▶ Your Answer:
The lecture argues that prairie dogs should not be exterminated because they do not harm the land and people, while the reading states that they are harmful in several ways, and they should be exterminated.
To begin with, the professor states that they do not harm the land, and they actually prevent errosion by digging holes, because water penetrates through it. The reading supports that when prairie dogs dig the holes, they make the surrouding soil unstable, and make plants difficult to grow. Besides, the lecture claims that prairie dogs do not infect people with diseases. Since, they avoid people, they are unlikely to have physical contacts with humans. Also, other rodents are the ones who carry diseases, not the prairie dogs. The reading argues that prairie dogs have low resistances to bubonic plague, and they tend to bite peopel when they feel threatened. This can be results in infecting people with a bubonic plague. Finally, the lecture notes that they do not harm the plants. Instead of harming the crops, they prevent harming by eat insects which harms the crops. In contrast, the reading argues that in some places, prairie dogs eat up to 90 percent of the vegetaion and it greatly reduces ranchers' profits.
In conclusion, prairie dogs can be harmful or have a positive effect on our world, but the lecturer suggest that prairie dogs should not be exterminated because they are not harmful.
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