Aquatic ecosystem

Algae are a natural component of aquatic ecosystems, however, due to the magnifying effects of climate change and nutrient pollution of natural waters, as well as considering the growing demands on potable water due to growing populations, algal blooms pose a growing threat to water safety. We are observing increasing instances of algal blooms, which pose a significant threat to human and native ecosystem health, reduce aesthetic quality of source water by causing taste and odor issues, and may…

water clarity. These discussions are key to understanding how a fish or other aquatic organisms behave when in an environment that is not clean. Research done in areas such as Lake Tahoe showed that invasive species can affect the water quality and make it unable for fish to survive. This is due to invasive species having the same diet as fish. The most interesting part of this class was doing a presentation on an Aquatic Ecology topic of our choice. The other student presentations provided…

negative impacts on the ecosystem and environment. While some well-intentioned people believe that the environment would not be affected by biodiversity (biological diversity) problems, I hold onto the view that biodiversity issues strongly influence ecosystems in that they not only effect on the land, but also will create significant challenges for the air and the water resources. Biodiversity is commonly defined as the variety of all life. It includes genetic, species and ecosystem…

impact the surrounding ecosystems in a negative way. This can be referred to as forest fragmentation. Forest fragmentation negatively affects the forests connectivity and function. Fragmentation caused by mine reclamation is said to be “two-sided because both the effect that natural habitat has on the restored area, and the effect the restored area has on natural habitat.” (Craig et al. 2015) It is known “edge effects increase with increasing contrast between habitats forming the edge with…

ecological components that included behaviour, condition, habitat use, energy intake and inter/intra specific interactions, etc. Accurate description of fish diets and feeding habits also provides the basis for understanding trophic interactions in aquatic food webs. Conceptually, trophic relations of fishes begin with foods and feeding behaviour of individuals or species. Diet composition analysis can be used to evaluate effects of ontogeny, or the establishment of exotic species (Gelwick &…

With little knowledge of the potential threat to foreign ecosystems, a cargo ship could travel from one region of the world to another, bringing with it any and all alien species aboard, whether intentional or not. It is most commonly thought that the first zebra mussel species was brought to North America in the…

biome on Earth and covers roughly 70% of our planet (KDE Santa Barbara 1). A biome is a community of both flora and fauna in a large habitat (Postlethwait and Hopson). The saltwater biome is a community in a saltwater habitat. This group of similar ecosystems includes oceans, seas, saltwater lakes, and salt estuaries. It touches the edge of the continents and can even be surrounded by other biomes. The saltwater biome has five major oceans -Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern- and…

integral components of many golf courses that serve a number of important functions; they provide water for irrigation, mitigate flooding by holding stormwater and can serve as important design features. Water features are rich, complex, living ecosystems that provide habitat for plants, animals and microorganisms. Water features evolve over time and most require some level of management to remain in good condition. The maintenance practices used to manage a water feature depend on its age, size…

biodiversity. It is very important for us humans to preserve biodiversity. Without doing so, the result could be mass extinction of several species. Many ecosystems provide important natural functions, for example micro-organisms in an ecosystem are vital in the breakdown of dead plant and animal remains and thus the recycling of nutrients. Also, ecosystems provide mankind with many necessary resources such as wood. Personally I feel that biodiversity should be preserved as there are still…

Biodiversity is a very important part to the ecosystem. It is defined as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” There is more evidence pilling up that it is being lost at all scales. This is a complex system that is not only important to a healthy environment globally and…