when ecosystems change, humans are environmental science course hero

Human Relationship to the Environment

Sociologists use the term environment to encompass aspects of both the natural and human-made environment.

Sociological Study of Environmental Issues

Sociologists analyze how environmental problems are connected to social behavior and social structure and consider issues including environmental racism and sustainable development.

How does human disturbance affect ecosystems?

How human disturbance affects ecosystems? Human disturbance has a drastic effect on the ecosystem because it lessens habitat quality and destroys natural resources (as cited in EPA site). It threatens the ecosystem as it reduces various life forms, resulting in various environmental problems affecting human-being.

Why does development threaten the ecosystem?

It threatens because it has resulted in climate changes and various types of pollution. The development can also affect/threaten the ecological community as the results from the product (development) impact the ecosystem process (Hansen et al., 2002).

What are the physical and biological factors that shape the biotic community?

The physical factors that shape the biotic community are soil, the mountains, the temperature, and a lot more, where the organism lives together that makes up an ecosystem (Ann, 2014).

What is the difference between community 1 and community 2?

In Community 1, the majority of individuals come from just one of the species. In Community 2, the individuals are spread more evenly across the species. In this example, both Community 1 and Community 2 have four species, so they have the same species richness.

How to find species diversity?

Species diversity is usually calculated using a mathematical model called an index. To help illustrate the difference between species richness and species diversity, imagine two communities, each with four different species. In Community 1, the majority of individuals come from just one of the species.

What are the factors that determine the diversity of a species?

One of these factors is species richness, or the total number of species in a community. Another factor is species diversity, which takes into account species richness as well as the relative number of individuals within each species.

What is the term for the sequence of changes that occur in an ecosystem after a disturbance?

Ecological succession describes the sequence of changes that occur in an ecosystem after a disturbance. Primary succession is the initial colonization of an area by living organisms. This occurs in relatively rare cases, such as when volcanic activity creates a new landscape.

What is the ability of an ecosystem to withstand and recover from a disturbance?

Ecosystem resilience. The ability of an ecosystem to withstand and recover from a disturbance. Ecological succession. The sequence of changes that occur in an ecosystem after a disturbance.

What is the measure of the total number of species in a community?

The total number of species in a community. Species diversity. A measure that takes into account the total number of species in a community and the relative number of individuals in each species. Ecosystem disturbance. Any event that disrupts the balance of communities within an ecosystem. Ecosystem resilience.

Why is a disturbance not greatly affected?

To help illustrate why this is, imagine a complex ecosystem with many components and many interactions between those components. If a disturbance decreases the availability of a food source for a certain species, that species will not be greatly affected because it is likely able to get food from a variety of sources.