The broad scale of ecology and thus encountered a wide range of biodiversity is all the different kinds of life that you will find in one area it encompasses the variety of animals plants fungi and microorganisms like bacteria as we've been learning each of these special and organisms work together in the ecosystem a complicated intertwined web that somehow has to maintain balance and support life biodiversity is essential for the processes that support life even human life through sometimes we like to think of ourselves as separate from the natural world without all the animal's plants and bacteria we would not have the ecosystems that provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat.
Habitat loss or destruction is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species the organisms that previously inhabited the area are displaced or dead leading to a reduction in biodiversity and species abundance while there are many causes of habitat loss land conversion for development due to growing populations along with mining for materials harvesting lumber and agriculture are at the top of the list loss of habitat can lead to the extinction of plants and animals habitat fragmentation is defined as the process by which a large expanse of habitat is transformed into the number of smaller patches of lesser total area isolated from each other by a matrix of habitats unlike the original in other words habitats that were once continuous are now divided into separate fragments.
This can happen when humans clear regions to build pasture or crop fields and even the creation of hydroelectric reservoirs fragmentation can undermine the integrity of whole ecosystems by breaking up natural areas then there is habitat degradation pollution invasive species and disruption of ecosystem processes such as the changing intensity of fires are some of the ways that habitats can become degraded no longer supporting native wildlife another example of this is streams being degraded by runoff of sediments and chemicals adjacent cropland or factories leading to changes in the aquatic ecosystem an invasive species is an organism that is not indigenous or native to a particular area while not all nonnative species are invasive the ones that are classified as such can cause great economic and environmental harm to an area.
Some species may arrive in new areas through natural migration perhaps prompted by changing temperature and precipitation conditions but often they are introduced by the activities of other species why is that a problem? invasive species are capable of causing extinctions in native plants and animals by outcompeting them for resources or preying on them incessantly their loss from the environment reduces biodiversity and may even after the habitat making it physically unsustainable for other species invasive species are among the leading threats to native wildlife another degradative phenomenon is acid rain or acid deposition which is any form of precipitation with acidic components like sulfuric or nitric acid that falls to the ground.
It can include rain snow fog hall or even dust acid rain can be extremely harmful to forests because the rain seeps into the ground dissolving nutrients such as magnesium and calcium that the trees need to grom additionally aid rain can cause aluminum to be released into the soil making it difficult for trees to take up water in aquatic environments acid rain can cause phytoplankton to die insects which rely on the phytoplankton for food now have less food and they begin to die birds reliant on insects for food now also have less food and so on creating disturbances all the ay up the food web.
Climate change ecology is the study of the effect of anthropogenic human-caused climate on any aspect of ecology this includes the effects of altered temperature and precipitation on the distribution abundance behavior and physiology of populations and communities in addition to altering plant communities climate change likely will also disrupt the ecological balance between interdependent and often endangered plant and animals species biodiversity will be reduced and earth's water energy carbon and other element cycles will be disrupted leading to vast ecological stress climate change is one of the biggest threats that wildlife is facing at.
In-situ conservation includes the conservation of habitats species and ecosystems where they naturally occur ex-situ refers to the conservation of elements of biodiversity outside of the context of natural habitats sometimes in-situ conservation is not always possible as habitats are too degraded or there may be competition for land meaning species need to be removed to save them orangutans in Indonesian rainforests are an example of this areas to conserve typically include hotspots of diversity and areas where there are threatened habitats or species which require restoration.
Plants and animal species may be listed as endangered when in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their geographical range threatened means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future species become threatened or endangered for two main reasons loss of habitat and the loss of genetic variations invasive species play a large role in threatening or endangering species as well especially as native species may be much closer to adapting to new climatic conditions than the invasive species that replace them restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of renewing or restoring degraded damaged or destroyed ecosystems and habitats due to human activity it is often the case that effective restoration requires an explicit goal or policy these goals reflect societal choices from competing policy priorities and it can be challenging to instigate any kind of action.
Nevertheless, it is in our best interest to continue trying as ecosystems provide us with food fuel, and timber that we need to survive and thrive as a species if we destroy it all we destroy the ability to live in harmony with nature and to support our own human communities habitat losses and extinctions affect the entire plants including us ecological restoration has many positives the potential to improve air quality reverse forest clearance and desertification slow biodiversity loss enhance urban environments improve human livelihood and perhaps as a byproduct improve humanity's relationship with nature to a place that is more harmonious for all other species and ourselves.
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