Ecological System Support - Essay Example

? ECOLOGICAL SYTEM SUPPORT Organization of ecological cycle Ecology is defined as the scientific study of the relations that various living things have with respect to each other and also with their natural environment. The various variables used by the ecologists include; composition, distribution, amount, number as well as the changing states of the organism within the ecosystem. The ecological cycle is organized hierarchically in into a series of the regularly interacting as well as the semi-independent parts that later aggregate into the higher orders of complex integrated wholes. The scope of an ecological cycle covers a wide range of interacting organization levels ranging from the micro-level to the planetary scale phenomena. A given ecological cycle may take thousands of years to mature through and also the area of a given can vary tremendously from a tiny one to a vast one. Ecology is therefore a sub-displine of biology, which is the study of life. The scope of an ecology entails a wide array of interacting levels of organization spanning micro-level i.e. the cells to planetary scale i.e. ecosphere phenomena. Therefore the nature of connection in a given ecological community can’t be explained by knowing the details of each of the species in the isolation since the emergent pattern can neither be revealed nor predicted unless the whole ecosystem is studied entirely. In some instances, however some ecological principles do exhibit collective properties whereas the sum of given components are used to explain the properties as a whole i.e. the birth rates of a given population being equal to the sum of the individual births within a designated time period. The levels of a given biological organization scheme therefore takes the following hierarchical form from the lowest level to the highest level. The Atom- this is the lowest level A molecule- this is defined as a group of atoms Organelle- this is defined as the functional grouping of the biomolecules including the biochemical reactions as well as the reactions. The cell- this is the basic unit of life as well as the grouping of the various organelles The tissue- this is the functional grouping of the various cells The organ-, this is the functional grouping of the various tissues. The organism- this is the basic living system, which is a grouping of the lower-level components which includes at least one cell The population- this is formed from a grouping of organisms of the same species. The community- this is formed from interspecific grouping of the populations The ecosystem- this is defined as grouping of the organisms from all the biological domains in connection to the physical environment The biosphere- this is set of a given set of ecosystems. The energy flow within an ecosystem The energy is defined as the capacity to do work. This is energy usually exist in two forms which include the potential and kinetic. The living things usually use this energy in several forms. This can be radiant or fixed energy. Radiant energy is energy used in the form of heat. On the other hand, fixed energy is the potential chemical energy that is found in many organic substances that can further be broken down to release their energy content. All the energy from the sun that is fixed by the plants during the photosynthesis process performs the following tasks: it can be stored as a chemical energy in the plant or animal materials. Secondly, it ca be passed through the ecosystem along the various food chains. Thirdly, it can escape from the system as an output of the material or heat energy. Whenever there is light, the energy falls on the green plants and a part of it is transformed into chemical energy and thereafter stored in various organic products within the plant. When the herbivorous in turn consume the food, the chemical energy is in turn converted into kinetic energy. In turn the herbivorous are again eaten by the carnivorous of the first order where further energy degradation does occur. Whenever the primaries carnivorous are again eaten by the top carnivorous, the energy degradation further occurs. The producers as well as the consumers within a given ecosystem can be arranged into several groups each being referred as a tropic level. In any named ecosystem, the producers are classified as the first tropic level, the herbivorous the second tropic level, the primary carnivorous the third tropic level and finally the top carnivorous the last tropic level. Within a given ecosystem, the food chain is defined as the chain organisms through which one organism secures the food items by feeding on another organism. The herbivorous gain the energy feeding on the plants. The carnivorous on the other hand gain the energy by feeding on the animals which in turn are acted upon by the decomposers which feed on the organic matter of the dead herbivorous as well as the carnivorous and in turn derive energy from them. This therefore means that food from one tropic level reaches the other tropic level and in a way a chain is formed which is called the food chain. The principles of flow of the energy within a food chain include; that the passage of the energy along the food chain is always unidirectional and non-cycle. Secondly, the chemical energy available for life processes constantly decreases throughout the food chain. Thirdly, the food chain usually begins with the plants and usually ends up with the animals. There are various types of the food chains. These are usually classified as the grazing food chain, the parasitic food chain and the saprophytic food chain. The grazing food chain is the most common one. This usually starts from the plants and goes from the smaller to the larger grazing animals. The herbivorous by feeding on the plants usually gain the energy. In the same the predating animals gain the energy by consuming other animals. At every step in this food chain, there is usually mass amount f the organic matter that’s passed through like death, decay as well as excretion to the second type of the food chain. The classification of a grazing food chain can therefore be classified as Under Terrestrial food chain: Plant (producer)-primary consumer-secondary consumer Under Aquatic food chain Phytoplankton-Insect-fish-woman In a parasitic food chain, the food chain is usually executed through the parasites and the scavengers. This is though not predominant compared to the other types of the food chains but some of the parasitic food chains can be complex enough with some organisms to the ones without as the case of the predators. The detritus food chain refers to all the non-living organic matter within a given food chain. This usually begins with the dead organic matter which is passed to the micro-organisms and then to the detrivorous as well as the predators( Molles 2009). These usually largely depend on the inflow of the organic matter that is produced by another system. In this food chain, the energy flow usually remains as a continuous passage rather than being a step by step flow between the concerned entities. A vast amount of organic matter is usually subscribed by the death of the given plants and the animals and their execration of the products. This food chain is usually inter-connected with the grazing food chain through some of the specific organisms that are having the overlapping roles and which usually facilitate the energy flow as well as the material cycle between the two named food chains. These overlapping organisms that form the linkages and by which the energy will pass from the detritus food chain and flows back to the grating food chain are usually crucial for an ecosystem that usually depend on the import of the energy. Global warming is not really a good thing and as such can cause a lot of disaster if it prolongs, it can causes more storms and bad weather for more nations and will lead to more forest fires, which can depletes the forests more. Human beings should limit greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. Global Warming can leave the environment as an unsafe place. As a result of the many people living near sea levels are at risk and danger of survival. This is because of the way sea levels are rising because of the arctic caps melting. Carbon dioxide emissions in the air, make hot air be trapped and cooler air cannot come down, the end result is hotter days and hotter nights, which has a direct bearing from global warming and it has the element of no intellectual stimulation. The main cause of global warming is humans and it can make the environment an unsafe place. If we do not start working in concert many people can get sick and hurt from pollution of the environment by greenhouse gases and other pollutants let into the air. Peter tyler in his article posits that “Humans are the major cause of contemporary global warming. Only when we assume this on top of natural causes we can explain the following measured phenomena: Global temperature increase CO2 increase in the atmosphere Decrease in infrared radiation towards outer space (meaning more infrared radiation is reflected back to the Earth and warming it) Increase in sea level rise” (Tyler, 2011). Human use of automobile and dependence on big companies that emit harmful gases in the air, has caused and increased Global warming. In a scenario where everyone would car pool, use public means or ride bikes instead of driving individually, we could help to some extent in the CO2 that is emitted to the air and it may help to prevent global warming from taking toll. Riding bikes gives us more exercise and keeps us generally healthy. Human encroachment is an every day activity in the world. It occurs when we kill the animals for the food we take. Every passing day there are animals that in danger of becoming extinct. There is projected estimate of the extinction in plants and animals. This estimate stands at least 75 species every day. This is being caused from the loss realized due to human encroachment on animal land and the expansion of agriculture activities. So, the definition of human encroachment, it takes place when we do the things that are harmful we do to the earth and atmosphere. For instance, killing animals, war , the air pollution and when we cut down trees and use them to make paper and similar things. I feel there are measures we can take to help preserve regions under human encroachment. We could do some recycling so that more the trees do not have to be chopped down. We can also grow our individual gardens so that there is more vegetation. We can reduce the exhaust fumes coming out of our cars. In a nutshell there is a lot we can fix. In my opinion the interests of competing groups need to be balanced when making the consideration between human needs vs. the environment, by getting the difference. If the environment is constantly destroyed we will end up killing every other thing existing. It wouldn’t just be the wild animals and their habitat. We really need to consider the long-term effects of every choice taken. If we do only the important and safe things to the environment the damage wouldn’t be as bad. For instance, the drilling for oil in Alaska, there is hot controversy over this particular issue. Some say it will harm the natural wildlife in existence and some believe it will be a great opportunity for world oil markets. This controversy has been going on since 1977(Callenbach 2008). Neighboring countries should come in as an attempt to protect the shared ecosystem that has been affected by the oil spill. They can help even though they are not invited by the conflicting countries. The benefit from this would have been the oil spill would have been cleaned up quicker and there may be less animals harmed. A potential downfall could be that it starts a war between the other country and the U.S. Honestly, i do not think there would have been a conflict. I think that we would have been ok with another country helping to clean it up. The atmosphere is composed of 4 different layers: the stratosphere, mesosphere, troposphere and the thermosphere. The troposphere is the closest layer to the surface of the Earth, at approximately 50 km thickness; it makes up the biggest percentage of the atmosphere, 99.9 percent. It is the atmosphere part that determines climate, weather systems, and is basically the primary support for life on Earth. The composition of troposphere is mainly made up of particles , gases, and water vapor; all which are influenced by air pollution. On top of the troposphere is the stratosphere, which has the ozone layer, made up of oxygen and nitrogen. Gases with a long life, known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), linger in this atmosphere causing the depletion on the ozone. The greenhouse effect is essential to life on Earth. Without the greenhouse effect, all the Earth’s inferred heat would go out into space, leaving the world cold and unable to support life. Natural occurring greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O), in the troposphere, act as insulators; trapping the heat that radiates from the Earth’s core. Some human activities such as air pollution, deforestation, farming and other that increase carbon emissions—it creates an invisible blanket hindering the escape of these gases, thus creating a dangerous greenhouse effect. The human population growth rate has a significant impact on the ecosystem. The pollutants released to the air, soil and water by people can harm an ecosystem quickly. The smoke fumes, from our vehicles go into the air. Fossil fuels emissions also cause acid rain which lowers the pH of a river/stream or lake and harms aquatic life. The more people increase in numbers, the more natural resources they need to survive. They need more food, land and minerals. Humans can harm different species’ habitats by obstructing and preventing the organism access to the habitat. It also affects the ecosystem when human beings introduce different species on purpose or accidentally. These different species are likely to take over the habitat and make the population of the normal primary residents to reduce and become lower or even extinct. The introduced species could possibly destroy the environment and make the land not useable for humans to grow plant life. I believe that humans can restore and protect the ecosystem for the future generations. Humans can cut back on the development; reuse the resources that are available instead of creating new. We should save the forest, animals, and plants that support our lifestyles. References Ernest, Callenbach.(2008).Ecology: A Pocket guide. University of California: California. Molles, Manuel. (2009).Ecology: Concepts and applications. McGraw-Hill Science: New York. Michael, B., Townsend, C.R & Harper,J.L.(2006). Ecology: From individuals to ecosystems. Wiley-Blackwell: New Jersey. Read More