Effects of Changes in the Macro-Ecosystem Surrounding - Assignment Example

One of the factors in the micro-ecosystem likely to be influenced by the surrounding macro-ecosystem is its capacity to maintain the characteristic patterns, structures, and the existing interactions among the micro-ecosystem ecosystem properties of the various components including trees, birds, insects, and small animals.

Pollution from the coal energy firms and other key players in the Boston macro-ecosystem is likely to influence negatively the native vegetation which forms the largest source of energy in the selected micro-ecosystem. Effects of air pollution in the macro-ecosystem are likely to have an overall negative impact on the biodiversity within the selected micro-ecosystem including effects on the distribution of species and the interaction of the various ecosystem components (Nadakavukaren, 2011). Extinction of the native forests due to global warming effects is likely to interfere with the population of insects, birds, and other small animals that depended on the forests as the main source of energy.

The growing population in Boston continues to increase the demand for settlement land as well as the expansion of the city. The need for construction land exerts pressure on the cradle land occupied by the native vegetation, a phenomenon that is threatening the existence of the vegetation in both the micro and macro ecosystems (Nadakavukaren, 2011). The growing population also puts pressure on the micro-ecosystem through an increase in the number of people using the park as a recreation area. Human encroachment in the surrounding macro-ecosystem presents significant threats to the existing interaction among the various micro-ecosystem components. Human direct pollution through the deposition of solid waste materials in the surrounding macro-ecosystem is likely to be into the micro-ecosystem leading to adverse effects on the biotic factors in the system.

Some of the solid wastes deposited by people comprise toxic materials which may lead to the death of some animals in the micro-ecosystem. Such toxics can also result in the extinction of the native vegetation as they get absorbed into plant systems leading to adverse effects on the vegetation (Nadakavukaren, 2011). In addition, over-exploitation of natural resources, such as forests, in the surrounding macro-ecosystem may expose the micro-ecosystem to unprecedented exploitation leading to disruption of the micro-ecosystem interactions and structural organization of the micro-ecosystem. Human encroachment into the micro-ecosystem threatens the survival of some biotic components in the ecosystems through disruption of their habitat and mutually beneficial interactions within the micro-ecosystem.

Some of the Direct and Indirect Global Health Consequences
Accumulation and dispersion of pollutants, such as carbon dioxide from the coal energy firms and airborne particulate matter, not only affect human health and the ecosystem on local and regional scales but also influence human health on a global scale. Air pollutants are transferred to other parts of the globe leading to similar adverse effects experienced in the local ecosystems on a global scale (Nadakavukaren, 2011). Such states may be indirectly propagated through the effects of global warming on the bodies of people in other parts of the world. Air pollution, climate change, and human health are intricately interconnected in terms of source and effects.
Emissions from the coal firm may be under several forms of physical and chemical transformations which contribute to a wide range of health and environmental impacts including deterioration of air quality, and toxicological stress on human health and ecosystems (Nadakavukaren, 2011). Air pollution increases the global burden of diseases from respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer. Air pollution leads to a wide range of health problems experienced at the local, regional, and global levels. Respiratory diseases emerge as the most common health problem directly associated with air pollution even at the local or micro ecosystem levels. Read More