Deck 25: Ecology

Question 1

Humans have disrupted ecosystems almost everywhere they have established themselves, at least in industrialized countries. Do you believe that humans could also improve an ecosystem?

Answer 1

The ecosystem is the ecological development of nature including both plant and animal kingdom since initiation of life on earth. Human beings came as most developed species of animal kingdom with brains and ability to change. Over last thousands of years human beings are responsible for changing the ecosystem as per their benefit and convenience.
Over last 50 years human have changed the ecosystem so extensively and faster than ever before, the changes made to ecological system proved to provide substantial gains to human kind and well-being as well as economic development of the region they live in but these gains produce collateral damages to the nature and the ecosystem at a very high cost. Humans as per their tendency and will do not seem to improve the ecosystem but can only damage it for own economic gains.
Recently the concerns have been raised and the interventions are being followed by human beings to conserve the ecosystem and improve the damages made through strategies such as plantation, rainwater harvesting, reducing sources of pollution, saving water, composting etc.
Therefore, proper care and interventions if followed can help replenish the damaged ecosystem to improved one in some decades.

Question 2

How does acid deposition occur?

Answer 2

The study of relationship of organisms towards each other and towards their environment is known as ecology.
When the fossil fuels are burned, the acid deposition occurs. During burning of fossil fuels, the compounds like sulfur and nitrogen are released into atmosphere. These on reaction with sunlight and water produces the compounds like nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
These acids on combining with the droplets of moisture leads to the deposition of liquid acid having pH less than 5.5.
The acid deposition can also occur due to the mycorrhizal fungi which are associated with the roots of most of the trees as these are more susceptible to acidified soil.

Question 3

If a vegetarian diet makes more efficient use of solar energy, should we all strive to become vegetarians for this reason?

Answer 3

Ecosystem means the interaction between the species and their surrounding environment that determines whether the species can survive or not. Ecology of the place is determined by the animal and plants species dwelling in it and the biological balance among them.
Researchers have states that the natural resources of earth are depleting due to human activities and usage, and shifting towards alternate diet and methods can help conserving these resources. One such fact is introduced that solar energy is very much vital and useful source of alternate fuel and methods to consume food. It is seen that vegetarian diet effectively uses the solar energy as compared to non-vegetarian diet. This shifts the paradigm towards adapting vegetarian diet on routine basis as it helps in maintain the ecosystem and also helps in using alternate sources of energy, but every individual has different dietary requirements and utilizing only vegetarian diet may not be recommended for all the individual but some.
Therefore, being vegetarian only because it can be effectively used with solar energy is not justifiable adaptation.

Question 4

What are the principal threats to global drinking-water sources?

Question 5

Besides the hypothetical example given (in which it was observed that eating corn directly was a more efficient use of solar energy than feeding it to cattle and then eating the beef), can you think of other ways in which food chains might be shortened?

Question 6

Distinguish among a plant community, a biotic community, an ecosystem, and a biome.

Question 7

Peanut butter has many of the nutrients needed in human nutrition. On the basis of what you have learned about the diet of animals in an ecosystem, do you think it would be a good idea to live on peanut butter and water as a means of saving money?

Question 8

What is the difference between a primary consumer and a secondary consumer?

Question 9

Could succession take place in an abandoned swimming pool?

Question 10

How are short food chains more efficient in the use of solar energy than long ones?

Question 11

Why is the diet of larger herbivorous animals varied?

Question 12

What types of checks and balances exist in an ecosystem?

Question 13

How are nitrogen and carbon recycled in nature?

Question 14

What is primary succession as opposed to secondary succession?

Question 15

What are general characteristics of climax vegetation as compared with nonclimax vegetation?

Question 16

What is the greenhouse effect?

Question 17

What is the ozone shield, and what significant role does it play? What threats are there to its existence?