Biosphere Water Ecosystem Research Paper

Plants are found everywhere on earth, up high on the ridge and down low in caves and caverns. The types of plants that live in these places depends on many factors. These factors are separated into two different categories, the biotic factors and the abiotic factors. Some of the biotic factors include, predation, competition, and habitat destruction. Plants with limited competition and large amounts of resources will be in a higher abundance than plants with limited resources and higher competition rates will be confined to areas and either out competed or will be the dominant species. Certain plants adapt to these factors and thrive and others don’t do as well. Some of the abiotic factors include, sunlight, water, temperature, and wind. These

The anglerfish and polar bear adapt to very extreme enviorments. The polar bears have to adapt to very  cold weather. The anglerfish have to adapt to the very  little food source they have in the deep sea. They both have devoloped many features that can help them while they live in these extreme enviroments.

One animal that prepares for the arrival of winter is the Rana Sylvatica, it is a species of wood frog’s that freezes it self through winter and then comes back to life. The tiny amphibians can survive for weeks with an incredible two-thirds of their body water completely frozen to the point where they are essentially solid frog sicles . Even more incredible is the fact that the wood frogs stop breathing and their hearts stop beating entirely for days to weeks at a time. In fact, during its period of frozen winter hibernation, the frogs physical processes from metabolic activity to waste production grind to a near halt. What’s more the frogs are likely to endure multiple freeze or thaw episodes over the course of a winter.The frogs have

The Great Lakes of the United States of America is known worldwide for its vast collection of fresh water. Nestled in with the Midwestern area of the country, one will find the Great Lakes Watershed. While commonly known as the five Great Lakes of (Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, and Lake Ontario), together the lakes can be referred to as the Laurentian Great Lakes. While in many ways the lakes are observed as a singular entity, they each are also contain individualistic components, giving them defining qualities. Within all the lakes however, keeping in mind these defining qualities, are diverse ecosystem/ecosystems

The rest of the plant population in the rich cove ecosystem consists of Pine Trees. White Pines, Pine Oaks, and Hardwood Pine trees are all present. The reason these types of plants thrive in the rich cove ecosystem is because they are all moisture loving plants. The rich cove ecosystem has a naturally moist, and nutrient soil, which allows these plants to not only survive, but thrive. The trees within the rich cove ecosystem are incredibly old, and serve as a display of one of oldest deciduous forests in all of the United States. Because there are so many old and tall trees in the rich cove ecozone, the tree canopy is very thick. In the spring time, the rich cove ecosystem has a flourishing floral community. There are remarkable amounts of wild flowers that grow in the rich cove forest in spring. Animal life in the rich cove forest is very abundant, because a majority of this forest is very remote. One issue that dangers the rich cove forest is the severity of the cold in the winter, making it difficult for plants and animals to survive in some of the more harsh areas within the rich cove

Seasonal shifts to freezing temperatures creates harsh conditions for animals to endure. There are two main strategies for surviving the winter when temperatures fall below 0°C: i) freeze avoidance, where the animal prevents body fluids from freezing by migrating, escaping to thermally buffered environments, or supercooling of body fluids (Lowe et al., 1971; Storey & Storey, 1988; Burke et al., 2002), and ii) freeze tolerance, in which freezing of body fluid is allowed, though ice crystal location and size is controlled (Storey & Storey 1984; 1988; Zachariassen & Kristiansen, 2000; Duman, 2001). The most well studied freeze-tolerant vertebrate is the wood frog, Rana sylvatica (Storey & Storey, 1984; Layne & Lee, 1987; Lee et al., 1992; Churchill

Many species of animals have had to adapt to their living enviroments. Some animals such as anglerfish, have had to go through major adaptations by developing a fishing pole like spine, descending from the middle of it's head. Others such as polar bears have had more of a minor adaptation such as, learning to bury themselves deep into the ground into small chambers. Both polar bears and anglerfish have had to go through many perplex yet astonishing adaptations.

California is a state of enormous diversity. From the coast to the mountains and the forests to the deserts, California is full of a wide array of plant life. California is the third largest state in the United States and thus has a major variation in climate resulting in the many plants found. Not only are there many plants found here, but many of those plants cannot be found anywhere else. There are also many nonnative plants that have become a part of the scenery in California. The best way to understand the state’s vegetation is to first understand the floristic provinces.

areas where other plants can’t or won’t propagate. In doing so, they’ve indentified several dozen plants introduced to the New York City that have adapted to life in the metro area. Plants strong enough to withstand poor soil and a lack of sunlight, the thinking goes, probably have a good chance of surviving future climate shocks in the years to come. “These are plants able to form the basis of an ecosystem, after the sixth mass extinction, “ Ellie Irons

With snow, ski season, and the holidays upon us, it is easy to tell that we’ve made it into the winter season. Luckily, winter doesn’t mean we have to stay indoors! The Vail Valley offers the opportunity to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, sled and a wide variety of other activities to stay active and outdoors in the winter. However, unlike us, many animals are not able to remain active and outdoors for the winter due to the bitter cold. Animals have a variety of mechanisms they use to survive the cold winters, three of the strategies animals use to survive the winter are: adapting, hibernating, or migrating.

Global warming is a current issue that is only becoming grater as time pases. With global warming becoming a larger concern, habitats and their species are now slowly on the decline. This rise in higher temperatures can/will lead to the increase of extreme unexpected weather patterns in various regions (Anup Shah, 1998). This climate change will have the greatest threat to all the diverse range of species here on earth. Freshwater ecosystems are currently home to a diverse range of species, however with higher temperatures the survival of these species is at risk. These higher temperatures will affect water chemistry, preferred living temperatures, and water levels.

Artic ice melts each summer and refreezes each winter, this a natural thaw – freeze cycle, but in recent years this cycle has been greatly affected by global warming. Summer ice has been melting much more rapidly, which affects the average thickness of the ice. This also changes the ocean’s albedo drastically. It no longer reflects the sun’s energy, but rather absorbs it due to its dark, open waters. This is the beginning of a very destructive cycle: the loss of ice leads to the warming of the ocean which in turn leads to more ice loss. The thinning and eventual loss of ice can have major effects on regional temperatures. This can cause shoreline erosion which would force thousands of locals to relocate to higher ground. It would also cause great damage to natural resources and habitats.

The evolutionary process where organisms develop certain traits or behaviours allowing them to successfully live and thrive in their habitat, is called adaptation. Adaptive traits can range from structural, behavioural, or physical traits, which are maintained and evolved by natural selection. In my essay I will be focusing on how organisms adapt to living in frozen seas, which is the home to a huge variety of different life forms that are highly adapted in their life history, ecology and physiology to the harsh conditions of this environment. I will firstly be looking at both the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica in more detail before exploring the different varieties of life that live there, and the adaptive traits they have developed. Antarctica

Coastal lands, agriculture, weak permafrost, increase in disease, weather patterns, ocean circulation, and biodiversity are few elements affected by this emergency. There is major concern for coastal flooding. IPCC estimates that 43% of coastal wetlands will be asphyxiated, beaches will wear down 100 to 200 ft., and 5,000 square miles will be overwhelmed with sea water. (Greenpeace) In Chesapeake Bay, beaches have already been lost, resulting from more than an inch increase in sea level. Many islands and low surface level countries will be inundated . Millions of people could be affect in Bangladesh, China, and New York due to flooding. Any country with a small economy can suffer greatly being unable to adapt and replenish resources. Pests that use warm weather will have more time to reproduce and feed on infected species, usually passing on infections. Allergens and viruses will be more persistent. Forest fires will increase. An example for agriculture damage is Kansas’ ability to be 4 degrees warmer during winter which is bad news for the winter wheat grown with cold air usually sent southward from the Artic ice. Also, during summer Kansas can lose valuable cropland from soil losing 10 percent of its moisture. (NRDC) Shrinkage in fresh water supply will result in water stress for people that rely on spring water, such as the Himalayans

One of the most serious effects of global warming, as it continues to intensify, is the increase in the ocean levels. Thermal expansion of the ocean and glacial melting are likely to cause a .5 to 1.5 meter rise in the ocean level by the year 2100. As the ocean level rises and if no protection is provided, many freshwater supplies could be jeopardized. Tens and possibly hundreds of millions of