Science 10Sustainability of Ecosystems

How does society fit into your paradigm and society’s paradigm? Explain how a paradigm shift can

change scientific world views in understanding sustainability - explore and develop a concept of sustainability

Communicate questions, ideas, and intentions and receive, interpret, understand, support and respond to the ideas of others with respect to environmental attitudes

What is a paradigm shift?

A rare and significant change in the way humans view the world

Major changes that are controversial when first proposed but eventually come to be accepted as an advancement in scientific knowledge and understanding

Ex. Earth is round not flat, ocean dumping, using DDT to eliminate insects

Paradigm Shifts in the Environment Ecosystems represent the relationships

between many species living in an environment and the relationships among those organisms and the non-living parts of their environment

If something is disrupted with one part of an ecosystem, the other parts may feel its effects; sustainability may be compromised

What is sustainability? The ability to be supported

The quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources

Supporting long term ecological balances

In order to practice sustainability…

We need to understand how everything is connected to each other in the environment

What do frogs tell us about the environment?

They occupy two different ecosystems Water as tadpoles, land as frogs

They have two different food sources Plants as tadpoles, animals as frogs

Their skin is susceptible to environmental toxins as well as ultraviolet radiation

Acid rain affects their ability to reproduce Global warming and temperature changes

promote diseases that target frogs and alter oxygen levels in water

The Food Chain Living things may be classified as being

producers, consumers or decomposers Producers are plants, capable of

making their own food Consumers eat other organisms, either

plants (herbivores), animals (carnivores) or both (omnivores)

Decomposers break down dead matter to obtain nutrients

Remainder of class:

Questions 1-4, page 13

Watch the video on Easter Island

Read the article on Easter Island

Answer the following questions concerning the problems associated with Easter Island.

Questions for Easter Island

How is it possible that people though this way?

What factors contributed to this mind set?

Are there still large numbers in the general population that think this way?

Why are we shifting to a different paradigm?

Canada’s Endangered Species When sustainability is threatened, living

things can no longer survive under current conditions

A classification system exists that ranks the risk level of species living in Canada

Page 14, Table 1

Extinction Humans have the biggest impact on the

livelihood of other organisms Species are going extinct from the

planet at a dramatic rate Extinction is the result of a species

under stress – which can be natural or human-related

Latest projections are now being seen as humans causing extinction 1000x’s faster than normal

Reasons for Extinction: Loss of habitat Overhunting or commercialization Pollution Disease Disasters Loss of food/prey Increase in predators Environmental catastrophes Climate change Competition from other species

The Role of Humans Our responsibility to the environment

means that we must try and preserve biodiversity (“bio” = life, “diversity” = variety)

The more variety of organisms that exist on the planet, the more likely of sustainability

The removal of even one species can have major effects on the health of an ecosystem and planet

Ecology Organisms that humans find undesirable

are called pests Even though we may not think so, all

organisms are important in the web of life

The study of how organisms interact with each other is called ecology

All investigations in ecology begin with a single organism, or living thing

How Organisms Interact with their Environment Non-living factors that can influence a

living thing are called abiotic factors This includes sunlight, soil, temperature,

etc

Living things that influence or interact with other living things are called biotic factors This includes other plants and/or animals,

including humans

Levels of Organization One singular living thing belongs to a

particular species All species co-existing in the same habitat

or ecosystem are called a population A collection of populations living in an

ecosystem are referred to as a community

An ecosystem is an area that shares similar abiotic and biotic conditions

Ecosystems can overlap – such as a pond and field; this is called an ecotone

Not all Ecosystems are Equal Ecosystems that demonstrate

greater biodiversity tend to be less fragile and can sustain stresses

Ex. A bear that can hunt in both a river and forest ecosystem is less likely to run out of food compared to a fish living only in the river