Ecosystems

by Oak-Hickory forests and karst topography; and the Meramec River follows a riffle-run pattern of stream flow (Blanc 1999, Thom et al). Before people dominated the landscape, the driving forces of nature shaped the topography and the subsequent ecosystems that evolved, leaving behind biological and geological relics from the last glacial period (Nagel, 2010). These relics are seen today in the form of outcrops, caves, and ancient species thriving in the cool crevices of this geography (Nagel,…

Brazil is the largest country in South America. Its home to about 200 million people and variety of ecosystems. The connection between the society and the environment presents two major issues to the enormous country. One being the amount of poverty that floods throughout the area and the other being a crucial amount of environmental damage. This relationship can flow either way in a positive or negative aspect. Research shows that there can be a benefit rather than a detriment. Researchers in…

The objective of the article was to present a review of the effects of large fires on different ecosystem in the west. The article highlights the different forest development patterns in specific western ecosystems. The section about the northern Rocky Mountains was helpful in respect to the design of our research project because there was information on the history of fires, severity patterns and succession…

competition between two different species. Interspecific competition results from many species with similar niches and limited resources available. A niche is defined as an area that a species inhabits, the role or function of the species in the ecosystem and the species relationship with all is biotic and abiotic factors affecting it (Biology online dictionary, 2015).The limiting resources could be resources such as mates’ nutrients and space (M. Beals, L. Gross, S. Harrell, 1999). Competition…

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…

Earthworm invasion in previously earthworm free regions (e.g., glaciated northern part of North America and Europe) has become a conservation threat to rare native species, community, and ecosystems (Gundale 2002; Hale et al. 2006; Nuzzo et al 2009; Maerz et al. 2009; Sutherland et al. 2011; Nuzzo et al. 2015). In 2011, Sunderland and coauthors identified earthworm invasions in previously earthworm free regions as one of the 15 most immerging issues of biodiversity conservation. One of the…

disturbance is often associated with negative connotations. However, ecologically speaking, disturbance is a natural and vital process that can ultimately help facilitate the development of an ecosystem (Attiwill, 1994). In general, disturbance is an event that causes a change in the structure of an ecosystem, resource availability, and/or the physical environment (Turner, 2010). There are also disturbance regimes, which focuses on the temporal and spatial dynamics of disturbance on a longer…

for us to use natural resources, they exist for His glory and pleasure first and foremost. If He knows and loves the sparrows that fall to the ground, then He also cares about how we treat the environment. We glorify Him when we properly steward ecosystems because it demonstrates both that we care to know Him through His creation and that we want to honor Him by learning about how His world operates. Second, the reasons for environmental restoration are similar to the reasons for sanctification.…

Since producers won’t be able to make food, the consumers won’t be able to eat, and then decomposers won’t have anything to decompose and break down. The cycling in the ecosystems will eventually not happen so the ecosystem will fall apart. Other trees that have already grown are blocking the sunlight from reaching the sprouts. In other words many sprouts are competing for the sparse amount of sunlight. The sprouts may also be competing for water and other ingredients necessary to grow.…

life, not just for getting rid of arthropods and other pest, but for the culture itself, the people even say ‘"Soy de aquí como el coquí" (I 'm as Puerto Rican as a coquí)”(Rivera 2016). This animal is valued and it is beneficial not just to the ecosystem by to the…