...of our water resources provide important ecological and economic services. And there are particularly evident in the services provided by rivers. According to the Ecological society of America ecosystem (or ecological) services are processes by which the environment produces resources that we often take for granted. The ecological systems support plants and animals; they also provide vital services to people that improve well-being. Ecosystems purify water and air, reduce flood and drought risks, provide food and fuel, and support recreation, there are many benefits. To ensure there valuable services continue, our natural areas must be healthy. Ecosystem is a community of animals and plants interacting with one another and with their physical environment. Ecosystems include physical and chemical components, such as soils, water, and nutrients that support the organisms living with them. Those organisms may range from large animals and plants to microscopic bacteria. Ecosystem includes the interactions among all organisms in a given habitat. People are part of ecosystems. The health and wellbeing of human populations depends upon the services provided by ecosystems and their components organisms’ soil, water, and nutrients. The natural ecosystems and the plants and animals within them provide humans with services that would be very difficult to duplicate. While it is often impossible to place an accurate monetary amount on ecosystem services we can calculate some of the financial...
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...Outline the activities providing for the cycling of Earth materials (matter) in the Ecosphere. Explain the role of solar energy and its interrelationship. The Earth’s materials cannot be made or destroyed and the matter that is presently on Earth will never disappear nor will new matter be made. When thinking about matter, the most common idea is elements. These are chemical reactions such as sodium, neon, and boron. Elements are the basic chemical compositions that make up organisms and connect them together. Matter takes up space and has a mass all of its own. It will cycle between the living and non-living components of any ecosystem and will continue to be recycled over and over again. It is because of these biogeochemical cycles that the ecosystems stay balanced and organisms stay alive. These cycles contain food, water, air as well as their surroundings (Miller and Hackett, 2012). There are four main cycles: water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. With all of these systems working together, matter is able to be recycled with the help of solar energy. The first cycle is the water or hydrologic cycle. This is the cycle that is most familiar because it is often taught in subjects such as biology and chemistry. The water cycle recycles the Earth’s fixed supply of water (Miller and Hackett, 2012). A good portion of the earth’s water is in the oceans. The sun causes the water to evaporate and as the vapor cools, it turns into droplets. When these droplets...
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...The Nitrogen Cycle: Processes, Players, and Human Impact Nitrogen is one of the primary nutrients critical for the survival of all living organisms. Although nitrogen is very abundant in the atmosphere, it is largely inaccessible in this form to most organisms. This article explores how nitrogen becomes available to organisms and what changes in nitrogen levels as a result of human activity means to local and global ecosystems. Introduction Nitrogen is one of the primary nutrients critical for the survival of all living organisms. It is a necessary component of many biomolecules, including proteins, DNA, and chlorophyll. Although nitrogen is very abundant in the atmosphere as dinitrogen gas (N2), it is largely inaccessible in this form to most organisms, making nitrogen a scarce resource and often limiting primary productivity in many ecosystems. Only when nitrogen is converted from dinitrogen gas into ammonia (NH3) does it become available to primary producers, such as plants. In addition to N2 and NH3, nitrogen exists in many different forms, including both inorganic (e.g., ammonia, nitrate) and organic (e.g., amino and nucleic acids) forms. Thus, nitrogen undergoes many different transformations in the ecosystem, changing from one form to another as organisms use it for growth and, in some cases, energy. The major transformations of nitrogen are nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, anammox, and ammonification (Figure 1). The transformation of nitrogen into...
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...Biology – Module 1 – A Local Ecosystem The distribution, diversity and numbers of plants and animals found in ecosystems are determined by biotic and abiotic factors. Compare the abiotic characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial environments. An aquatic environment is one that consists in water. The abiotic characteristics of an aquatic environment include: Buoyancy – This refers to the upward pressure (or thrust) that is applied on the organism by its medium. Buoyancy is determined by the density of the medium and determines the floating ability of an organism. Water provides sufficient buoyancy for many organisms, e.g., the jellyfish. If a jellyfish is taken out of water and placed on land it will disintegrate by spreading apart. Thus, the water provides enough buoyancy (pressure) in order to keep the shape of the jellyfish. Pressure – This is the downward force that is applied on an organism by its medium. In water, the pressure is dependent on the depth. Organisms that live at the bottom of the ocean experience the effects of extreme pressure and they must have specific adaptations that enable them to survive in such harsh environments. Temperature Variations – Usually in an aquatic environment there are minimal temperature variations to that compared with terrestrial environments. The temperature variations also depend on the size of the body of water; a large body of water will experience much less temperature variations than a smaller body...
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... | Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course applies a broad, conceptual understanding of biology. Students are introduced to scientific ideologies and concepts that not only shape our biological world, but also shape us as humans. Students examine the scientific method, evolution and biodiversity, the biology of cells, energy systems, the dynamics of inheritance, and the effect humans have on the environment. The text emphasizes methods and the theoretical foundations of ideas, while minimizing isolated facts. It stresses the integration of ideas, making connections that form our understanding of the living world. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read...
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...relationships and interactions between organisms. Every organism is in some way connected or associated with another. Some organisms need to depend on other organisms to survive which shows how important some of these relationships or interactions can be in biology. Interaction is a vital part of how many organisms develop over time. Predation is a main example of a relationship between organisms. Predation involves predators and prey, such as a fox catching and eating a rabbit. There are two other forms of predation called, parasitism and grazing. Parasitism is where the host organism is exploited and used for benefit by the other organism called a parasite. An example of parasitism is fleas which live on the skin of other animals and feed on their blood which helps the flea but only weakens the animal. Grazing is where the predator eats the prey but does not kill it, for example a cow eating grass. Predators play an important role in an ecosystem for if they did not exist then a single species could become dominant over others. Grazing is important as it helps to keep grassland from growing out of control. If predation in a certain ecosystem were to be effected then it would change the balance of the whole ecosystem. For example if wolves were removed from a forest ecosystem then there would be much more rabbits and deer around. This huge population of rabbits and deer would significantly decrease the amount of plants in the ecosystem which could lead to no food for the deer...
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...An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.[2] These components are regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.[3] As ecosystems are defined by the network of interactions among organisms, and between organisms and their environment,[4] they can come in any size but usually encompass specific, limited spaces[5] (although some scientists say that the entire planet is an ecosystem).[6] History and development Arthur Tansley, a British ecologist, was the first person to use the term "ecosystem" in a published work.[fn 1][10] Tansley devised the concept to draw attention to the importance of transfers of materials between organisms and their environment.[11] He later refined the term, describing it as "The whole system, ... including not only the organism-complex, but also the whole complex of physical factors forming what we call the environment".[12] Tansley regarded ecosystems not simply as natural units, but as mental isolates.[12] Tansley later[13] defined the spatial extent of ecosystems using the term ecotope. G. Evelyn Hutchinson, a pioneering limnologist who was a contemporary of Tansley's, combined Charles Elton's ideas about trophic ecology with those of Russian geochemist Vladimir Vernadsky to suggest that mineral nutrient availability in a lake limited algal production...
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...LIVING COASTAL RESOURCES OF THE ASEAN REGIONAND DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR THEIR MANAGEMENT SIGNIFICANCE OF LIVING COASTAL RESOURCES Living coastal resources are found within major coastal ecosystems consisting of coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, benthic systems, and estuaries or lagoons. Coastal ecosystems, particularly estuaries and inshore marine waters have the highest rate of primary production as compared to terrestrial and oceanic regions. Daily gross production rate in terms of grams of dry organic matter per square metre area for the narrow coastal band ranges from 10 to 25, with all other regions having substantially lower values (2). The coastal band conveniently thought of as the transition area between land and sea, holdsthis great diversity of ecosystems, each characterized by its own unique ecological feature. Conditions here may be harsh with wide fluctuations in temperature and salinity, but because of the abundance of food supply, these areas can and do support a high diversity of species which have become efficiently adapted to the widely fluctuating environmental conditions. These ecosystems remain productive because of tidal action which circulates food and nutrients rapidly and efficiently and at the same time washes away waste materials. They also serve as efficient nutrient traps of the continuous nutrient input washed down from land. Within these ecosystems, the autotrophic and heterotrophic layers are maintained in close contact so that energy transfer...
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...for the 21st century? Introduction: The term biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and the ecological and evolutionary processes that sustain it. Biodiversity includes not only special we consider rare, threatened, or endangered, but every living thing even organisms we still know little about, such as microbes, fungi, and invertebrates. Biodiversity is important everywhere; species and habitats in your area as well as those in distant lands all play a role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Biodiversity is important because it boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops. Greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms. There are five main threats to biodiversity that I can cover later on in this report are: 1. Invasive alien species 2. Climate change 3. Nutrient loading 4. Water pollution 5. Loss of habitat 6. Overexploitation In this report my goal is to explain what biodiversity is in detail in depth and explain how important it is to the world. Also, to outline if and how these threats pose a threat to humanity in the 21st century. How important is biodiversity? Biodiversity is important for all species' survival. We need a variety of habitats for all the different species because each species is adapted to a certain...
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...1. A. Soil Formation Weathering break up the surface of parent rocks into small particles. Air and water enter the spaces between the particles and chemical changes take pace which resut in the production of chemical substances. Bacteria and plant life soon appear. When plant and animal organisms die, they decay and produce a substance called humus. This is very important to so fertility. Bacteria play a vital role into the decomposition of plants and animals remains. The end product of these mechanical, chemical, and biological processes is called soil which is one of the world’s most important natural resources. B. Composition of Soil All soil contain mineral matter, organic matter, air, water and living organisms, especially bacteria. If any one of these is seriously reduced in amount, or removed frm a soil, ten the soil deteriorates. Soil is an important component of the physical environment of many ecosystem. The main components of a typical soild can be divided into two: Organic components and Inorganic components. Organic Components - include include living organism such as baceteria and fungi which serve as the decomposers;a very important parts of the recycling and decay processes. It also include many invertebrates animal such as insects and worms. Finally, there are many plants or parts and worms. Finally, there are many plants or parts of palnts such as roots and seeds. Inorganic compoents – Inorganic components include mineral, water and air. Soil...
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...Ecology is a group of interconnected elements which is formed by the interaction of living organisms with the other organisms and its surrounding environment. Ecosystems are a functional unit which comprises of ecology and the environment where living and non-living things work together. A.G. Tansley in Singh (1935) defined ecosystem as 'a particular category of physical systems, consisting of organisms and inorganic components in a relatively stable equilibrium, open and of various sizes and kinds'. All living beings are dependent on ecosystems for the survival of their lives. Thousands of years ago, ecosystems were able to sustain the weight of increasing population creating a balance in the environment. The ecosystem had the capacity...
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...understanding the environmental problems that we encounter today is to learn about our ecosystem. This section highlights the basic environmental principles, varied types of ecosystem, current environmental issues, anthropogenic activities that threat the environment and the role of youth in protecting our environment. Nature knows best. This principle is the most basic and in fact encompasses all the others. Humans have to understand nature and have to abide by the rules nature dictates. In essence, one must not go against the natural processes if one would like to ensure a continuous and steady supply of resources. One natural process that needs serious attention is nutrient cycling. In nature, nutrients pass from the environment to the organisms and back to the environment. Any disruption in the cycle can bring about imbalance. For example, burning of farm wastes instead of allowing them to decompose naturally disrupts the cycle. In burning, most of the organic compounds are lost. The combustion products bring greater havoc as in the case of carbon dioxide build-up, which results in the warming-up of the earth, or the so-called "greenhouse" effect. Nature has also its built-in mechanisms to maintain balance of homeostasis - the availability of nutrients, conduciveness of the environment for growth and reproduction, and the feeding relationships that exist between and among organisms which serve as population controls. For example, the rat population is controlled by...
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...disappear during the lifetimes of middle-aged human beings (Bender, Leone, Stalcup 81). 150 to 200 species go extinct every twenty-four hours. This is one thousand times the rate it is naturally. Extinction growth is directly correlated with human population growth (Scott). It is happening one thousand times faster because of humans. Species Extinction is a serious problem of the present and future. Events occurring, such as ecosystem collapse, are detrimental to our society and the way we live. Everyone should be informed on the importance of biodiversity, the causes, effects, and ways to prevent these problems....
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...Name Class Date 3.4 Cycles of Matter Lesson Objectives Describe how matter cycles among the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Describe how water cycles through the biosphere. Explain why nutrients are important in living systems. Describe how the availability of nutrients affects the productivity of ecosystems. Lesson Summary Recycling in the Biosphere Matter, unlike energy, is recycled within and between ecosystems. Elements pass from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another through biogeochemical cycles, which are closed loops powered by the flow of energy. The Water Cycle Water moves between the ocean, the atmosphere, and land. Evaporation is the process in which water changes from a liquid to a gas. Transpiration is the process in which water evaporates from the leaves of plants. Nutrient Cycles The chemical substances that an organism needs to survive are called nutrients. Like water, nutrients pass through organisms and the environment. Carbon Cycle: Carbon is a key ingredient of all organic compounds. Processes involved in the carbon cycle include photosynthesis and human activities such as burning. Nitrogen Cycle: Nitrogen is needed by all organisms to build proteins. Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle include nitrogen fixation and denitrification. • In nitrogen fixation, certain bacteria convert nitrogen gas into ammonia. • In denitrification, other soil bacteria convert nitrogen...
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...great egrets, alligators, and a variety of tropical birds. The aquatic preserve is also the winter home of over 325 West Indian manatees, which is a federally protected species ("Wekiva Spring", 2012). This paper will discuss the springs and the associated agriculture, effects of human population on the spring, sustainability, risk and benefits of nonrenewable and renewable resources, and the sustainability and conservation of Wekiva Springs. Identify Associated with Agriculture The associated topic linked with Florida's agricultural life cycle is a resource located in the central part of Florida. According to the State of Florida information it noted (as cited in Florida, 2012), The Wekiva River is part of a large organism that plays a crucial role in the existence of mankind on the local, regional, state, national and global levels. Wekiva River, along with St. Johns River, Blackwater River, and Rock Springs River provide food, water, and life for all trophic levels. The agriculture in Florida uses...
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