...Explain how different factors can influence the variations in global biodiversity (10 marks) The biodiversity of the planet Earth is the total variability of life forms. There are around 1.9 million extant species. There are many factors that can influence the variations in global biodiversity which can be either physical or human. The size of an area heavily decides the variations in biodiversity. The bigger the area, the larger the biodiversity, as large continuous biomes can support a wider range of species and extensive boundaries can encourage migration. Also, a larger area is more susceptible to a variety in climate, which can support a variation in species. A good example of this factor taking place is the Amazon Rainforest. This vast area of 5,500,000 sq.km located in the Amazon Basin of South America has the largest collection of animal and plant species in the world, as wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome. It is home to 10% of the world’s known biodiversity. History and age shows that older and least disturbed ecosystems, is where there is generally higher biodiversity, especially in the tropics, where there are few physical constraints on productivity. Older ecosystems have a greater biodiversity as there is a longer time period for new species to evolve. Not only for new species, but also for migratory species such as birds. Disturbed ecosystems, where deforestation and land reclamation occurs, decreases biodiversity by destroying habitats and...
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...Grasslands are one of the most widespread vegetation types worldwide, accounting for nearly one fifth of the earth’s land .They represent the most important sources of livestock forage, biodiversity, and contribute to the aesthetics and diversity of rural landscapes. Furthermore grasslands play a vital role in global carbon cycling and biodiversity of conversation. There are six terrestrial biomes with which grassland is a part. The five other includes tundra, desert, taiga, deciduous forest and tropical rainforest. Grassland biome includes prairies and open fields and has a wild distribution. It is subjected to all variations of temperature in the temperate zones, from freezing to extremely cold temperatures. It undergoes all the vicissitudes of seasonal climatic factors of wind, rain, and etc. (Elton, C.S., 1927). Elton, C.S. on his book on “The Ecology of Invasion by Animals and Plants, 1958” added that, the physical factors that affect grasslands include temperature, light intensity, wind direction and wind velocity, amount of rain or breeding places. First, temperature being an important factor affects animals inhabiting grasslands in such way that any changes in the temperature can affect the optimum temperature required by these animals, therefore alters their metabolic body activities. Light intensity is another factor that affects grasslands because producers in that area undergoes photosynthesis which requires light that will be used up by animals that depend on plants...
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...MEDITERRANEAN SCRUB Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Federation, is known for dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near colder seas and oceans. Winters are typically mild to cool in low-lying locations but can be cold in inland and higher locations. The Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome occurs in the world's five Mediterranean climate zones, on the west coast of continents in the mid-latitudes, the Mediterranean Basin, Chilean Mattoral, California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California and the Baja California Peninsula, Western Cape of South Africa, and last but not least the Southwest Australia corner area. These regions are home to a great amount diversity of habbitats and species. Vegetation types range from forests to woodlands, savannas, shrublands, and grasslands; landscapes are common, where differing vegetation types are interleaved with one another in complicated patterns created by modifications in soil, exposure to wind and sun, and fire history. Much of the woody vegetation in Mediterranean-climate regions is sclerophyll, which means 'hard-leaved' in Greek. Sclerophyll vegetation generally has small, dark leaves covered with a waxy outer skin to retain moisture in the dry summer months. All these ecoregions are extremely distinctive, harboring 10% of the Earth's plant species. This is equivalent to about 40% of...
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...information in the exhibit human population has exploded since the invention of agriculture and people are transforming the land for farming and the industrial revolution has increased the rate of expansion of cities, roads and manufacturing facilities. I agree that we need to preserve biodiversity as it makes up the structure of the ecosystem and habitats that support essential living resources, including wildlife, fisheries and forests. It also helps provide for basic human needs such as food, shelter and medicine. 3. Biome is a very large area on the earth’s surface with animals and plants adapting to their environment. Biomes are often defined by abiotic factors such as climate, geology, soils and vegetation. The nine Biomes are described in the Hall are Tropical Forests, Tropical Grassland and Savannas, Deserts, Island, Tundra, Temperate and Boreal Forests, Oceans, Freashwater Wetland, Rivers and Lakes, and Coral Reefs and Coastal Wetlands. 4. My favorite Biome is the Tropical Forests- Location- Near the equator in central and south America, parts of Africa and Asia. Characteristics: Hot, humid with equatorial climate and...
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...Try Quantifying and scaling global plant trait diversity TRY is a network of vegetation scientists headed by DIVERSITAS, IGBP, iDiv, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and an international Advisory Board. |Main objectives | |Provide a global archive of plant traits | |Promote trait-based approaches in ecology and biodiversity science | |Support the design of a new generation of global vegetation models | |Current state of database and network | |3 million trait records for about 69000 plant species | |344 participants from 173 scientific institutes worldwide | |125 scientific projects requesting plant trait data from TRY | Quantifying and scaling global plant trait diversity TRY is a network of vegetation scientists headed by DIVERSITAS, IGBP, iDiv, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and an international Advisory Board. |Main objectives | |Provide a global archive of plant traits ...
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...(a)The species have been carried by marine trade on the hulls of ships and in bilge and ballast water and the movements tend to be between developed areas, reflecting trade patterns. Some areas are not involved; these tend to have less trade. There may be some specific knowledge of individual species from Figure 3 which should be credited, as should other species not shown on Figure 3 (rats). The major disruption is to food chains, as the alien species out-compete existing species reducing their numbers or even causing extinction. This can be directly through predation, or indirectly by occupying ecological niches. There is also the possibility that disease might be spread by new species, and in some cases damage to the physical make up of ecosystems (erosion). Biodiversity can be severely reduced, and in the worst cases ecosystems collapse. Level 2 5-7 Structure is satisfactory. Does explain the pattern with some clarity. Some understanding of impact on ecosystems and uses some geographical terminology, but incomplete; makes reference to map. Explanations are clear, but there are areas of less clarity. Lacks full range. There are some grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. (b) Indicative content The question requires both scales of threat to be covered, which could be accomplished using the same or different examples from within the named global ecosystem. In terms of global threats, the likely focus will be on climate change as an overarching threat to forests...
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...The chaparral biome is a temperate shrub land biome found in all five parts of the world with a Mediterranean, dry, coastal climate. The chaparral is primarily found in California and the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. The chaparral is also found around the world in Chile, South Africa, and Western and Southern Australia. The chaparral’s climate is defined by mild, wet winters and hot dry summers. Plants of the Chaparral Plants of the chaparral must survive long periods of heat, fire, and drought. Many plants of the chaparral very closely resemble plants of the desert that can also survive long periods without rain. The South African Chaparral contains many species of plants that are not located anywhere else in the world. Examples...
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...Biomes Tropical rainforest: * What: Hot and wet areas with broadleaved evergreen forest * Where: Within 5°N and S of the equator * Climate, limiting factors: High rainfall(2000-5000 mm yr-1), high temperatures( 26-28°) and high insolation, P>E rain washes nutrients out of the soil, so nutrients may limit plant growth * Structure: amazingly high levels of biodiversity: plants compete for light thus growing tall to absorb it, so there is a multi-storey profile to the forests called stratification. Many niches and habitat for animals and large mammals can get enough food * Net productivity: produce 40% of NPP of terrestrial ecosystems. Fast rates of decomposition, respiration and photosynthesis. Biomass gain very high, rapid recycling of nutrients * Human activity: more than 50% of world’s human population live in the tropics/subtropics forests exploited e.g. nutrients quickly exhausted by agriculture, commercial logging of timber * Issues: logging, conversion to grazing and to plantations forests exploited for economic development * Examples: Amazon rainforest, Borneo rainforest Desert: * What: dry areas usually hot in the day and cold at night as skies are clear and there is little vegetation to insulate the ground. Tropical, temperate, cold deserts * Where: cover 20-30% of the Earth’s land surface, about 30°N and S of the equator where dry air descends. Most are in the middle of continents * Climate, limiting factors: water...
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...be classified as either biotic or abiotic. Biotic factors are other living things that may affect a particular organism, for example predators. In contrast, abiotic factors are nonliving things that affect a particular organism, such as a drought or excessive rain. In reviewing the local ecology and environment of the Commonwealth of Virginia, we must first determine the region’s biome. A biome is the classification of a terrestrial community, primarily determined by climatic factors, such as precipitation patterns and temperature ranges (Enger, Ross, & Tillery, 2009). A biome also provides an indication of the type of plant life and animals that may be present within a particular region. The relationship is interdependent between a biome and the ecological communities contained within it. An ecological community is “an assemblage of co-existing, interacting species, considered together with the physical environment and associated ecological processes, that usually recurs on the landscape” (The Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation, 2012). When reviewing the biomes of the world, we see...
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...South Africa, and Namibia * Australia * Central America - Belize and Honduras * South America - Venezuela and Columbia * Southern Asia * Abitoic facores: -fire Fire is the most important abiotic factor to the savanna. without the constant fires a tropical savanna could turn into a tropical forest -soil it is real important to plants and the animals that eat the plants -air Without it survival would be impossible. -water During the summer or dry season there really isn't a lot of water. Trees store water during the wet season so they have water during the dry season. * Plants * Grasses -Bermuda grass is one of the most common grasses in the tropical savanna biome. With its deep root system, bermuda grass has adapted to the savanna by dying off above ground during periods of drought, while maintaining growth beneath the soil. -Elephant grass grows in clumps and, despite its razor sharp leaves, provides shelter to several types of savanna birds. * Acacia Tree -A medium-sized tree, can reach 65 feet in height with a flat, round top and thorny branches. The acacia is a valuable tree in the tropical savanna, providing shade, shelter and food for the biome's animals. This acacia tolerates harsh conditions and survive up to a year without rain. * Baobab Tree - Leafless for 9 months of the year, the baobab appears to be a tangled mass of gnarled branches atop a tall, thick trunk. The baobab is...
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...A biome is a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and organisms. In Miller and Levine Biology, 10 biomes are discussed. They are the Tropical Rain Forest, Tropical Dry Forest, Tropical Grassland, the Desert, Temperate Grassland, Temperate Woodland, Temperate Forest, Northwestern Coniferous Forest, Boreal Forest, and the Tundra. They all have a vast amount of differences between all of the biomes, and they will be discussed. Although not discussed in the book, the taiga is the biggest biome. The average temperature of the taiga is 32 degrees fahrenheit with about 12 to 33 inches of precipitation per year. There is little diversity in plant life. A few broad leaf tree species live in the taiga but mostly evergreen trees are the only ones that have adapted to really thrive in this environment. There are some animals that have adapted to live in the cold and snowy environment. A predator called the ermine has a thick coat of dark fur that turns white in the winter. The snowshoe rabbit also has a fur that turns white in the winter. The wolverine is able to mate during ideal conditions by delayed implantation in which they suspend dormant fertilized eggs until the conditions are ideal for bearing their young. Rainforests are the most diverse having more than 15 million species living in the biome. The rainforest biome is sometimes separated into two different biomes. They are referred to as tropical and temperate. The tropical rainforests are located between the Tropic...
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...Lemurs in Madagascar SCI/ 275 March 16, 2014 Lemurs in Madagascar 1.) What are Madagascar’s biomes? Discuss the latest features of at least one of these biomes. Using the world’s terrestrial map in Wiley Plus, Madagascar’s biomes includes; tropical rain forest, tropical dry forest, and desert. Madagascar is largely made up of the tropical rain forest biome. Its features include warm weather throughout the year with rainfall occurring almost daily. In the rainforest, human population growth and industrial expansion threatens its survival. 2.) What changes happening in Madagascar are posing challenges for lemurs? Provide details about the sources, time scale, and type of change. The changes that are happening in Madagascar that poses a challenge for lemurs, are the rapid environmental changes caused by humans. Deforestation of the rain forest disrupts the eco- system. As a result, the changes are occurring at a rapid pace, faster than the resources can replenish themselves. 3.) Which types of lemurs are adapting to the changes? Which types of lemurs are not adapting well? Why? The type of lemur that is adapting to change is the ring- tailed lemur. The ring- tailed lemur is able to adjust because of its ability to adjust to secondary habitats. On the hand, bamboo lemurs are not adjusting well to the changes. They thrive on eating the bamboo found in the forest. Once the bamboo are depleted, they will not be able to survive. 4.) What behavioral...
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...Homework #1 – Basic Terms and Concepts Name: Intro to the Environment - Eco Footprint - Homework #1 (HW1) – Fall 2012 1. An ecosystem is a community of organisms living in a particular environment and also the physical elements in that given environment, in which these organisms interact. Its diversity is profoundly substantial. An ecosystem can extend from the icy artic zones to the tropical forests. They occur in many different scales with smaller systems pierced inside larger systems. Depending on the scale, an ecosystem can be small or profoundly large. 2. Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. In plants, photosynthesis generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct. 3. A producer in an ecosystem, converts energy from the environment into carbon bonds. For instance, green plants use energy from the sun to create more complex molecules like carbon dioxide into glucose. Consumers on the other hand are organisms that obtain nutrients from other organisms. They attain their energy from the carbon bonds made by the producers. An example of a consumer is animal that gets its energy from plants. It is also called an herbivore. A few examples of herbivores include cows, moose, gazelles, rabbits and elephants. The trophic level of an organism is where the organism is situated in the food chain. A food chain is similar to...
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...Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Change Hector Canseco SCI/256 04/30/2015 Carolyn Miller Freshwater Ecosystem is a relatively small in area about 1.8% of the earth’s surface. It consists of ponds and lakes which range in size from just a few square meters to thousands of square miles. All throughout the earth several are remnants from glaciers thousands of years ago. Many ponds are seasonal, lasting just a couple of months while lakes may exist for hundreds of years or more. Ponds and lakes may have limited species since they are often isolated from one another and from other water sources like rivers and oceans. Lakes and ponds are divided into three different zones, which are usually determined by depth and distance from the shoreline. Streams and rivers are also part of the fresh water ecosystem. These are bodies of flowing water moving in one direction. Streams and rivers can be found everywhere, they get their starts at headwaters, which may be springs, snowmelt or even lakes, and then travel all the way to their mouths, usually another water channel or the ocean. The type of a river or stream changes during the journey from the source to the mouth. The temperature is cooler at the source than it is at the mouth. The water is also clearer, has higher oxygen levels, and freshwater fish such as trout and bass can be found there. Towards the middle part of the stream or river, the width increases as does species, numerous aquatic green plants and algae can be found...
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...There are two types of grasslands, tropical and temperate. Tropical grasslands are warm year around and have a dry and rainy season. Temperate grasslands have an average of 10 to 30 inches of rain per year, have shorter grass, and have a growing and dormant season (Grasslands Terrain of Many Names). There are the Great Plains in the United States that cover from parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana and covers all of Kansas, Nebraska, South and North Dakota, and covers all the way up into parts of Canada. In Africa there is the African Savanna, which is a tropical grassland that covers 25 territories and South Africa. The abiotic structure of grasslands includes the climate; rainfall, temperature, wind flow, and ground moisture. The bedrock has an influence on the type of soil and what can and cannot be grown in that location, slopes and elevation, floods, fires, high temperatures and freezing temperatures are also abiotic structures. The biotic structures include any living thing in that ecosystem. Grass, rabbits, moles, elk, snakes, birds, bacteria and fungi are part of the biotic structures (tutorvista.com 2014). You cannot have one with out the other in an ecosystem. The grass needs the rain as well as the animals in order to survive. The temperatures help decide which type of animals and plant life will live in that area as well. Carbon function in the ecosystem is to be used by the plants for photosynthesis and to make organic molecules...
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