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Ecology - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Relationships keep populations balanced, this is by the fact that mutualistic relationships make species codependent on each other, making sure that no population can get too far out of control. Another factor is shown in parasitic relationships, when the host does really well, so does the parasite, which brings the host back down.
      - Some relationships are capable of affecting an ecosystem. One case is lichen, which can break down rocks into dirt, which provides the beginning of many new ecosystems. Another example is the ants that protect trees from other insects, allowing the tree to become more dominant in an ecosystem.
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        Some species rely on a different species to exist. One example is parasites, where to exist they have to take from other organisms, in an all take, no give relationship. In a more positive note obligate mutualism is also a case where one species relies on another, this could be lichen, where it needs both a fungus and a photosynthesizer, which on their own would fail, but together form one of the most resilient organisms.
  - - - How do ecosystems change?
      - Levels of Complexity:
      - Biosphere: all ecosystems on earth
      - Biome: regions with similar ecosystems, an example is the desert in sahara and in new mexico, as they are similar, but not the same.
      - Ecosystem: All biotic and abiotic factors in an area that affect each other.
      - Population: a group of a species that can reproduce.
      - Organism: the single animal/ plant
      - Taxonomy is a way to describe an animal, in different levels of complexity these are:
      - D: Domain: 3 large groups
      - K: Kingdom: 6 slightly smaller groups, sorted by how they eat as well as make babies
      - P: Phylum: based on structure and evolution
      - C: Class : Subgroup with shared reproductive characteristics
      - O: Order: Subgroup of class
      - F: Family: Subgroup of order
      - Genus: a subcategory within a family
      - Species: a singular group that cannot reproduce with others
      - The two main types of succession are primary and secondary succession. Primary is when an uninhabited area gets developed for the first time, this could be a remote island, or a place destroyed by disaster, such as a volcano or crater. This will take longer, as it requires doing the whole development process again. Secondary succession is filling in an area that was opened, and often takes less time. Some examples include a tree falling in the forest, or a species falling out of favor in an ecosystem, and another species filling that space that is left;.
      - Competition can change based on three factors, which all affect each other as well as competition. These factors are; consumer buying habits, government management, and company profits. These affect each other in a money-based game of rock paper scissors, where a lack of government control leads to worse labor practices, as well mergers, decreasing competition, and increasing profits. The lack of competition causes consumers to buy from that place more. The money gained can be used to gain more control in the government, causing deregulation, causing the cycle to be exacerbated. This can be undone by more government control, which undos the process.
      - What is biodiversity and why should it be protected?
        
        Genetic Diversity: is diversity within a population, this can keep a single disease from killing all of a population, and limiting its effect.
        
        Species Diversity: is diversity within a species, keeping all of them from being too similar and being wiped out by a predator.
        
        Ecosystem Diversity: is how an ecosystem has more than one species within it, helping keep a stable population for all of the animals involved.
        
        Why are endangered species important?
        
        All species are important because they play a role in their environment, this includes mosquitoes.
        
        Mosquitos are pollinators which help keep plants diverse, they also serve as food for species like frogs and birds.
        
        They are benefited by water, and warmer climates, as it allows them to be more active, as well as the flowers they pollinate making more dirt by breaking down rocks.
      - Connection
        
        People interact within the world through a system of trade and communication, trade is like when two animals interact and both get positive, or one positive, one neutral outcomes. Both members of the trade get rid of something in exchange for something else. Communication is trade, but both parties always benefit, as they both get helped by the hard work of each other, and knowledge can be used by smart people around the world.
        
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        A picture of a globe with lines connecting all of the areas
  - - - evidence
        
        Conservation Laws: Energy is sent through a web of interactions, where each time one organism consumes another 10% of the energy is lost, this keeps the ecosystem in balance, as predators keep prey populations in balance very well.
        
        Biogeochemical Cycles
        
        The nitrogen cycle happens when nitrogen is used by plants to grow, which even though it makes up about 70% of the atmosphere, it is only useful when broken down by bacteria, or with fertilizer, like ammonia Humans can put more nitrogen into the ground, helping plants grow, this is often used on farms. The nitrogen cycle allows for plants to exist, which gives us the oxygen cycle, which is very important as we need it to live.
        
        Food Webs:
        
        A trophic level is each time one thing gets energy from another, a plant would be at the bottom of the trophic levels, as it gets energy from the sun. Each trophic level loses about 90% of energy, which means that the higher trophic level, the less of that will exist
        
        Energy is transferred through food webs, where producers are eaten by first level consumers, who the second level predators that eat them need to eat about 10 times as much as the first level consumers, if they want to have equal biomass. The higher up you go the more powerful the animals get, as they need to kill the animal below them to live
    - - Goods and services, when made in a capitalist society, cost a lot to produce, this is because the incentive is not a good customer experience, but maximising profits. Each member of the process takes a cut, which increases the total cost of production. This is inefficient, and in a stateless, classless, moneyless society this would not be what would happen. In a communist society this would not be the case, as the goal would be to improve the quality of life for all people, leading to an increase in the efficiency of the means of production, as any incentives that hurt workers would be removed. This would be like if everyone was primarily vegetarian, and got food more efficiently, leading to a less wasteful society.