I chose to work for an evil, rich man. His unethical line of work consisted of terrible studies done on people with physical and mental handicaps. Whenever I would help him with the unethical part of his studies, something bad always happened to my family or me. After multiple mysterious accidents causing death to my family and plenty of injuries to me, I realized money didnt make me happy. I wanted out of the business once I made a connection between my work and my bad luck. I realized I needed change in my life. So I went out and sought knowledge, as you are now. I discovered Buddhism. This is what I found and I hope it will help you. The reason bad things are happening to you and your family/friends is simple. Its called Karma and means the law of moral cause and effect. It includes past and present actions and good or bad karma results from our own actions. Meaning that every time you off someone this is seen as a bad thing and you must receive the bad effects of this. You need to change your life and your occupation. You cannot kill and not expect consequences. Buddhism teaches that the law of karma and the four noble truths, basics of the Buddhas teaching, will help end your suffering. Here are the four noble truths. First, no one can deny that suffering is the conditions of all existence. Buddha understands that everyone suffers. However, he believes that you can end this suffering. The explained reason for this suffering is the second noble truth that general dissatisfaction comes to human beings because they are possessive, greedy! ...

Social Justice Wrays Essential Aspects of Biblical Law and Justice

Social Justice Wrays Essential Aspects of Biblical Law and Justice Introduction The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Wray’s essential aspects of Biblical Law and Justice in light of what it offers religious educators for the classroom study of justice. A large portion of the Bible has been dedicated to the issue of law and justice.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Justice: Wray’s Essential Aspects of Biblical Law and Justice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, religious educators who teach about justice in classrooms today must go back to the Bible and look at biblical legal codes and justice. Justice has become a matter of concern for many people in modern societies. Nevertheless, it is a concept that is socially constructed, meaning that it is subject to contextual interpretation. Various Interpretations of Biblical Laws and Justice Wray has conducted an extensive study on the subject of social justice and suggests that students taking any course on law or social justice must go back to the origins of these laws and justice, in this case the Bible. He maintains that biblical laws and justice should be taught in the classroom in a bid to tackle some of the prevalent issues affecting modern societies, including laws, prohibitions and injunctions (Wray, 2011, p. 161). Indeed, the quest for social justice has been highlighted by many social philosophers for many centuries since the emergence of enlightenment and industrial revolution. The industrial revolution and the emergence of capitalist economies gave rise to social decay and the erosion of social values as most people were subjected to hard social and economic conditions.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The world is divided between the haves and the have-nots. In theory, social justice is an attempt to address the question of equity and fair distribution of income and resources. The theory of justice implies that people should be treated equally (Miller, 1999). The concept of social justice is widely used today to refer to the fair distribution of resources amongst the members of the society. For many centuries, this concept has been applied in various societies, but it is evident that even today discrimination of the poor from the market economy still continues (Miller, 1999). However, regardless of what has been researched, written or formulated as part of our social policies, justice is far from being realized. Perhaps it can be argued that humanity have rejected the origins of these laws and regulations and came up with mere philosophies that does not address the real problems. The best model for social justice is in the Bible which in Borg’s view is the foundation for political and personal transformation. Any attempt to fight for social justice must be based on the word of God because the Kingdom of God is the heart of jus tice (Borg, 2003). Borg also argues that although the American society promotes the principles of individualism, all humans are part of a wider social-economic, political, cultural, and faith systems that promotes social lives in the community (Borg, 2003). Borg goes back to the biblical account to show God’s passion for social and political justice. He maintains that Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God in the New Testament is all about justice (Borg, 2003).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Social Justice: Wray’s Essential Aspects of Biblical Law and Justice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Similarly, views have been expressed by O’ Donohue who states that the biblical concept of justice is intrinsically connected to human relationship. He argues that God demands for justice that does not appear in abstract, but the kind of justice that exists within our human lives. True justice emer ges from the relationship between humanity and God and fellow humanity. It starts with the individual then moves on to society (O’ Donahue, 1977). This is the line of argument that Wray has followed. In his view, biblical law and justice should be the main text for students studying social justice and other law related courses. The most important part of these texts is that which deals with Torah on the Old Testament and the Kingdom of God in the New Testament. These texts contain the golden rules upon which we derive our mannerism and ways of treating other people. The purpose of the biblical laws was originally given to regulate human behavior in a manner that was intended by God from the beginning (Wray, 2011). Consequently, these laws have become the cornerstone for legal codes that governs modern civilized societies. This is not to say that the modern societies are perfect. But regardless of their levels of civilizations crime, injustices and immoralities are still the o rder of the day. We still have many cases of rape, murders, theft, slandering, corruption, fraud, and lying, even as the bible prohibits such behaviors.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Our jails and prisons are full of people have been locked up for going against these laws. These laws have governed the world since the days of ancient Israel when they were first given to control humans but their behaviors are still the same (Berger, 2007). This does not imply that these laws are ineffective. In fact, they are still unique and effective if applied appropriately. Wray laments that most religious educators and preachers do not discuss biblical justice with the laws of Israel. This means that one cannot teach about observing the laws without first developing a relationship with the lawgiver, who is God. For instance, treating other people fairly, defending the poor and the weak can only demonstrate the existing covenant relationship with God. The Four Assumptions of Biblical Laws and Justice Wray also outlines four main assumptions connected to the interpretation of the biblical laws and justice (Wray, 2011). The first assumptions that are commonly held by many people purports that the Ten Commandments were given by God and therefore God’s people are obliged to abide by these rules and regulations. In Wray’s view, the ten commandments should be treated like’ formulaic prohibitions’ that controls human behaviors and legalizes how the community needs to relate with each other (2011, p.162). He continues to suggest that the interpretation of the law should not be confined to the Ten Commandments only, but should include the entire Torah including other 600 laws. However, there are divergent views concerning the interpretation and practice of Torah (biblical laws from genesis to Deuteronomy) between various Christian denominations and other world religions (Wray, 2011). The second assumption suggests that when one breaks these laws then they are subjected to punishment which in Wray’s view has given birth to retributive justice. The interpretation of this concept has brought lots of complications to the understandi ng of crime and punishment, commonly referred to in the bible as an eye to eye. Wray claims that biblical laws are divided into two areas, the apodictic laws which include the Ten Commandments which in most cases are prohibitory nature. He argues that this group of laws does not contain any elements of punishment attached to them, rather they were meant to deter the offenders from committing the offence. In other words, they are precautionary or preventive rather curative. They are unique and different from any other laws found in Ancient Near Eastern regions (Wray, 2011). However, Wray indicates that the second type of the laws can be grouped as casuistic because they are more of case laws which were common in the Ancient near eastern societies and commonly used in court cases in even in those days. From his assessment of these two types of laws, Wray concludes the entire Torah were specifically give to the Children to regulate their devotion to God and control how they behave towa rds their human beings (Wray, 2011). According to Wray, the third assumption supports and advocates for Golden rule. This rule suggests that we should treat others fairly and then expect the same in return. He argues that the Golden Rule promotes justice and fairness in the society. It addresses the notion of fairness and justice and especially to the weak, oppressed and poor. While the fourth assumption purports that justice is about caring for those people in the society who are less fortunate, socially disadvantaged and marginalized (Wray, 2011). Conclusion This paper has attempted to evaluate Wray’s paper which suggests that the essential aspects of biblical law and justice must be taught to classrooms for those studying justice and law related a subjects. Social justice is still a major concern for many societies and the solution is to go back to the basics. The author argues that justice is socially constructed; meaning that its interpretation differs from one society t o another. Wray argues that the biblical laws upon which our modern legal code and social values are based were originated given by God to govern human behaviors and regulate how they relate with God and fellow humanity. Therefore, true justice must start with the individual’s close relationship with God and then be reflected and translated back to the society. This implies that our view and practice of justice must begin with the individual person and stream down to the society. Furthermore, it supports the argument that religious educators must teach the individual students to change their own views and attitudes as individuals before they can go out there and transform the rest of society. Reference List Berger, R. M. (2007). What the heck is social justice? Sojourners Magazine, 36(2), 37. Borg, M. (2003). The kingdom of God: The heart of justice. In The heart of Christianity. pp. 127-148. San Francisco: Harper Collins. Miller, D. (1999). Principles of social justice. Camb ridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. O’Donahue, J. (1977). Biblical perspectives on justice. In Haughey, J. (Ed). The faith that does justice. pp. 68-112. New York: Paulist Press. Wray, T. J. (2011). What the Bible really tells us: The essential guide to biblical literacy. Lanham, Md: Rowman Littlefield.

BHS 455 (Computer & Information Systems) Module 2 CBT Essay

BHS 455 (Computer & Information Systems) Module 2 CBT - Essay Example One study by (Baggs & Schmitt, 1997) found several major positive outcomes form nurses and physicians working together, they were described as improving patient care, feeling better in the job, and controlling costs. In another study (Alpert et al., 1992) also found that collaboration among physicians and nurses led to increased functional status for patients and a decreased time from admission to discharge. The information that generally needs to be shared at Presbyterian Hospital mostly focuses on patient records and backgrounds. Both physicians and nurses must have access to patient medical records in order to know what to do to help the patient. Furthermore, both nurses and physicians need to also have access to the patient in order to meet and treat the patient. Physicians will usually make the final diagnosis on a patient, especially in the hospital. This is where some of the information between physicians and doctors may differ. While the physician interprets and makes the diagnosis most often, it us up to the physician to then provide that information to the nurse, so the nurse can take the appropriate steps with the patient.

Natural and houman life in Mono Lake Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Natural and houman life in Mono Lake - Essay Example While many species find the lake unfavorable for life due to its high pH and alkalinity, the alkali flies find a lot of benefit in these conditions (Herbst1& Bradley1 670). The water of the lake provides a natural breeding ground to the flies much as it provides good ground for feeding as it is filled with different kinds of algae; blue and green (Herbst1& Bradley1 670). Many species of birds live around Mono Lake and many others travel from as far as South America and take time to rest and rejuvenate on as they migrate from different places. The birds mostly find the Mono Lake a suitable ground for breeding as there is plentiful supply of food in the form of alkali flies and brine shrimps, especially between mid summer and fall (Cash & Bradley 312). It is estimated that over 100 bird species in totaling millions grace the Mono lake area at different times of the year (Mono Basin Ecosystem Study Committee of the National Research Council 46). It is estimated that more than 44,000 California Gulls find breeding ground around the lake in spring every year (Mono Basin Ecosystem Study Committee of the National Research Council 46). Some of the birds that are found in the wider Mono Lake region include red-necked phalaropes, flamingoes, egrets, Wilsons phalaropes, horned lark , bank swallow, dusky flycatcher, stellers jay, scrub jay and eared grebes, to name but a few. While the population of water fowls such as ducks was high in the lake several decades ago, this is no longer the case. The ducks, Gadwalls, Geese, Mallards,and Green-winged Teals have almost disappeared over the years as a consequence of the diversion of the river that flowed into the lake in 1941. Humans have lived in the Mono Lake region for a long time. The Kutzadikaa people find benefit from the lake in that they normally hunt alkali flies for food during winter periods as noted by Herbst and Bradley (193). For the different bird species and the tufa mounds that