Ecosystem services refer to the benefits ecosystems provide to people. These services include ecosystems replenishing rivers andlakes with rainfall, producing oxygen, storing carbon dioxide, providing habitats for wildlife, fertilizing soils, and pollinating flowers through the work of bees. These reoccurring services of ecosystems are critical to human life because they … [Read more...]
Keystone Speicies- Matt Brantley
This is a species that has a large effect on its environment relative to the size of the population of that species. They play an important role in regulating the environment and other organisms within it. Although these species do not occupy a large portion of the overall biomass or productivity, they are necessary to keep the environment stable. The loss of this species in … [Read more...]
Niche; Grant
The term niche refers to the role and space that an organism fills within an ecosystem. An organism's niche encompasses how and where it finds shelter and the resources that it consumes. Competition for resources as well as biological constraints dictate the niche an organism will fill in its environment. Additionally, competition for limited resources among two organisms can … [Read more...]
Biodiversity; Grant
The term biodiversity generally refers to the variability of living organisms. Biodiversity encompasses all sources of variation, from genetic variation within a species, to the variety of species in an area, to the variety of habitats within a landscape. Biodiversity is essential to the maintenance and long-term preservation of natural resources. Not only is a biodiverse … [Read more...]
Food Webs & Productivity – John-Michael
Food webs – Food webs represent energy flows within an ecosystem and provide a look into the connectedness of plants and animals within an ecosystem. The image below is an example of this type of visualization. Most often, webs are composed of different nodes: producers, consumers, detritivores, etc. Nodes are connected by arrows that represent their relationships to one … [Read more...]