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Natural and Human Stress on ecosystems - Coggle Diagram
Natural and Human Stress on ecosystems
NATURE of CHANGE
What is the change?
RATE of CHANGE
Gradually over time or Catastrophically gradual - fast but suddenly (Everything's fine one minute then everything's not!)
Natural Stress
Natural climate change overtime = Gradual
Cyclones/Volcano/Floods/Earthquakes - Natural Disasters = Catastrophic or Gradual change in an ecosystem - they happen very quickly
Mount St Helens Volcanic Eruption 1980 - what impact did it have on the ecosystem: Link to Mt St Helens: Back from the Dead 50min video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clCxpKuglho
Main changed were: Pyroclastic flow races over the countryside, forests flattened, lake 4 miles below is chocked with debris, poisonous steam and ask pushed into the atmosphere. All life extinguished (died). Thousands of birds from over 100 species disappear. Billions of insects die, Deer and Elk are wiped out. The lake bed has risen more than 200 feet. hundreds of species of aquatic life including insects, amphibians and fish as the gas bubbled the water increasing its temperature. Legionella was detected in the water.
once the volcanic action slows down the environment starts to change again. 3 years after, the debris has settled and more light can reenter the lake and Phytoplankton are discovered. They are the building block of aquatic life. Brought in by birds flying. 135 species discovered bringing life back to the lake. Thanks to Sunlight, Water and photsynthesis.
Drought - gradual over a period of time brings about a gradual changes in an ecosystems
Human
Stress
Sometimes knowingly and sometimes inadvertently
Species Introduction
Huge in Australia - CANE TOADS. Introduced to eat cane beetles but the toads destroyed everything. The toads eat more than just the beetle and are impacting the food web BUT also the Toad cannot be eaten because its toxic - anything that tries to eat it, dies. Introducing the Cane Toad is one of the worst decisions made and we are still dealing with the consequences.
Just one addition to an ecosystem that is not native can have a considerable negative impact on the ecosystems natural food web.
A list of introduced species: Cane Toads, Lantana, Foxes, cats, Cows, Dogs, all agriculture - there was no cattle in Australia. Camels, Water Buffalo, Wild Pigs.
Habitat Loss/Destruction
Urbanisation
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Australia has the highest rate of deforestation in the developed world!!!
GREENFIELD Development (Sydney Case Study)
Agriculture
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Where ever there is a rainforest (AMAZON)
Soya Bean planting, Palm Oil, Cattle ranching (Brazil) Soil is depleted due to growing or grazing of the wrong type of species.
Poaching
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rhino poaching. Illegal (hunting is not). Losing species to poaching is significant all around the world.
Examples:
used for "Medicines":
Pangolins - the only scaled mammal (are about to be extinct) they are poached for their scales which is used in Chinese Medicine.
Rhino Horns
Shark Fin Soup
The problem is it is 'sudo science' - doesn't work!.
*Pollution
-*
SMOG Cities in China. Plants not photosynthesising due to lack of sunlight from the pollution.
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide - local and global pollution in the atmospshere.
Overfishing of our Oceans
- check out some facts - Watch Seaspiracy on Netflix for data
REMEMBER - to include AQUATIC ecosystems and the loss of the species in our oceans as well as Terrestrial ones. Do not overlook them as this is a common mistake to make.
DYNAMIC EQUILBRIUM - everything is fine
STRESS - productivity drops