Population bottlenecks are when population size reduces for a short period of time. Overpopulation may indicate any case in which the population of any species of animal may exceed the carrying capacity of its ecological niche.
The name zirconium comes from the mineral zircon, which is the most important source of the metal. The largest deposits of this mineral are found in Australia, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and the United States. Australia and South Africa are the largest miners of the mineral.
The most ancient samples come from an area in Western Australia known as Jack Hills, where they are embedded in sandstone deposits. Advertisement To extract the zircons from the sandstone, scientists use a hammer to break the rock into chunks about 5 inches across. Then they grind the chunks into a wet sand. The sand goes into a toxic solution that is so dense, only zircon and other very heavy materials sink to the bottom.