Download 5 - Human Activities in Ecosystems

Human Activities in Ecosystems
Human Activities
• Cut down forests to make way for new houses,
malls and parking lots.
• There is usually many of us in a relatively small
amount of space, producing too much waste.
• Use resources that no other organism does:
– Dig the ground for Petroleum
– In the process destroy the soil, plants and shrubs
in the area, and force birds and other animals to
find new habitats.
The Consequences of...
• Construct Roads and Buildings
– Kill plants and organisms living in surface soil.
– Change the pattern of the land, altering water
drainage
– Land can no longer be used as a habitat for
animals or to grow crops.
The Consequences of...
• Dam Building (in order to produce electricity)
– Flood land rendering it unusable.
– Many land animals and living things are killed
during the flooding.
– Others are driven away, humans included.
The Consequences of...
• Cut down a tree to let more sunlight in
– Drive away birds and insects that used it as a
home and nutrient source.
– At the roots, the insects and worms living there
can no longer get nutrients.
– As the roots die, they no longer help keep the soil
together.
The Consequences of...
• Introduced species
– Any species that has been introduced and lives in
an ecosystem where it is not found naturally.
– These species thrive in new ecosystems because
there is few limiting factors to keep their
populations in check.
– They compete with local native species.
Our waste catches up to us...
• Watershed
– An area of land that drains into a body of water.
– Our wastes flow into a system of pipes that
eventually lead to a waste-water treament palnts
and eventually lakes and rives.
• We use this water to:
– Drink
– Swim in
– Allow fish and other animals to live in.