Biodiversity
Q1. Explain how the ecosystem was affected by the missing species for each round of the demonstration.
a) Round 1. The exclusion of flowers from the ecosystem reduced the amount of food that bees produced. The role of flowers in the ecosystem was to provide nutrients for other trees. As a result of the flowers missing in the ecosystem, the bees produced less honey. However, more “fruit tree pollination” occurred.
b) Round 2: Removing bees from the ecosystem affected the production of honey, which is human and wildlife food. Apart from creating an imbalance of nutrition in the ecosystem, the removal of bees affected pollination between trees and within flowers. Absence of pollination (fruit tree) meant that there would be no fruits, creating nutrition shortage for humans and some animals.
c) Round 3. The removal of trees from the ecosystem presented several challenges, basically because trees belong to primary producers. First, humans rely on trees for oxygen. The absence of trees in the ecosystem, therefore, meant that there was a shortage of oxygen for humans, other plants, and animals. Trees are also homes for some animals, for example birds. Birds’ fecal matter fertilizes the soil. In absence of trees, therefore, birds would migrate from the ecosystem, reducing soil fertility. Trees, apart from providing oxygen and being homes for some animals, are also sources of food and shade. Organisms that relied on trees for food and comfort (shade) strained in their absence.
d) Round 4. Removal of humans from the ecosystem. This was, surely, the best intervention in the ecosystem. This is because humans are the worst destroyers of the ecosystem. In absence of humans, there would be no removal of trees (deforestation). Humans clear trees to develop urban centers and industries, the leading environmental pollutants. The ecosystem would therefore remain green without any pollution that is caused by human activities.
Q2. Provide one action we as humans engage in that leads to the extinction of each of these components. (Action affecting Lichens, Action affecting Trees, Action affecting flowers, Action affecting bees)
Cutting trees to create space for development is an action that affects lichens. Lichens usually grow on the backs of trees. Some lichens grow under trees, making soil fertile. In the absence of lichens due to tree-cutting, therefore, land becomes bare and infertile. Deforestation leads to extinction of trees. The reasons for deforestation include creating space for agriculture, industries, and urban settlements. Flowers become extinct due to deforestation, affecting bees, which rely on them for nectar. Bees (and other animals, for example birds and insects) also rely on trees for their habitats. Deforestation, therefore, denies bees (and other animals) their habitats.
Q3. Provide three specific actions that humans can take to minimize our impact on the ecosystem and ensure the survival of lichens, trees, flowers, and bees.
a) Humans should minimize using fossil energy (fuel) as a way of minimizing pollution.
b) They should plant trees and flowers. These are ways of enriching the ecosystem.
c) Humans must stop littering. After doing that, they should use recycling as a strategy of clearing the environment, and making it free of wastes.
The focus of these initiatives is the creation of a green environment. These measures attempt to eliminate urban sprawls. Giving a great attention to deforestation, which is the biggest challenge against achieving a green environment, is important to improve our ecosystems.
Experiment 1: Plants’ Diversity
Table 2: Number of Each Plant Species Present in Pot 1 and Pot 2
Species Observed Number in Pot 1(sunlight) Number in Pot 2(shade)
Zinnia 4 2
Marigold 0 2
Morning Glory 2 1
Cosmos 1 1
Ryegrass 1 0
Total Number of Species in Pot: 8 6
Post Lab Questions
Q1. Develop a hypothesis which pot you believe will contain the highest biodiversity
Scattering of seeds in the experiment will lead to increase in the population of ryegrass in both pots.
Q2. Based on the results of your experiment, would you reject or accept the hypothesis that you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this.
I would reject my hypothesis. This is because after the experiment, I found that in pot 1, only 1 ryegrass grew. In pot 2, no ryegrass grew. In the two pots, Zinnia grass was the species with the highest population. In pot 1, four pieces of Zinnia grass grew, while two pieces of the grass grew in pot 2.
Q3. If each pot was a sample you found in a group of wildflowers, would you determine based on the diversity of flowers that the ecosystem is healthy? Why or why not.
Yes, I would determine the ecosystem’s heath, using the diversity of the flowers as my basis for the determination. The diversity of flowers within the ecosystem would be an important indicator of health in the ecosystem. The reason is the ecosystem’s ability to support several flowers, which thrived in the environment.
Q4. How does biodiversity contribute to the overall health of an ecosystem? Provide specific examples and utilize at least one scholarly resource to back your answer
According to Botkin and Keller (2011), biodiversity is a major measure of the ability of organisms to survive and thrive in an ecosystem. Organisms living in an ecosystem (especially humans) rely on several ecosystems that are, usually, widely dispersed all over the world. For effective management of sustainability, it is, therefore, necessary to understand the biodiversity of an ecosystem. With such an understanding, one knows the interactions between various organisms, within an ecosystem, which lead to the ecosystem’s health. One also understands the dependability of an ecosystem on the organisms (plants and animals) which live in it. Botkin and Keller (2011) note that poor biodiversity leads to deterioration of an ecosystem to the point where recovery is difficult or impossible. The effect of such a state in an ecosystem, according to Botkin and Keller (2011), is the reduction of an ecosystem’s human carrying capacity.
References
Botkin, D. B., & Keller, E. A. (2011). Environmental science: Earth as a living planet (8th ed.).
Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|