Ecology
Ecology is a biology branch which focuses on examining living organisms in their environment. Ecologist study the inactions of organisms within their environment, including ecosystems, communities and populations that influence life on earth. Economist can see the interconnection of animal and plant populations shape physical environments and the interactions of the different species.(N/A, 2014)
The biota of earths process of biochemical's is four spheres which consist of atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. These are driven by solar energy, decomposers, producers and the consumers that move materials in quantity. This cause inputs and outputs of
inorganic and organic nutrients The materials or compounds and elements found in all the spheres. Only in recent time have they began to understand the diversity roles of the biosphere. Each specie and species of a community contribute to the ecosystem. Ecosystems depend on chemical and physical conditions, along with the number communities and species of all the locations such as grasslands, forest and wetlands to name a few. The processes of the ecosystem and biodiversity is sensitive to the declines. Local biodiversity declines are more important than the declines globally. These changes in the biodiversity influence the process of the ecosystem. When the diversity that is local declines the production of plants may also decline and this brings variables into the ecosystem.( Naeem, Chapin III, Costanza, Ehrlich, Golley, Hooper, Lawton, ONeill, Mooney, Sala, Symstad, Tilman,1999)
The ecosystem has chemical cycles that contain both biotic and abiotic compounds known as biochemical cycles. The ecosystem has ...
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...on of coastal sierra and Douglas fir populations of species that are the same but have differences in genetics.
Species diversity is the abundance and variety of the different organism types in areas in which they inhabit. In the same amount of area but in different locations there will be different species. This diversity can be measured many different ways and there is no on best method.
Ecosystem diversity covers a region and the habitats variety which occurs, this creates a mosaic type pattern in a landscape. An example would be an area of the habitats and the their variety the environmental parameters like salt and fresh water, rivers, estuaries, wetlands and grasslands. This diversity is hard to measure than the other two diversities because of the community boundaries, species associations and the elusive ecosystems.(N/A, 2008)
(http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-densityfrequencydominance.html) Biodiversity is the number of richness or the number of species in a local area. This happens when someone can look at a species, in order to indicate a degree of uncertainty. This can happen by calculating the number of species given, where the individual is picked at random from the community. In other words, if the diversity is high, then oneself will have a poorer chance of correctly calculating the species of the next individual picked at random. (http://www.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/bealsmodules/shannonDI.html) This experiment was a way to find out the diversity of the school parking lot and the possibility to identify the type or model of the student’s, faculties and guest
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to investigate the various components of different ecosystems in a smaller representation and study the conditions required for the ecosystem’s sustainability as well as the connections between
In this experiment, students went into the nature preserve, on the University of the Ozarks campus, to determine the amount of tree species diversity that the preserve had to offer. To calculate the diversity of a species, one should use the Shannon Diversity Index. Through use of the Shannon Diversity Index, students are able to calculate an areas diversity (plants, people, etc.) by considering the relative abundance and species richness of multiple trials in an area.
There are many types of ecosystems”Some are them are immense biomes and other can be minor ecosystems like a puddle or a tree trunk”, but wouldn't it be amazing too have a ecosystem the size of a pop bottle. Luckily this is not a hallucination Ecosystems like these are called ecocolumn which are basically a simulation of a medium ecosystem synce it contains a small aquarium on the bottom and a terrarium in the top. By doing these we are going to be able to see the relationships between the consumers, producers and decomposers, In these case the decomposer can be the earthworm the consumers can be the fish and the producers can be the plants these organism are characterized in these category because of their symbiotic relationship. In a Ecocolumn
When asked to consider the term ecology I have to look at what that word is defined as being. The dictionary defines it as, “The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings” (online dictionary, 2013). This is a very short definition for something that is comprised of so much once you start thinking about how many things affect an organisms physical surroundings. For this, I will be focusing on energy and chemical cycles, community structure, biodiversity and succession, and how all of these items are a part of ecology.
In the past 50 years, we have drastically changed the environment to meet our growing demands. These alterations are causing major problems in several ecosystems. Living unsustainably, changing natural order, and reversing the degradation of ecosystems are the three main problems we face.
Diversity geographically is the different land features, bodies of waters, mass deserts, climates, and r...
“Ecosystem: a community of organisms and its environment which functions as an ecological unit” – the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
With reference to at least ONE ecosystem you have studied, explain the biophysical interactions which lead to diverse ecosystems and their functioning.
The relationship between biotic components and abiotic components odd the ecosystem is termed as halocoenosis.
The branch of science that deals with how living things, including humans, are related to their surroundings is called ecology . The Earth supports some 5 million species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. These interact and influence their surroundings, forming a vast network of interrelated environmental systems called ecosystems. The arctic tundra is an ecosystem and so is a Brazilian rain forest. The islands of Hawaii are a relatively isolated ecosystem. If left undisturbed, natural environmental systems tend to achieve balance or stability among the various species of plants and animals. Complex ecosystems are able to compensate for changes caused by weather or intrusions from migrating animals and are therefore usually said to be more stable than simple ecosystems. A field of corn has only one dominant species, the corn plant, and is a very simple ecosystem. It is easily destroyed by drought, insects, disease, or overuse. A forest may remain relatively unchanged by weather that would destroy a nearby field of corn, because the forest is characterized by greater diversity of plants and animals. Its complexity gives it stability.
Biogeochemical cycle is crucial for every living organism on Earth. It is strongly influenced by life forms, especially plants and microorganisms. A biogeochemical cycle can be defined as a continuous pathway by which conversion and circulation of chemical nutrients through both biotic and abiotic compartments of Earth (Butcher, 1992). Generally, biogeochemical cycles can be classified into three major categories which are nitrogen cycle, sulfur cycle and carbon cycle (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
Scientists have begun to say that we have to do more to protect our ecosystem, because our very existence is depending upon it. When the ecosystem is not functioning properly the continuation of plant, animal and human life ecosystems would be impossible. Life cycles can not function without ecosystems. The ecosystem provides us with clean air, water, habitats for fish and other services. They also aid in the mod...
One of the reasons for loss in biodiversity is alteration of habitats. A habitat is the natural environment in which a species of living organism lives. If the habitat of a species is changed, it will cause the species to die or migrate to other places where it can find its natural habitat. There are many ways in which the habitat of plants and animals can be altered. One of them is land use changes. Since the beginning of human life, human beings have been changing land use for farming. Large areas of forests have been cleared by humans to increase the area of farming to satisfy their growing needs. Many biodiversity-rich landscape characteristics have been lost due to intensive farming (Young, Richards, Fischer, Halada, Kull, Kuzniar, Tartes, Uzunov & Watt, 2007). For example, traditional farming was replaced by private farms in Europe after the First World War causing an immense change in land use patterns. Another major proble...
Biodiversity refers to wide diversity found in the living components of the earth which refers to the numerous varieties of flora and fauna including those of microorganisms too. The interaction of biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem is very important aspect of life on earth. Biodiversity helps us to understand the variations among species and also how life originated on earth. Its study helps us to understand the inter-relationship between various forms of life and their adaptation to different conditions.