Science II

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ScienceIIAssignment3.docx

  Assignment: Ecological Footprint 

Instructions:

· Within this assignment, students will investigate the concepts: Sustainable Development and Ecological Footprint.

· You will first visit the link embedded, where you will complete the “ My Ecological FootprinLinks to an external site. t” questionnaire.

· Please reflect on your impact on the environment and natural resources based on what is established by Sustainable Development and per the results within the questionnaire.

· Answer the following within your writing assignment -

· How does your ecological footprint compare to the average in the world?

· Were you surprised or not with your results?

· Are you taking any future actions to reduce your footprint?

 

Contribute a minimum of 2 pages. It should include at least 2 academic sources, formatted and cited in APA.

Be sure to review the  academic expectations  for your submission.

Submission Instructions:

· Submit your assignment by 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday.

· Review the rubric to determine how your assignment will be graded.

· Your assignment will be run through TurnItIn to check for plagiarism. Please check your results, make necessary corrections, and resubmit a revised copy if the system identifies issues.

scinseclassmodule3Population.docx

Population, Community, and Ecosystem

View the embedded slides that accompany this lecture here. [ SCIE_112_M3_PPT  Download SCIE_112_M3_PPT ]

Population 

What is a Population? 

A population is a group of individuals of the same species inhabiting a given area. This group of organisms that comprise the community share properties that favor reproductive and ecological cohesion. In the community, individuals can exchange genetic material, and their similar requirements favor the species' survival. 

 

Factors Limiting Population Growth 

Density-Dependent Factors 

Density-dependent limiting factors cause the growth rate of a population to change as population density increases. These factors tend to be biotic or related to living things and have little to do with the physical characteristics of the environment. Examples of density-dependent limiting factors include: 

 

Birth 

When a population has a high birth rate, more individuals are dealing with or depending on the same number of resources. This leads to competition for food, water, shelter, mates, light, and other resources necessary for survival and reproduction. 

 

Predation 

Populations with larger numbers of individuals may attract predators because it is easier for them to find food compared to sparser populations. Predators lead to population decline, although they may increase the number of their population. 

 

Resource Limits 

Resource limitation is another limiting factor when there is a high population density. Competition for food, niche and other resources increases when many individuals depend on them. 

 

Accumulation of Toxins 

High population density can lead to the accumulation of harmful waste products that kill individuals or affect their reproduction, thus decreasing population growth. 

 

Diseases 

There is a high probability that a disease will appear and cause more deaths when individuals of a population live together in the same place. 

 

Density-independent Factors 

Density-independent factors affect the growth rate of a population regardless of population size. Among these are natural disasters, such as hurricanes, forest fires, high temperatures, etc. 

 

Population Growth in Humans 

The population of human beings is also a subject of study for many ecologists due to the excessive growth in the number of individuals in different regions of the planet. But above all, because of the quantitative and increasingly harmful increase of human activities that have caused serious negative impacts on the environment, such as pollution, desertification of huge extensions of the planet, irresponsible depredation, and the growing loss of biological diversity. 

Like any species, human population growth is also impacted by density-dependent and density-independent factors. However, we have the advantage of having options to ensure survival and increase longevity compared to other species. 

 

Population Growth Depends on Biotic and Abiotic Factors 

Population growth is determined by the biotic potential that guarantees the ideal conditions for the population to increase. On the other hand, the environment could also restrict population growth due to biotic and abiotic factors. The availability of resources and an adequate environment are necessary for population growth. 

 

Community 

What is a Community? 

A community is a group of organisms of different species that live in the same habitat and under the same environmental conditions at a given time. In other words, it is a set of distinct populations that share life in a geographic region. 

One of the characteristics of community structure is species composition. Which species are present in a community will depend, in principle, on the characteristics of the site where it is located. A community will be composed of those species whose requirements in terms of conditions and resources are satisfied. But at the same time, species interact, and these interactions may prevent some species that are very similar to each other from coexisting, or the presence of a predator may cause two competitors to remain at low density, and therefore there will be no exclusion. Thus, the environment will determine which species can potentially be at a site, while the interactions will determine which ones will be part of the community.

 

References

Clark, M. A., Choi, J., & Douglas, M. (2018). The importance of biodiversity to human life.  Biology2.

Clark, M. A., Choi, J., & Douglas, M. (2018b). Threats to Biodiversity.  Threats to Biodiversity. Biology2.

Lang, J. M., & Benbow, M. E. (2013). Species Interactions and Competition.  Nature Education Knowledge4(4).

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