Ecosystem

Diversity in ecosystems has to do with a combination of keystone species, symbiosis, and adaptations. First of all, in my keystone species presentation about grizzly bears I said, “grizzly bears control the population of moose, elk, and other hoofed animals which allow other plants to grow.” If grizzly bears did not exist the population of those animals would increase. And that would lead to there being less plants in those areas which means there would be less animals that live in the trees…

of animal domestication: getting rid of predatory animals or adopting farm animals. Getting rid of predatory animals, such as wolves from the Yellowstone National Park, led to a drastic domino effect. Once one species is moved from the ecosystem, the entire ecosystem changes and can bring disastrous outcomes (Diamond, 2002). For farm animals, humans have domesticated various animals ever since the agricultural revolution. Through domestication, humans altered the genetic compositions of these…

A changing climate is proving a threat to the world. Increased CO2 emissions are leading to rising sea levels, melting ice caps, extreme weather, and an increased rate in the extinction of species. However, the question of why endangered species are important to conserve arises. What is the purpose of devoting the effort to protect a single species when so many more exist? The ignorance argument, as Elliott Sober outlines in his article “Philosophical Problems for Environmentalism,” offers a…

Erin Allbritton BIO103 3/2/17 Professor Van Breukelen Chapter 5-Ecosystems and Living Organisms 1. How do biologists define evolution? Biologists define evolution as the cumulative genetic changes that occur in a population of organisms over time. 2. What are Darwin’s four premises of evolution by natural selection? 1. High Productive Capacity- Each species produce more offspring than will survive to maturity. 2. Heritable…

It is considered a foundation species for certain ecosystems that it is present in, essentially meaning that the hemlocks play a large role in how the environment is shaped by having a disproportionate amount of influence on its surrounding area (Adkins and Rieske).…

my selection for an urban park, I chose Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works – a uniquely “urban” ecosystem located in the city’s core. Formerly Toronto’s chief brick manufacturing facility, Brick Works has since been converted into a wholly committed city park, devoted to the preservation of greenspace, integration of natural ecosystems into the urban environment and educational facilitation. Among the ecosystem services, Brickworks largely focuses on supporting and cultural values in its…

The loss of biodiversity is a direct reflection of the actions of the human race. Non-native invasive species, plants and animals alike are causing a drastic shift in the ecosystem and while these foreign aliens thrive they are consequently killing native species in the surrounding areas. While humans take most of the blame, other factors such as weather also play a role in the relocation of certain species; the natural occurrence of relocation is why it is crucial that the human race stop…

injured fish, not because they are easily hunted, but because it helps prevent the life in aquatic ecosystems from getting ill, too. Also, these sharks have a high status in the food web and use their intimidation to prevent food shortages like over grazed seagrasses and other main food sources for aquatic life. They also feed upon over populated species to prevent unusual numbers in the ecosystems’ food web. Trophic cascade is how an alteration in behavior of one species affects all the other…

creatures, but you’re more likely to be killed by your kitchen toaster than a shark!”. The odds of being killed by a shark is 1 in 3,748,067 as stated by thewildlifemuseum.com and if the world continues to kill sharks, they will disappear from our ecosystem and topple the food chain. In the articles, “What Do You Know About Sharks?” by Sharon Guynup and “Great White Sharks” by Peter Benchley along with the the infographic by Discovery called “Status of The Shark” support the claim that sharks…

apex predators. Apex predators are very important in an ecosystem because they help the ecosystem to stay biodiverse. For example, wolves which are apex predators, they eat on the elks that would normally feed on the willows. Consequentially, the elimination of wolves was seen as an object of concern because now that there would be no more wolves to feed on the elks, the willows stared to slowly decline. The willows are important to the ecosystem because they serve as the basis of a food…