Much of the African continent encompasses the Afro-tropical ecoregion, which is separated from other ecoregions by the Indian Ocean to the East, the Atlantic Ocean to the West, and the Saharan Desert to the North. These major geographic features have acted as barriers to movement since the African continent first took its current shape, enabling …
Habitat loss in rainforests Occupying about 7% of the earth’s total surface, tropical forests are estimated to contain more than 50% of the world’s terrestrial species. Due to these high levels of biodiversity, the complexity of biological interactions in tropical forests is unequaled in other ecosystems, and therefore also their importance to man. At the …
Habitat loss is defined as the total destruction of natural ecosystems, an inevitable consequence of expanding human populations and human activities. Island biogeography theory offers a good explanation of why habitat loss leads to species extinction. Using oceanic islands as a model system, one of the main predictions of the theory is that larger islands …
Habitat fragmentation creates small and isolated subpopulations that have fewer opportunities to find food, water, shelter, and mates and occurs due to human activities such as agriculture, deforestation, infrastructure, and road development. As governments and industries implement measures to accelerate economic growth, ecosystems that once covered large areas continue of land are being increasingly divided …
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One of the major consequences of ecosystem dynamics relative to human influence is biomagnification. Biomagnification is the increasing concentration of persistent and toxic substances in organisms at each successive trophic level. These are fat-soluble substances that are stored in the fat reserves of every organism. Many substances have been shown to biomagnify, including classic studies …
What does biomagnification mean? Biomagnification definition environmental science Read More »
First, it is important because it represents the almost infinite diversity of plant and animal life and the diversity of types of ecosystems on Earth that support life as we know it. It allows people to survive in conditions that would otherwise result in harsh conditions. Things that support evolution and differentiation between the different …
Effects of chemical pollution There are three main routes of exposure, or ways a substance can enter your body. • Breathing (inhalation): Inhalation of chemical gases, mists or dusts in the air. • Skin or Eye Contact: Contact of chemicals with skin or eyes. They can damage the skin or be absorbed through the skin …
The ocean is the largest marine biome. It is a continuous body of saltwater relatively uniform in chemical composition mineral salts and decomposed biological matter. Ocean The ocean is divided into a few zones depending on the distance reached by light in the water. Each zone has a different group of species adapted to the …
Freshwater biomes include lakes and ponds (stagnant water) and rivers and streams (flowing water). These include wetlands, which will be discussed later. LAKE AND PONDS Lakes and ponds are part of terrestrial landscapes and are therefore associated with abiotic and biotic factors affecting these terrestrial biomes. Lakes and ponds can vary in size from a …
Bioremediation uses living organisms to remove or minimize contaminants from a polluted site. According to the US EPA, bioremediation is the treatment that uses natural organisms to break down chemicals into less toxic or non-toxic substances. Bioremediation is used to treat human wastewater as well to remove agricultural chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) that leach from …
