Aim #54 Ecological Succession: Why Is Biodiversity and Stability Important in an Ecosystem?
Unit 7: Ecology
Name: Date:
Aim #54 Ecological Succession:Why is biodiversity and stability important in an ecosystem?
- Biodiversity
What is biodiversity? / The ______of living organisms in a community and the degree to which species ______from each other
How is biodiversity related to stability in an ecosystem? / The ______biodiversity (more genes, more genetic variety etc.) an ecosystem has, the more stable the ecosystem will be.
What happens to an ecosystem if biodiversity is low or decreased? / It will ______the ecosystem’s stability. For example, ______a species from an environment causes ______due to the loss of organisms that were filling critical niches
What can cause a decrease in biodiversity? / ______species, natural ______, human activities such as ______(cutting down trees), pollution, hunting
Explain how biodiversity is beneficial for humans / Provides humans with ______, ______, insecticides, and other useful resources (tropical rainforest). As diversity is lost, the ______resources are ______with it.
1)The color, taste and juiciness of a particular strawberry make it very popular. Growers are able to let this perfect strawberry reproduce asexually. Explain why this lack of diversity in the strawberry field could prove to be a problem for the growers
2)State two ways that cutting down a rainforest can affect hospitals in the United States
- Ecosystem Stability
What keeps an ecosystem
STABLE? / What are some ways an ecosystem can become
UNSTABLE?
- Constant Cycling of ______*
- Constant Flow of ______*
- More ______than ______
- ______of species
- Interrelationships and interdependencies of species
- ______energy flow or cycling of materials
- Decrease in ______(water, food, etc.)
- More ______than ______
- Natural disasters (fire, floods etc.)
- ______species from their environment
(interferes with predator/prey relationships) - Loss of ______
(Takes longer to recover from environmental changes)
- Ecological Succession
A)Ecological Succession:
the series of ______by which ______changes into another.
- Over the course of succession, the number of differentspecies and biodiversityincreases
B)What happens during ecological succession?
1)Succession begins with bare rock, which has few resources that can provide homes for living organisms
2)______ begin to inhabit area, which are the ______organisms to inhabit the area
3)As succession proceeds, each community causes ______ to its environment, making it more ______for ______
- Ex: as the small plants and grasses grow in an area with very shallow soil, they add organic matter, making the soildeeper and more fertile. Shrubs are then able to live in this modified environment and will eventually produce enough shade to eliminate the grasses below them. Climax community: Mature, stable community that remains unless disrupted by natural disasters or human activities. It is usually determined by the local climate
4)Over a period of many years, these gradual changes may result in the formation of a stablecommunity that can last forhundreds of thousands of years called the ______
5)This stable community remains for hundreds of years unless there is a disruption such as deforestation, industrial development, fire, floods, etc.
6)If a disaster occurs, the damaged ecosystem is likely to ______in stages that eventually results in a stable system similar to the ______ecosystem.
