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Human Impacts Ecology Unit Learning Goal 5 • http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/20 10/10/05/vo.hungary.toxic.mud.spill.mtv?ir ef=allsearch Earth as an Island • All organisms that live on the Earth share a limited resource base and depend on it for their long-term survival. • • • • • • A resource for shelter and space A resource for food supply An energy source A source of recreation A major source of medicines Natural resource for industrial products. Resources • Renewable Resources that can regenerate or have a virtually unlimited supply. Nonrenewable Resources • Resources that cannot be replenished by natural processes. – Fossil Fuels • Coal • Oil • Natural Gas – Entire Ecosystems (sometimes) Natural Areas • Critical habitat for many plants and animals is disappearing. – If there is no place to find food and shelter organisms are forced to relocate or die. Categories of Biodiversity • Ecosystem Diversity The variety of habitats that exist on Earth. • Species Diversity The number of different species in the biosphere. • Genetic Diversity Different forms of genes present within a species. Ecosystem Services • • • • Solar Energy Oxygen Production Nutrient Recycling Purification of Air and Water • Pollination for food production • Soil fertility and erosion prevention • https://video.weber.k12.ut.us/vportal/Video Player.jsp?ccsid=9C18620AA93E4C409F 9DC4580642588A:1 Species at Risk • Factors leading to endangerment or extinction. – Habitat Destruction – Invasive Species – Overexploitation – Disease – Pollution • Eutrophication Occurs in aquatic environments when excessive nutrients are added resulting in a bloom of algae that robs the water of oxygen. Species at Risk • Extinct: A species that no longer exists. • Endangered: A species facing imminent extinction. • Threatened: a species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. California Condor • As recently as the early 1800s, the California Condor occupied mountains along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to northern Baja California. By the mid-twentieth century, the population declined to a small population in south-central California. Through captive breeding, California Condors have been reintroduced to the coastal mountains of south-central California and the Grand Canyon area of northern Arizona. Condors prefer mountains, gorges, and hillsides, which create updrafts, thus providing favorable soaring conditions. Endangered Species Air quality • Air Quality is affected by pollutants that come from the combustion of fossil fuels. – Vehicles, homes, power plants, smelters, and other industries. • Smog can affect our health. Acid Rain • Acid rain is caused by the chemical conversion in the atmosphere of SO2 and NO2 into nitric acid and sulfuric acid. • Those are now monitored and controlled. Water Quality • Water is threatened by pollutants that enter the bodies of water. Biological Magnification • Concentration of a harmful substance increase in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain. • For example, if in one day a little fish eats 1,000 plankton and a whale eats 1,000 little fish, the whale is ingesting all the toxins that were in a million plankton! – (1,000 x 1,000 = 1,000,000) • Example – DDT and Bald Eagles Ozone Depletion • Ozone absorbs most of the UV radiation from the sun. – UV radiation may lead to many health concerns. • Depletion of the ozone has been linked to the uses of CFCs. • Today the use of most CFCs has been banned. • CFC molecules can stay in the atmosphere as long as a century. • We have yet to see the effect of the CFC ban. Climate Change • Average global temperatures at the Earth’s surface have increased 0.6 – 1.2oF since the late 1900’s. • Effect of Climate Change – Change in weather patterns. – Increase in severe weather. – Melting of the polar ice caps. – Change in habitat for organisms. – Change in entire ecosystems. Greenhouse Effect What Can People Do? • • • • • • • Use mass transit Use vehicles that get good gas mileage Use energy-efficient appliances. Recycle Conserve our resources. Clean up our messes. Preserve habitat • https://video.weber.k12.ut.us/vportal/Video Player.jsp?ccsid=8DA35001D77B22A067 95839265A1CA4B:1 We can do better!!! The End