Environment
Unit 4 Ecosystems Background
Introduction
The abundance of a species and species diversity affect how natural resources are processed within an ecosystem. This pattern of processing contributes to functional and compositional characteristics of an ecosystem. But many ecosystems around the world are currently experiencing significant changes in species composition, abundance, and diversity due to the influence of human activity. These changes have, more often than not, led to a reduction in species diversity. Changes in species composition, species richness, and/or functional type affect the efficiency with which resources are processed within an ecosystem, raising the issue of whether the biogeochemical functioning of an ecosystem will be impaired by a loss of species or the introduction of a new species.
Essential Questions
Why do ecosystems like Tropical Rainforests have such immense diversity? What have scientists discovered that determines how many individuals of a species can be supported within an ecosystem? How does science restore the diversity to areas where human activity has interfered with the natural structure of a habit/ecosystem?
Content
Unit 4 addresses two fundamental questions that ecologists seek to answer: Why is there so much diversity within ecosystems and why are so many species in such abundance? Today ecosystems are shaped and characterized by complex interactions among social, economic, institutional, and environmental variables. The effects of anthropogenic habitat loss or degradation on the numbers and types of species in an ecosystem are still unfolding. The video introduces us to Stuart Davies, director of the Center for Tropical Forest Science (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution), who studies tropical rain forests, one of the most diverse biomes on Earth. Davies and his research team are conducting a worldwide tree census in an attempt to discover how such a wide range of species competing for the same resources can
Introduction
The abundance of a species and species diversity affect how natural resources are processed within an ecosystem. This pattern of processing contributes to functional and compositional characteristics of an ecosystem. But many ecosystems around the world are currently experiencing significant changes in species composition, abundance, and diversity due to the influence of human activity. These changes have, more often than not, led to a reduction in species diversity. Changes in species composition, species richness, and/or functional type affect the efficiency with which resources are processed within an ecosystem, raising the issue of whether the biogeochemical functioning of an ecosystem will be impaired by a loss of species or the introduction of a new species.
Essential Questions
Why do ecosystems like Tropical Rainforests have such immense diversity? What have scientists discovered that determines how many individuals of a species can be supported within an ecosystem? How does science restore the diversity to areas where human activity has interfered with the natural structure of a habit/ecosystem?
Content
Unit 4 addresses two fundamental questions that ecologists seek to answer: Why is there so much diversity within ecosystems and why are so many species in such abundance? Today ecosystems are shaped and characterized by complex interactions among social, economic, institutional, and environmental variables. The effects of anthropogenic habitat loss or degradation on the numbers and types of species in an ecosystem are still unfolding. The video introduces us to Stuart Davies, director of the Center for Tropical Forest Science (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution), who studies tropical rain forests, one of the most diverse biomes on Earth. Davies and his research team are conducting a worldwide tree census in an attempt to discover how such a wide range of species competing for the same resources can