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Sustainability 1.1

Ecosystem is described as being all the interacting parts of a biological community and its environment.

Sustainable ecosystem is one that is capable of withstanding pressure and giving support to a variety of organisms.

Biotic refers to the living parts of an ecosystem (including plants, animals, and micro-organisms).

Abiotic refers to the nonliving parts of an ecosystem (including water, soil, oxygen, light, nutrients)

Lithosphere the hard part of the earth’s surface

Hydrosphere all the water located on the earth (oceans, lakes, and groundwater)

Atmosphere is the layer of gases above the earth’s surface

Biosphere is the region of earth where living organisms exist Nutrients are chemicals that are needed by living things and are continually cycled through ecosystems.

Evaporation is the change of state from a liquid to a gas.

Condensation is the change of state from a gas to a liquid.

Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, dew, formed by condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.

Carbon cycle moves carbon through all of Earth’s spheres.

Nitrogen cycle moves nitrogen through Earth’s spheres (atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere).

Phosphorus cycle moves phosphorus from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere

Eutrophication is a process in which nutrient levels in aquatic ecosystems increase, leading to an increase in the populations of primary producers, such as algae.

The Biosphere Energy 1.2

Photosynthesis: Carbon Dioxide + Water —> Sugar + Oxygen

Cellular Respiration: Glucose + Oxygen —> Carbon Dioxide + Water

Cellular Respiration is the process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates, in the presence of oxygen.

Fermentation is the process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates, in the absence of oxygen.

Chlorophyll is the pigment that gives leaves their color and performs photosynthesis inside the chloroplast

Trophic level: A category of organisms that is defined by how the organisms gain their energy

Trophic efficiency is the measure of the amount of energy or biomass transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level.

Section 3.2 review

BIODIVERSITY the number and variety of organisms that are found within a specific region.

Community- – all the populations of all species living and interacting in an ecosystem or habitat – e.g. ducks, geese, fish, plants in a pond

e.g. fish, corals, sponges are all part of community of a coral reef

KEYSTONE SPECIES

• greatly affect population numbers and the health of the ecosystem • generally not abundant • plants or animals - e.g. sea otter

DOMINANT SPECIES in Canada

➢Spruce trees have an enormous value for wildlife. ➢With their bushy character, spruces provide birds with great protection from the cold winter winds and snow, and a place to hide from predators and to make nests.

The wild prairie ecosystems suffered when populations of this keystone species were reduced. In places where the prairie dog has persisted, ecologists have discovered that dog towns are important for increasing plant diversity, turning over tonnes of soil, increasing the nitrogen content of the soil, and allowing deeper water penetration of the soil.

CAPTIVE BREEDING • breeding of rare or endangered wildlife in controlled settings to increase the population size • e.g. black- footed ferret at Toronto Zoo

succession

• series of changes in an ecosystem that occurs over time, following a disturbance • e.g. beaver pond changes from: forest → flooded forest → sunny pond → beaver meadow

ECOSYSTEM ENGINEER Species that causes such dramatic changes to landscapes that it creates a new ecosystem examples beavers create clearing for ponds that support other organims.

• Beavers dramatically change their environment, and those changes can last for hundreds of years, even after the beaver have moved on.

Section 3.3 Review

Which results in habitat loss-Deforestation DRAINING WETLANDS Which is not a source of natural habitat loss-Draining wetlands Which is not an ecosystem service performed by wetlands- providing space for building homes and shopping malls Which is not a reason why humans drain wetlands-to prevent migrating birds from stopping Which is not a name for a species that is introduced to new parts of the biosphere from other locations?-keystone species Which species is an alien species in Canada that has become invasive?- zebra mussels Which term describes the use of extraction of a resource until it is depleted?- overexploitation The graph shows the estimated catch of Atlantic cod off the coast of Newfoundland between 1950 and 1999. What process may explain the decline in the number of tonnes of fish caught?-overexploitation Which reduces biodiversity- extinction Which factor is a biotic factor that could cause extinction?-disease or illness

HABITAT LOSS

• is the destruction of habitats, which usually results from human activities. Two major causes of habitat loss are: • Deforestation • Draining of wetlands

• Natural sources of habitat destruction are events such as volcanic eruptions, wildfires, droughts, and severe storms such

DRAINING OF WETLANDS

• Wetlands (swamp, bog, marsh) cover about 6% of Earth’s surface, and about 24% of the world’s wetlands are in Canada. • Plants, turtles, snakes, minks, and thousands of other organisms live in wetlands. • Wetlands are often drained for farming or for building homes and other buildings.

ALIEN SPECIES

• species that have either been accidentally or intentionally introduced into a new location. • Many alien species are either harmless (raccoons) or beneficial (wheat, corn, lilacs, honeybees) to their new environments. • Alien species can also be invasive

INVASIVE SPECIES

• are species that can take over the habitats of native species or invade their bodies. • In many cases, invasive species upset the equilibrium of an ecosystem, causing problems for native species.

• Asian carp: reproduce quickly and are voracious plankton eaters.

Zebra mussels have been linked to the decline of small crustaceans (the food of many fish).

Extirpated: a species that no longer exists in one part of Canada but can be found in other parts.

OVEREXPLOITATION

• is the use or extraction of a resource until it is depleted. • The passenger pigeon disappeared in the early 1900s due to overhunting. • The populations of Atlantic cod and yellowfin tuna have been reduced by 90% due to overfishing.

DISRUPTING ECOSYSTEMS

• Reductions in the carrying capacity and biodiversity of an ecosystem can be linked to a decline in a single species. • Salmon populations in British Columbia are linked to the health of bear, wolf, eagle and crow populations. • Up to 80% of the nitrogen in plants, trees, insects, birds, and bears in the temperate rainforest ecosystem comes from the Pacific Ocean via the salmon.

EXTINCTION

Two patterns of natural extinction have been described in Earth’s history: ➢ Background extinction is apparent over long periods of time as ecosystems gradually change. ➢ Mass extinction results from a relatively sudden change to Earth’s ecosystems.

EXTINCTION RATES

Abiotic and biotic conditions in ecosystems are changing due to activities such as: • deforestation, • habitat destruction, • air and water pollution

Section 3.4 Review What are the six restoration methods?- Reforestation, Wetlands restoration, Biocontrol, Chemical control, Bioremediation, Bioaugmentation.

Environmental stewardship is the active assumption of responsibility for the welfare of the environment. The reasons for practicing stewardship are both:

➢ethical – to protect the biosphere for future generations and for at risk species. ➢practical - If too much damage is done to Earth’s ecosystems, they will lose their ability to sustain the species that rely on them, including humans.

Restoration ecology relates to the renewal of degraded or destroyed ecosystems through human intervention.

The goal is to stimulate natural processes of regeneration to produce an ecosystem that is at least

sustainable, if not identical, to the original non- damaged ecosystem.

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Reforestation • the regrowth of a forest, either through natural processes or through the planting of seeds or trees in an area where a forest was cut down.

Wetlands Restoration • involves returning areas to their previous wetland state from a soil, water, and plant standpoint. • water control structures are used by wetland conservationists to help restore and maintain water Levels.

Biocontrol • involves the use of a species to control the population growth of an undesirable species. • a parasitoid (fly) was introduced to regulate the European gypsy moth population. (p.113) • In Winnipeg, dragonflies have been released to control mosquito populations.

Chemical Control • involves using chemicals such as pesticides or poisons to control the population of an undesirable species. • poison was used to control rats that were harming local bird populations off the coast of BC.

Bioremediation • the use of living organisms to clean up contaminated areas. • involves the use of plants that can clean the soils at toxic sites by collecting poisons in their tissues as they grow. • challenges, such as restoration of the Alberta Tar Sands, remain.

Bioaugementation • involves the use of organisms to add essential nutrients to depleted soils. • clover is often planted to replenish nitrogen levels in soil.

The two main reasons that can result into habitat loss is deforestation and draining of wetlands.

Deforestation is the result of removing forest for logging and not replanting them.

Alien species are species that are normally introduced to a new location such as raccoons. Alien species can also be invasive. Wetlands bogs, cover 6 percent of the world surface and 24 percent are in canada.

Alien species are species that are introduced to a new area. Deforestation is cutting down trees and logging for humans and not replanting them. Salmon are hatched in freshwater in the streams of a temperate rainforest. Then salon spend their adult life in ocean trying to get their nutrients from the marine ecosystem. Then salmon return back where they were hatched. Bear take the salmon and eat them in the forest leaving the dead slamon get aboserbed by the plants in the rainforst.

Salmon are hatched in streams basically in rivers. Then Salmon spend their adult life in oceans to gain their nutrients from marine life. Then salmon return back where they were hatched. Lastly bears take the salmon and they decary on teh forest leaving plants getting nutrients.

Bioaccumlation is substances or toxins that are formed by fossil fuels then are released into aquatic marin life then mercury a toxin substance that is passed on to the food chain.

Biomagniv