...Ecosystem of the Mojave Desert Bio/101 March 5, 2012 Ecosystem of the Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert is 54,000 square miles of its own special brand of diversity; it is one desert - rather than a series of separate entities. By becoming aware of the combined identity, appreciation and better understanding of the issues that affect the Mojave Desert can occur on a holistic level. Generally, at the edges of the Mojave are areas where dominant plant and animal species change from one to another and both, to various degrees may be possibly found on the fringes of the other. The Mojave Desert ecosystem evolves from plants and animals which are resources within each other. Adaption to the rough temperatures and little water, these ecosystems finds many ways to survive. This ecosystem plays host to a wide variety of plants and animals living in an environment that humans may think are harsh conditions. Many animals get their energy by eating plants, but desert plants give up the fruit of their production very reluctantly. Sharp spines, such as a cactus, discourage plant-eaters. The Mule deer avoids these obstacles by eating seeds, although safe to eat, they can be hard to find. Many are small and look like grains of sand. The plant's solar energy flows through the ecosystem as Mule deer, and other herbivores like jackrabbits, fall prey to carnivores like great horned owls, coyotes, bobcats, or snakes (Townsend, Harper & Begon, 2000). Survival in the desert cannot occur without...
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...Mojave Desert Food Web The life of the organisms in the Mojave Desert originates with the light and energy that the sun provides. In combination with the solar energy, rainfall, carbon, and nutrients the miracle of life begins with plants growing from seeds from the parent plant. Scientists refer to these plants as autotrophs, or producers because they make their own food energy by using the process of photosynthesis. A heterotroph cannot produce energy, and therefore are dependent on the producers and other herbivores to receive their source of energy. The first type of heterotroph is the primary consumer, which are the herbivore that eat only plants. These herbivores are one of the food sources of the omnivores, the secondary consumers, which consume plants and herbivores. Omnivores will also consume carnivores. Carnivores consume omnivores and other carnivores as their primary food sources. The connections of each species within this cycle are the networks that scientists call the food chain, and connected food chains a food network or food web. Another important connection in this cycle is the process of energy passing from one organism to the next. This process is the energy flow, and the food web illustrates the energy flow among the organisms in the food chain for the Mojave Desert ecosystem. The Pathways of Energy Flow Scientists identify food chains and food webs as the pathways that energy and matter pass from each link in the chain beginning with the...
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...Friend or Foe, The Lizards of the Mohave Desert. Ronald R. Espenschied COM/156 November 3, 2013 Bobbie Sepulveda Friend or Foe, The Lizards of the Mohave Desert. If you ever find yourself in Southern Arizona or Southern California it would be well worth your time to take a hike through the beautiful Mojave Desert. For what some consider to be a harsh dry climate the abundance of different types of animal life is truly amazing. Of the different types of animal life the lizard population is one the most diverse with over fifty different lizards from eight different species (Brennan, 2008). Unlike other inhabitants of this area, most of the different lizards that you could come across are completely harmless even though they may look like they are not. However, there is danger so when in the Mojave Desert it is important to know which variety of lizard is venomous, how to tell the difference, and what you should do if you encounter one. The Mojave Desert is home to a diverse population of lizards with 56 different lizards from eight different species (Brennan, 2008). Each different lizard varies in both its appearance and its size; this is an important thing to know when trying to identify them. While most are tan or gray to blend into their environment there are some that display vibrant blue, green, yellow, and red colors and are quite beautiful. Although a person might think that these colors would suggest that they are venomous they are not harmful...
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... As temperature rise the Mojave Desert, like all areas of the world, is reacting to these changing global conditions. This already arid landscape is becoming even more arid, conditions were once only found in Death Valley are now the common conditions of the Mojave. Not only is it dealing with the effects of climate change it is now being converted from a deserted area to communities covered in homes, shopping centers, roads, etc. Though some things have remained the same the changing landscape is creating a whole new environment and the impact of humans is more conspicuous than ever before. The Earth’s rising temperatures have brought damaged the once diverse landscape and now a lot of California looks very similar to the Mojave. The Mojave itself has become even more arid with conditions of that similar to Death Valley, summers as hot as 134 degrees Fahrenheit. Violent storms are becoming even more frequent from flash floods that carve and erode the landscape to the possibility lightning storms occurring at any moment. The amount of annual wild fires has increased as well since most of the vegetation is nonnative and not as...
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...environments known to man. These components, or ecosystems, are themselves complex, however also fragile. Whether intentional or not, humans have negatively impacted the environment to the point where intervention and management is necessary to preserve or remediate these fragile ecosystems. One such ecosystem is located in the Southeast desert of California, the Algodones Dunes. Although sand dunes are not a typical or popular ecosystem, they do have structural dynamics, human affected biogeochemical cycles, a need and plans for management, and implications of species interactions in that management. Structural Dynamics The Algodones dunes is a band of sand dunes reaching as high as eighty meters that extend seventy five kilometers in length from the Colorado River in Baja California northwest toward Indio. They are eight kilometers in width at the widest point bordered by the Chocolate and Cargo Muchacho Mountain range in the east and the Coachella Canal in the west (Sweet, Nielson, Havholm, & Farrelley, 1988). The sand dunes are formed by Pacific westerlies and weather fronts which blow in a southeast direction. Because of this, the crescent dunes form with a more gradual windward face toward the northwest and a leeward face or sudden drop and slope facing the southeast (Sweet et al, 1988). Home to a highly adapted and diverse plant and animal life, the Algodones dunes are also home to some endangered species such as the Pierson’s milk vetch and Andrew’s dune scarab beetle...
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...Death Valley National Park The Death Valley National Park is located amid two states California and Nevada. The park is within an interface region in the middle of the arid Great Basin and Mojave deserts. It occupies over five thousand square miles hence possessing desert features such as salt-flats, sand dunes badlands along with valleys, gorges and mountains. It is also the hottest and driest park in the United States of America. Almost ninety five percent of the National Park is considered a wilderness area. It harbours an array of species both from the flora and fauna which thrive in the harsh desert milieu. Examples of these living things include the creosote bush, bighorn sheep as well as the Death Valley pupfish. The park actually possess two major valleys, these are the Death Valley and the Panamint Valley both surrounded by north-south trending mountain ranges. The Death Valley contains the Badwater Basin which is the lowest point in the entire western hemisphere standing at 282 feet below sea level. The basin is named Badwater as a result of the accumulation of water arising from the springs of the surrounding mountains. The water has accumulated soluble salts making it unsuitable for drinking. The basin also contains aquatic animals inhabiting the accumulated salty water such as the pickleweed, aquatic insects together with larvae (United States Geological Survey, 2000). The valleys were formed over three million years ago as a result of crustal movements previously...
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...Truman Capote establishes many significant themes in his novel In Cold Blood. Capote utilizes the characters, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, in order to perceive them as cold blooded killers. In the beginning of the novel, it states “In the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by a blast from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces.” It was apparent that in this novel a frequent and compelling theme revolving around man’s inhumane treatment of other human beings was going to be salient in developing this perplexing story. In Cold Blood manipulates the theme of inhumane treatment to describe the murder that Dick and Perry committed, as well as a basis for character development. The murder...
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...Windshield Survey Assessment Paper Windshield Survey Assessment Paper Physical The city of Victorville began in 1962 and started off with a population of 8,000 that has grown to be a population of 121,000, and continues to grow (92392 Zip Code Population and Races, n.d.). The condition of the houses appear to be in mint condition with the exception of some homes in the area of El Evado and Pacoima that have lawns that are dead and full of weeds. The paint on these homes are chipped and not well kept. There are many apartments in Victorville that appear to look old on the outside, but each apartment building has been renovated to look more twenty first century. There aren't many abandoned houses in the city of Victorville but there abandoned vehicles in front of houses that have oxidized paint and dust covering them. The houses in the neighborhoods are very similar in their layout, the only difference each house has is the color of the paint on outside of the house. Some residents have also added on additions to their homes such as extra rooms or in ground pools, which have raised the equity in these homes. There is one abandoned building that stands out in Victorville and that is because it is in a shopping center that has flourishing businesses within that same parking lot that use to be an Albertsons. This building has been empty for a couple years and is located on Bear Valley and Amargosa. There is a large number of stray dogs in Victorville due to the faulty wooden...
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...For a limited time, some people living near the eruption suffered from post traumatic syndrome: depression, trouble sleep, irritability, and a sense of powerlessness.". Basically the impacts a volcano has in humans life are related to heatlh, and economical problems. Each time a volcano erupts lives can be in dangerous. 2. Kilauea Volcano It is a shield volcano located in the Hawaiian Islands, it is also the most active of the five volcanos that form the Hawaii island. The effect that it can have in humans lives is the same as the Mt.St.Helens, people are in dangerous because the volcano can erupt any time. One time the lava flows from the Kilauea volcanoes has destroyed a couple of towns and cut the highway on the east cost of the Big Island of Hawaii. The lava flowing into the sea is causing the island to grow, very slowly; also, the sulfurous fumes of the volcano are corrosive and toxic, and because of that hundreds of people were forced to evacuate. 3. Crater Lake It is a caldera lake in te western United States, located in the south-central Oregon. It is the maind feautur of Crater Lake National Park. Internationally famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. After some research I could conclude that this feature has no impact in humans lives , also humans can not affect Crater lake because...
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...of writing this is now on its third episode and enjoying universal critical approval. Mixing thought provoking science fiction with disturbing horror, the show poses a number of ethical and social questions about socialite’s rapid adoption and integration with technology. Where do we draw the line between artificial life and human life? Is it murder or infidelity if it is all artificial? These are poignant questions in 2016 and the show could not have arrived at a better time to explore these themes. To get a better understanding of this new incarnation we here in Film in Dublin have decided to revisit Michael Crichton Cult 1973 Original. Released incidentally only 2 days after...
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...FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH * Earth travels through space at 66,700 miles per hour. | * From a distance, Earth would be the brightest of the 9 planets. This is because sunlight is reflected by the planet's water. * Asia Continent is covered 30% of the total earth land area, but represent 60% of the world's population. * The world's deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1557 in central China, more than 830,000 people were killed. * The Persian Gulf is the warmest sea. In the summer its temperature reaches 35.6 degrees centigrade. * Sunlight can penetrate clean ocean water to a depth of 240 feet. * Louisiana loses about 30 square miles (78 square kilometers) of land each year to coastal erosion, hurricanes, other natural and human causes and a thing called subsidence, which means sinking. * Only 3% water of the earth is fresh, rest 97% salted. Of that 3%, over 2% is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. Means less than 1% fresh water is found in lakes, rivers and underground. * The total surface area of the Earth is 197 million square miles. * The word "Arctic" comes from the ancient Greek Arktikos, or "country of the great bear." Though the Greeks had no knowledge of the polar bear, they named the region after the constellation Ursus Major, the Great Bear, found in the Northern Sky. * A huge underground river runs underneath the Nile, with six times more water than the river above. * About 540 volcanoes on land are known. No one knows how many undersea volcanoes...
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...GREEN TECHNOLOGY 2 What is Green Technology? Green technology is a relatively recent branch of research into making systems and products cleaner. The aim is to reduce the amount of Carbon Monoxide released by the user of the new technology. There are three types of Green Technology the most important ones are: Energy, Building and Purchasing. Green Energy is made of wind, tide and solar. Green Building is the process of building houses and offices that are efficient. Purchasing green just like it sounds. Green energy technology has always existed ever since civilization began. For instance, we have been utilizing water, wind, and the sun, among others for decades now. But of course, how we use these technologies now is completely different than what it was before. However, green technology has come again to the forefront because of the changes that our home, the Earth, has been experiencing thanks to our actions. There are different technologies that were developed that made “green” technologies feasible ones. What exactly are they? When we think about green energy, the first thing that comes to our mind is the sun. The center of the solar system, capable of generating near-infinite amounts of energy. Before, it is just being used for functions such as drying and heating, but now it is now used to harness electricity. Because of the previous strength of the sun, it is undisputedly...
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...Topic For this exam, I decided to write about the poorest of the poor living in the shadows of the United States of America. “The Other America 2012” is somewhat of a reflection on social commentary that first arose 50 years ago. The push came when nearly fifty years ago when Michael Harrington “brought the ‘invisible poor’ out of the shadows in his classic expose The Other America, another generation [now] is discovering that many parts of the country, and many demographic groups, are living impoverished lives” (Abramsky 2012). The article covers information on farmworkers being exploited due to the “abundance of labor” (Abramsky 2012) to the Republican Right “barely camouflaging racist remarks” and blaming the poor for their own misery. I did however find something interesting about the article, in that it provides for no real solution. Granted of the solution to national poverty was indeed that easy then I’m sure we would have done it by now. Other than the critiques of past politicians and several near-miss good ideas the problem of “47 million Americans still live below the government’s prospected poverty line” (Abramsky). The few references the author did make seem too ideal to ever work in s such a split society such as ours. Abramsky makes a reference to Obama’s re-election campaign with a series of speeches “decrying the country’s growing inequalities and increasingly regressive tax codes”, with no answers for fixing the problem. The President or anyone else...
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...PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRICITY | Group VI – Section B (MBA 10th Batch) | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | Submitted by: 81. ROHIT BHUTANI 82. ROHIT KANTH 84. S PRASANNA 85. SAJID ALI 9/6/2011 INDEX SR. No. | TOPIC | Page No. | 1 | GENERATION | 3 | 2 | SOME USEFUL TERMS | 3 | 3 | HYDRO POWER PLANT | 4 | 4 | THERMAL POWER PLANT | 6 | 5 | NUCLEAR POWER PLANT | 7 | 6 | RENEWABLE ENERGY BASED POWER | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 HVDC 11 9 TRANSMISSION SYSTEM 12 10 TRANSMISSION LINES 12 11 TRANSMISSION SUB-STATIONS 13 12 EQUIPMENTS IN A SUB-STATION 14 13 OPERATION OF CIRCUIT BREAKER AND ISOLATOR 18 14 GROWTH OF TRANSMISSION SECTOR IN INDIA 18 15 HOW DOES POWER SYSTEM WORK? 21 16 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 22 17 CONCLUSION 22 18 REFERENCES 23 GENERATION In the generation station, the production of electricity is carried out. A generating system has two basic components, a turbine, which produces rotary motion and a generator, which convert s the rotational energy into electrical energy. A generator has ‘rotor’ which is rotated by a turbine and a ‘stator’ which has the sets of coils in which electricity is generated when the rotor rotates. The difference...
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...Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling, motor fuels, and rural energy services. Based on REN21's 2014 report, renewables contributed 19 percent to our global energy consumption and 22 percent to our electricity generation in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Both, modern renewables, such as hydro, wind, solar and biofuels, as well as traditional biomass, contributed in about equal parts to the global energy supply. Worldwide investments in renewable technologies amounted to more than US$214 billion in 2013, with countries like China and the United States heavily investing in wind, hydro, solar and biofuels. Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security, climate change mitigation, and economic benefits. In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power. At the national level, at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 percent of energy supply. National renewable energy markets...
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