THE ECOLOGY OF CULTURE © 2021 VOL2 ISBN978-976-96689-2-8 PART A William Anderson Gittens Author, Cinematographer,Dip., Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing ®2015 CLICK THE LINKS https://youtu.be/dYIOdYzifq8 https://www.buzzsprout.com/429292/episodes/8826195 Page 2 of 91 FOREWORD According to Wikipedia Ecology (from Greek: ο!κος, "house" and -λογία, "study of")1 is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment 2 Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystems, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences of biogeography, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology and natural history. Ecology is a branch of knowledge, and it is not synonymous with environmentalism. Among other things, ecology is the study of: Life processes, interactions, and adaptations The movement of materials and energy through living communities 1 In Ernst Haeckel's (1866) footnote where the term ecology originates, he also gives attribute to Ancient Greek: χώρας, romanized: khōrā, lit.'χωρα', meaning "dwelling place, distributional area" —quoted from Stauffer (1957). 2Stadler, B.; Michalzik, B.; Müller, T. (1998). "Linking aphid ecology with nutrient fluxes in a coniferous forest". Ecology. 79 (5): 1514–1525. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[1514:LAEWNF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0012-9658. ^ Humphreys, N. J.; Douglas, A. E. (1997). "Partitioning of symbiotic bacteria between generations of an insect: a quantitative study of a Buchnera sp. in the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) reared at different temperatures". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 63 (8): 3294–3296. doi:10.1128/AEM.63.8.3294-3296.1997. PMC 1389233. PMID 16535678. Page 3 of 91 The successional development of ecosystems Cooperation, competition and predation within and between species. The abundance, biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment.Patterns of biodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes. Ecology has practical applications in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agroecology, agriculture, forestry, agroforestry, fisheries), city planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, basic and applied science, and human social interaction (human ecology). The word "ecology" ("Ökologie") was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel, and it became a rigorous science in the late 19th century. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection are cornerstones of modern ecological theory.Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, nutrient cycling, and niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and Page 4 of 91 matter through an environment. Ecosystems have biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of the planet. Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and provide ecosystem services like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value.3 William Anderson Gittens, Author, Cinematographer Dip.Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher,CEO Devgro Media Arts Services®2015,Editor in Chief of Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing®2015 3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecology Page 5 of 91 COPYRIGHT The Ecology of Culture© 2021 VOL2 978-976-96689-2-8 A,B,C,D William Anderson Gittens, Author, Cinematographer Dip.Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher,CEO Devgro Media Arts Services®2015,Editor in Chief of Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing®2015 First Edition © 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of William Anderson Gittens the copyright owner. Typesetting, Layout Design, Illustrations, and Photography by William Anderson Gittens Published by Devgro Media Arts Services ® 2015 Page 6 of 91 Email address wgittens11@gmail.com Twitter account William Gittens @lisalaron https://www.facebook.com/wgittens2 https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamandersongittensauthormediaartsspecialistb1886b26 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxYWov8tzbe5rHzik528dAw William Anderson Gittens Bridgetown Barbados https://independent.academia.edu/WilliamGittens Page 7 of 91 RECOGNITIONS Special thanks to the Creator for his guidance and choosing me as a conduit to express the creative gifts he has given me and my late parents Charles and Ira Gittens. Thanks to those who assisted me along this journey namely my Beloved wife Magnola Gittens, my Brothers Shurland, Charles, Ricardo, Arnott, Stephen, Sisters Emerald, Marcella, Cheryl, Cousins Joy Mayers, Kevin and Ernest Mayers, Donna Archer, Avis Dyer, Jackie Clarke, Uncles Clifford, Leonard Mayers, David Bruce, Collin Rock. My children Laron and Lisa. Well-wishers Mr.and Mrs. Andrew Platizky, Mr. Matthew Sutton, Mr.& Mrs. Gordon Alleyne, Mr. Juan Arroyo, Mr. and Mrs. David Lavine, Mrs. Ellen Gordon, Dr.Nicholas Gordon, the late Dr.Joseph Drew, Merline Mayers, Mr. and Mrs. Trevor Millington, Rev. Dr. Scofield Eversley and Rev. Dr. Margaret Eversley, Rev. & Mrs. Donavon Shoemaker, Rev. & Mrs. Clayton Spriger, Ms. Geraldine Davis, Rev.Carl Page 8 of 91 and Rev Angie Dixon, Mr. David Brathwaite,Mrs. Zenda Phillips,Mrs. Gloria Rock, Rev.Pauline Harewood, Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Russell, Mrs. Shirley Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Felton Ince, Mr. and Mrs. David Brathwaite, Mr.and Mrs. Ryan Miller Mr.and Mrs. Neilo Mascoll, Rev. Zenda Phillips, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Quintyne, Special mentioned is given to Dr. Joseph Drew was my advisor, mentor, and teacher during my academic tenure as a Media Arts Major at Jersey City State College now New Jersey City University (NJCU). The focus of our parting conversation was about me honing my writing skills after I had graduated and returned to Barbados. Between the period 1995 to 2016, I have discovered that the more that I practice this leisure pursuit profession it seemed to be infectious among other nuances. The other elements such as being passionate and prolific combined together with the Creator’s help, made me a productive writer to the extent that I have now published 229e-books.In light of the aforesaid, I have decided to dedicate my 66 Th publication “A Tribute to Culture” Vol 1 in memory of Dr. Joseph Drew. Page 9 of 91 All of the above information contributed to my academic developmental journey. William Anderson Gittens Author, Cinematographer, Dip., Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ Editor-in-Chief Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing®2015 License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher, Student of Film, CEO Devgro Media Arts Services®2015 Page 10 of 91 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A FOREWORD 3 COPYRIGHT 6 RECOGNITIONS 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS 11 ABSTRACT 16 Page 11 of 91 HISTORY 21 OVERVIEW 34 CHAPTER 1 HUMMINGBIRDS 48 CHAPTER2 BEES 67 CHAPTER3 PARROT 81 CHAPTER 4 TREES 86 Page 12 of 91 PART B CHAPTER5ORCHIDS 3 CHAPTER 6 MONKEYS 15 CHAPTER 7 MARINE ECOSYSTEM 19 CHAPTER 8 LEAVES 25 Page 13 of 91 CHAPTER 9 BUILDINGS 40 PART D CHAPTER10 DRAGONFLY 50 CHAPTER 11SOIL 57 CHAPTER 12 GULLY 66 Page 14 of 91 PART C CHAPTER 13 SUNLIGHT 73 CHAPTER 14 PERSONAL CONCLUSIONS 8 CHAPTER 15 CONCLUSIONS 9 WORKS CITED 21 ABOUT THE AUTHOR WILLIAM ANDERSON GITTENS 31 Page 15 of 91 ABSTRACT Just as Contours show distinct characteristic features of the terrain, through a Civil Engineering lens; likewise metaphorically through my lens as an Author, Cinematographer, Media Arts Specialist, License Cultural Practitioner and Publisher my lens captures and frames Cultural ecology. This theoretical approach draws attention to similarities and differences in culture as it relates to the environment as developed by Julian Steward in the 1930s and 1940s, cultural ecology became an influential approach within anthropology, particularly archaeology 4the Cultural ecology or the study of how humans adapt to physical and social environments..5 4 Cultural ecology is a theoretical approach that attempts to explain similarities and differences in culture in relation to the environment. ... Developed by Julian Steward in the 1930s and 1940s, cultural ecology became an influential approach within anthropology, particularly archaeology. 5https://www.quora.com/What-is-cultural-ecology-and-what-is-an-example Page 16 of 91 I Composed and framed The Ecology of Culture© 20216 so as to activate readers cognition to the various elements of this conversation within this space. Biotic Components7of an ecosystem are living creatures such as plants, animals and microbes. The abiotic components of an ecosystem are the climate, soil, water, minerals, sunlight, precipitation and other non-living elements that sustain life in the ecosystem.Which includes Energy Flow. Material Flow. Importantly, an ecosystem consists of all of the organisms living within an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment.8 Ostensibly for my reasoned explication of the aforesaid impute ecology as punctuating the precincts of culture. In this context ecology becomes a useful tool in shaping my analysis since the same is part of the objective de6 Gittens,William Anderson,Author, Cinematographer Dip.Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher,CEO Devgro Media Arts Services®2015,Editor in Chief of Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing®2015 7 https://sciencing.com/elements-ecosystem-8071086.html 8 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1163-birds-roles-in-ecosystems Page 17 of 91 tection and recognition of this discourse. Therefore my actions in capturing with the macro lens certainly helped me to get a close up view. This scenario reminded me of reading glasses, hence allowing a primary lens to focus more closely. Bringing the focus closer which gave me more possibilities. This view provided explicit detail so that I could clearly articulate the posited the abstract The Ecology of Culture© 20219 . The rational for the aforesaid thinking has to do with the fact that just as members of a society work together to fulfil a society's needs, likewise culture also exists to meet its members' basic needs. One of the ways to achieve this is through imply The Ecology of Culture© 2021 lens. Now that I have composed and framed the aforesaid argument for discourse ostensibly the contours of the Biotic Components10of an ecosystem are living creatures such as plants, animals and microbes whereas the abiotic components of an ecosystem are the climate, soil, 9 Gittens,William Anderson,Author, Cinematographer Dip.Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher,CEO Devgro Media Arts Services®2015,Editor in Chief of Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing®2015 10 https://sciencing.com/elements-ecosystem-8071086.html Page 18 of 91 water, minerals, sunlight, precipitation and other non-living elements that sustain life in the ecosystem includes Energy Flow and Material Flow. An ecosystem consists of all of the organisms living within an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment.11 Now that I have set the one and the tenor for this conversation metaphorically and philosophically speaking when I analysed this conversation with the macro lens it certainly helped me to clearly articulate the posited abstract The Ecology of Culture© 202112 After careful analysis I believe that since The Ecology of Culture© 202113 consists of all of the organisms living including bees, orchid, monkey, parrots, soil, sunlight and water within an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment14 it is highly probable that without the ecological culture there is no culture. 11 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1163-birds-roles-in-ecosystems 12 Gittens,William Anderson,Author, Cinematographer Dip.Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher,CEO Devgro Media Arts Services®2015,Editor in Chief of Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing®2015 13 Gittens,William Anderson, Author, Cinematographer,Dip., Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural Practitioner, Publisher, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing ®2015 14 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1163-birds-roles-in-ecosystems Page 19 of 91 It is because of this analytical scholarly cultural conversation which occupies the precincts of culture will be captured in ISBN978-976-96689-0-4, framed in 15 chapters and verbalised in publication 229. The Ecology of Culture© 2021 is an ethos articulated and evolves around ecosystem and culture. Simply put an ecosystem consists of all of the organisms living including bees, orchid, monkey, parrots, soil, sunlight and water within an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment15and without the ecology there is no culture. 15 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1163-birds-roles-in-ecosystems Page 20 of 91 HISTORY Ecology had no firm beginnings16. It evolved from the natural history of the ancient Greeks, particularly Theophrastus, a friend and associate of Aristotle. Theophrastus first described the interrelationships between organisms and between organisms and their nonliving environment.According to Britannica Julian Steward, in full Julian Haynes Steward, (born January 31, 1902, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died February 6, 1972, Urbana, Illinois), American anthropologist best known as one of the leading neoevolutionists of the mid-20th century and as the founder of the theory of cultural ecology. He also did studies of the social organization of peasant villages, conducted ethnographic research among the North American Shoshone Indians and various South American Indians, and was an early proponent of area studies. 16 Ecology | Britannicahttps://www.britannica.com › science › ecology Page 21 of 91 Steward received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1925 and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1929. He was affiliated with several universities before joining the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution in 1935. He became successively the senior anthropologist (1938) and director of the Institute of Social Anthropology (1943–46). After teaching at Columbia University (1946–52), Steward joined the faculty of the University of Illinois and became professor emeritus in 1967. Steward’s work drew on several disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, history, ecology, and ethnography. He was editor of the massive ethnographic study Handbook of South American Indians, 7 vol. (1946–59), a survey of cultures published by the Bureau of American Ethnology in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State. Steward’s chief theoretical work was anthologized in Theory of Culture Change: The Methodology of Multilinear Evolution (1955), in which he attempted to show that social systems arise out of patterns of resource ex- Page 22 of 91 ploitation which, in turn, are determined by the technological adaptation of a people to their natural environment. Although there are cross-cultural similarities of social change, the exigencies of differing physical and historical settings produce different social manifestations in each case, resulting in what Steward called “multilinear evolution.” Similarly, his book Irrigation Civilizations (1955) illustrates how the collective labour and centralized authority required for irrigation in an arid climate resulted in increased social stratification and, ultimately, in the development of the state in various areas of the world.Ethnographic fieldwork had been undertaken mainly in colonial situations characterized by contact between conquering and conquered cultures. This experience produced a theory of cultural cross-fertilization (acculturation) and culture change. A legacy of colonialism was the great differential between wealthy and less wealthy parts of the world. The “development project” undertaken by the wealthier nations after World War II to relieve colonial poverty and diminish global inequities produced Page 23 of 91 various cultural theories of development based on continuing anthropological research as well as strong critiques of the discipline’s role in development. Cultural anthropology has maintained its concern for the history of change in particular cultures. Kroeber was the most notable cultural historian among Boas’s students, examining change over the long term on a scale that connected easily with the historical sociology of Max Weber and the social history of Fernand Braudel. The last two decades of the 20th century witnessed a striking invigoration of historical anthropology that took issue with utilitarian and materialist interpretations of cultural stability and change, emphasizing the importance of symbols and their meaning for all human action. Marshall Sahlins was a leading proponent of this school of “historical anthropology.” Cultural ecology also has its roots in an earlier cultural anthropology, particularly the study of the geographic and environmental context of culture change. The neo-evolutionist Leslie White reacted to the idealism of the Page 24 of 91 cultural approach, turning his attention to the progress of technology in harnessing energy to serve the survival and subsistence needs of cultures. Cultural ecology has sought to produce a more quantitative discipline than is characteristic of most cultural anthropology, which has remained rooted in the humanities.17 Cultural ecology as developed by Steward is a major subdiscipline of anthropology. It derives from the work of Franz Boas and has branched out to cover a number of aspects of human society, in particular the distribution of wealth and power in a society, and how that affects such behaviour as hoarding or gifting (e.g. the tradition of the potlatch on the Northwest North American coast).18 The interrelatedness between culture and nature has been a special focus of literary culture from its archaic beginnings in myth, ritual, and oral story-telling, in legends and fairy tales, in the genres of pastoral literature, nature poetry. Important texts in this tradition include the stories of mutual transformations between human and 17 https://www.britannica.com/science/anthropology/Cultural-change-and-adaptation#ref840352 18 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_ecology Page 25 of 91 nonhuman life, most famously collected in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which became a highly influential text throughout literary history and across different cultures. This attention to culture-nature interaction became especially prominent in the era of romanticism, but continues to be characteristic of literary stagings of human experience up to the present. The mutual opening and symbolic reconnection of culture and nature, mind and body, human and nonhuman life in a holistic and yet radically pluralistic way seems to be one significant mode in which literature functions and in which literary knowledge is produced. From this perspective, literature can itself be described as the symbolic medium of a particularly powerful form of "cultural ecology" (Zapf 2002). Literary texts have staged and explored, in ever new scenarios, the complex feedback relationship of prevailing cultural systems with the needs and manifestations of human and nonhuman "nature." From this paradoxical act of creative regression they have derived their specific power of innovation and cultural self-renewal.In geography, cultural ecology developed in response to the "landscape morphology" approach of Carl O. Sauer. Sauer's Page 26 of 91 school was criticized for being unscientific and later for holding a "reified" or "superorganic" conception of culture.19Cultural ecology applied ideas from ecology and systems theory to understand the adaptation of humans to their environment. These cultural ecologists focused on flows of energy and materials, examining how beliefs and institutions in a culture regulated its interchanges with the natural ecology that surrounded it. In this perspective humans were as much a part of the ecology as any other organism. Important practitioners of this form of cultural ecology include Karl Butzer and David Stoddart.20 The second form of cultural ecology introduced decision theory from agricultural economics, particularly inspired by the works of Alexander Chayanov and Ester Boserup. These cultural ecologists were concerned with how human groups made decisions about how they use their natural environment. They were particularly concerned with the question of agricultural intensification, refining the competing models of Thomas Malthus and 19 Duncan, James (2007). A Companion to Cultural Geography. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 14–22. ISBN 978-1405175654. 20 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_ecology Page 27 of 91 Boserup. Notable cultural ecologists in this second tradition include Harold Brookfield and Billie Lee Turner II. Starting in the 1980s, cultural ecology came under criticism from political ecology. Political ecologists charged that cultural ecology ignored the connections between the local-scale systems they studied and the global political economy. Today few geographers self-identify as cultural ecologists, but ideas from cultural ecology have been adopted and built on by political ecology, land change science, and sustainability science. Books about culture and ecology began to emerge in the 1950s and 1960s. One of the first to be published in the United Kingdom was The Human Species by a zoologist, Anthony Barnett. It came out in 1950-subtitled The biology of man but was about a much narrower subset of topics. It dealt with the cultural bearing of some outstanding areas of environmental knowledge about health and disease, food, the sizes and quality of human populations, and the diversity of human types and their abilities. Barnett's view was that his selected areas of information "....are all topics on which knowledge is not only desirable, but for a twentieth-century adult, necessary". He Page 28 of 91 went on to point out some of the concepts underpinning human ecology towards the social problems facing his readers in the 1950s as well as the assertion that human nature cannot change, what this statement could mean, and whether it is true. The third chapter deals in more detail with some aspects of human genetics.21 Then come five chapters on the evolution of man, and the differences between groups of men (or races) and between individual men and women today in relation to population growth (the topic of 'human diversity'). Finally, there is a series of chapters on various aspects of human populations (the topic of "life and death"). Like other animals man must, in order to survive, overcome the dangers of starvation and infection; at the same time he must be fertile. Four chapters therefore deal with food, disease and the growth and decline of human populations. Barnett anticipated that his personal scheme might be criticized on the grounds that it omits an account of those human characteristics, which distinguish humankind most clearly, and sharply from other animals. That is 21 Barnett, Anthony (2016). The human species. Penguin Books Limited (1957). Page 29 of 91 to say, the point might be expressed by saying that human behaviour is ignored; or some might say that human psychology is left out, or that no account is taken of the human mind. He justified his limited view, not because little importance was attached to what was left out, but because the omitted topics were so important that each needed a book of similar size even for a summary account. In other words, the author was embedded in a world of academic specialists and therefore somewhat worried about taking a partial conceptual, and idiosyncratic view of the zoology of Homo sapiens.Moves to produce prescriptions for adjusting human culture to ecological realities were also afoot in North America. Paul Sears, in his 1957 Condon Lecture at the University of Oregon, titled "The Ecology of Man," he mandated "serious attention to the ecology of man" and demanded "its skillful application to human affairs." Sears was one of the few prominent ecologists to successfully write for popular audiences. Sears documents the mistakes American farmers made in creating conditions that led to the disastrous Dust Bowl. This book gave momentum to the soil conservation movement in the United States.During Page 30 of 91 this same time was J.A. Lauwery's Man's Impact on Nature, which was part of a series on 'Interdependence in Nature' published in 1969. Both Russel's and Lauwerys' books were about cultural ecology, although not titled as such. People still had difficulty in escaping from their labels. Even Beginnings and Blunders, produced in 1970 by the polymath zoologist Lancelot Hogben, with the subtitle Before Science Began, clung to anthropology as a traditional reference point. However, its slant makes it clear that 'cultural ecology' would be a more apt title to cover his wide-ranging description of how early societies adapted to environment with tools, technologies and social groupings. In 1973 the physicist Jacob Bronowski produced The Ascent of Man, which summarised a magnificent thirteen part BBC television series about all the ways in which humans have moulded the Earth and its future.By the 1980s the human ecological-functional view had prevailed. It had become a conventional way to present scientific concepts in the ecological perspective of human animals dominating an overpopulated world, with the practical aim of producing a greener culture. This is exemplified by I. G. Simmons' book Changing the Page 31 of 91 Face of the Earth, with its telling subtitle "Culture, Environment History" which was published in 1989. Simmons was a geographer, and his book was a tribute to the influence of W.L Thomas' edited collection, Man's role in 'Changing the Face of the Earth that came out in 1956. Simmons' book was one of many interdisciplinary culture/environment publications of the 1970s and 1980s, which triggered a crisis in geography with regards its subject matter, academic sub-divisions, and boundaries. This was resolved by officially adopting conceptual frameworks as an approach to facilitate the organisation of research and teaching that cuts cross old subject divisions. Cultural ecology is in fact a conceptual arena that has, over the past six decades allowed sociologists, physicists, zoologists and geographers to enter common intellectual ground from the sidelines of their specialist subjects.In the first decade of the 21st century, there are publications dealing with the ways in which humans can develop a more acceptable cultural relationship with the environment. An example is sacred ecology, a sub-topic of cultural ecology, produced by Fikret Berkes in 1999. It seeks lessons from traditional ways of Page 32 of 91 life in Northern Canada to shape a new environmental perception for urban dwellers. This particular conceptualisation of people and environment comes from various cultural levels of local knowledge about species and place, resource management systems using local experience, social institutions with their rules and codes of behaviour, and a world view through religion, ethics and broadly defined belief systems. Despite the differences in information concepts, all of the publications carry the message that culture is a balancing act between the mindset devoted to the exploitation of natural resources and that, which conserves them. Perhaps the best model of cultural ecology in this context is, paradoxically, the mismatch of culture and ecology that have occurred when Europeans suppressed the age-old native methods of land use and have tried to settle European farming cultures on soils manifestly incapable of supporting them. There is a sacred ecology associated with environmental awareness, and the task of cultural ecology is to inspire urban dwellers to develop a more acceptable sustainable cultural relationship with the environment that supports them. Page 33 of 91 OVERVIEW Simply put an ecosystem consists of all of the organisms living within an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment.22 According to Britannica Encyclopaedia Ecology had no firm beginnings23. It is reported that the ecosystem has evolved from the natural history of the ancient Greeks, particularly Theophrastus, a friend and associate of Aristotle. Theophrastus first described the interrelationships between organisms and between organisms and their nonliving environment. Now that I have established context and so as not to conflate this issue through my lens as an Author, Cinematographer, Media Arts Specialist, License Cultural License Practitioner and Publisher abstractly speaking I have composed and framed The 22 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1163-birds-roles-in-ecosystems 23 Ecology | Britannicahttps://www.britannica.com › science › ecology Page 34 of 91 Ecology of Culture© 202124 so as to activate readers cognition to the various elements of this conversation namely Biotic Components25. The biotic components of an ecosystem are living creatures such as plants, animals and microbes. The abiotic components of an ecosystem are the climate, soil, water, minerals, sunlight, precipitation and other non-living elements that sustain life in the ecosystem. Now that I have established some context ostensibly ecology becomes a useful conversation for me in shaping my analysis which is part of the objective detection and recognition of this discourse. A case in point Biotic Components26of an ecosystem are living creatures such as plants. An ecosystem consists of all of the organisms living within an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment.27 24 Gittens,William Anderson,Author, Cinematographer Dip.Com., Arts. B.A. Media Arts Specialists’ License Cultural There is a Practitioner, Publisher,CEO Devgro Media Arts Services®2015,Editor in Chief of Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing®2015 25 https://sciencing.com/elements-ecosystem-8071086.html 26 https://sciencing.com/elements-ecosystem-8071086.html 27 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1163-birds-roles-in-ecosystems Page 35 of 91 school of thought which suggests that just as Contours show distinct characteristic features of the terrain, through a Civil Engineering lens; metaphorically the macro lens in this context frames and captures an extreme close up view of Cultural ecology. This theoretical approach provides the scope to analyse similarities and differences in culture in relation to the environment which was developed by Julian Steward in the 1930s and 1940s, cultural ecology became an influential approach within anthropology, particularly archaeology. 28 The Hummingbird-pollinated flowers are most commonly found in the understory of lowland rainforests and in the cloudy forest of tropical mountains. Plausibly it is because of the aforesaid point that Scientists believe that many plants in these regions rely on hummingbirds as pollinators because bees and other flying insects do not thrive well in the very rainy conditions. For protein, they eat insects caught on the fly drink up to two times 28 Cultural ecology is a theoretical approach that attempts to explain similarities and differences in culture in relation to the environment. ... Developed by Julian Steward in the 1930s and 1940s, cultural ecology became an influential approach within anthropology, particularly archaeology. Page 36 of 91 their body weight per day move from plant to plant carrying pollen adding a splash of colour to every cultural geographical landscape are amazingly adapted pollinators use their long, slender bills and tube-like tongues to drink nectar from brightly-coloured flowers and get energy they need to fuel their high metabolism and eat insects caught on the fly for protein. In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other. Importantly in this conversation there is an ecological niche that draws our attention to how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors and how it in turn alters those same factors. A niche is a role an animal’s job in an environment and keeping the community healthy on the other hand how an organism makes a living.29 For example A bee's niche is making honey, pollinating flowers, and drinking nectar and its habitat is a forest or a field. Bees are vital for the 29 https://ecologyhelp.weebly.com/habitat--niche.html Page 37 of 91 preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity in nature. They provide one of the most recognizable ecosystem services, i.e. pollination, which is what makes food production possible.30 The aforesaid information becomes critical to this discourse because in order to be able to feed the world’s growing population, we need ever more food, which must be diverse, balanced and of good quality to ensure the progress and well-being of humankind. One of the ways this event happens has to do with Bees way of life because they are renowned for their role in providing high-quality food (honey, royal jelly and pollen) and other products used in healthcare and other sectors (beeswax, propolis, honey bee venom). But the work of bees entails much more! The greatest contribution of bees and other pollinators is the pollination of nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food. A third of the world’s food production depends on bees, i.e. every third spoonful of food depends on pollination. Trees are equally important to the ecosystem for several reasons. Without trees, human life could not exist on Earth. According to the Community Forest 30 https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/about/the-importance-of-bees.html Page 38 of 91 Guidebook, 100 trees remove about five tons of CO2, and 1000 pounds of other pollutants within their lifetime. CO2 is toxic to the human body so it is important for trees to remove it.31According to the Community Forest Guidebook, 100 trees remove about five tons of CO2, and 1000 pounds of other pollutants within their lifetime. CO2 is toxic to the human body so it is important for trees to remove it. The pollutants that 100 trees remove in their lifetime also include 400 pounds of ozone and 300 pounds of particulates. This is crucial for those people who suffer from respiratory disease. Especially in urban areas, trees are able to reduce ambient temperatures. Carbon dioxide, nitrogen and other pollutants can cause a “heat-island effect.” However, trees are able to reduce the heat by 5 to 8 degrees. After storms, trees are able to trap large amounts of water in their leaves, trunks and branches. Monkeys move around their home range a great deal. They travel daily to look for food. They won’t stay in a nest for very long so they don’t create anything elaborate. They use their bodies to help them move rapidly around looking for sources of food. As they do so they spread seeds from plants, flow31 https://sciencing.com/trees-important-ecosystem-5895158.html Page 39 of 91 ers, and fruits. This enables their environment and natural habitat to continue rejuvenating. The evergreen forests are home to a variety of different species of Monkeys. The Mangrove forest regions can also be where they are found. Studies have shown that the amount of habitat that these animals have has been cut by at least 30% in the past 25 years. That is an alarming rate and means that they really have nowhere to go.32Parrots (Psittaciformes) have been viewed as efficient consumers of the reproductive structures of plants. Through both antagonistic and mutualistic interactions with their food plants, parrots can exert cascading effects on the plants' life cycles and shape the structure and functioning of ecosystems.33According to Mongabay One of the most recognizable bird groups in the world is the parrot (about 315 species) with their bright colors, distinctive loud calls, powerful beaks, and feet with two toes facing forward and two facing rearward. Parrots are most prominent in the rainforest, although they are found in countless other tropical habitats around the world. Par32 https://www.monkeyworlds.com/monkey-habitat/ 33 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2017.1387031?journalCode=temu20 Page 40 of 91 rots feed on seeds, fruits, grass, leaves, and plant shoots and use their strong beaks to crack hard shells, grind their food, and as a third limb for climbing. Another sphere of ecology is the economic value of the orchids as cut flowers and potted plants which run into multibillion-dollar in the international trade is well known. This has been on the rise in the last decade or so. The ecological role of orchids in the ecosystem has not drawn the attention which it deserves and is often undermined. Orchids are known to be highly advanced plants, developing various contrivances to attract pollinators. Orchids are the indicators of the health of the ecosystem and their presence signifies that the ecosystem is vibrant and lively. The dependence of orchids on mycorrhiza for germination and pollinators (mainly insects) for their propagation are classic cases of interaction with other biotas in nature. It is observed that Euglossine bees, which are native to Central and South America, pollinate as many as 700 species of orchids. Without these pollinators, it would be difficult for the orchids to reproduce in nature. This sensitive interaction in nature has been very well documented by various studies with classic exam- Page 41 of 91 ples. In some cases, the emergence of bees from hibernation and opening of the orchid flower is so well-timed that if there is a delay in the opening of the orchid flower, the emergence of the bees also gets delayed. Orchids are slow-growing, and in an ecosystem, they are the last to perish. And once they are gone, their vanishing indicates that the process has reached a stage of irreversibility.34One of the main threats or reasons for the declining population of orchids is habitat destruction and fragmentation. This happens due to land-use changes for various activities (including jhum or shifting cultivation practices in NE India), and it is not only the orchids which are threatened here, the associated flora and fauna are also in decline. Marine ecosystems35 are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and are distinguished by waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the 34 h t t p s : / / i n d i a . w c s . o r g / N e w s r o o m / B l o g / I D / 1 5 0 7 2 / O r c h i d s - E x q u i s i t e l y - V i b r a n t - a n d - E c o l o g i c a l l y Vital#:~:text=Orchids%20are%20the%20indicators%20of%20the%20health%20of,cases%20of%20interaction%20with%20other%20biotas%20in%20nature. 35 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_ecosystem Page 42 of 91 surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply36and 90% of habitable space on Earth.37 Marine ecosystems include nearshore systems, such as the salt marshes, mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems and coral reefs. They also extend outwards from the coast to include offshore systems, such as the surface ocean, pelagic ocean waters, the deep sea, oceanic hydrothermal vents, and the sea floor. Marine ecosystems are important sources of ecosystem services and food and jobs for significant portions of the global population. Human uses of marine ecosystems and pollution in marine ecosystems are significantly threats to the stability of these ecosystems. According to Kevin Lin, Leaves,38 twigs and pieces of bark that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter. Leaf litter is an important component of healthy soil. Decomposing leaf litter releases nutrients into the soil and also keeps it moist. It also serves as great nesting 36 Oceanic Institute". www.oceanicinstitute.org. Retrieved 2018-12-01. ^ "Ocean Habitats and Information". 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2018-12-01. 37 "Facts and figures on marine biodiversity | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-12-01. 38 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-leaf-litter-biodiversity/ Page 43 of 91 material, hiding places and protected spots for animals. This dead organic material provides the perfect habitat for a plethora of organisms, including worms, snails, spiders, and microscopic decomposers like fungi and bacteria. For this reason, leaf litter is considered very biodiverse. "Biodiversity" is a concept that refers to the variety of different life forms, from the genetic level to the species level. Species diversity in particular is a subcategory of biodiversity that refers to the number of different species represented in a set. Where can biodiversity be seen in your everyday life? Just look outside your window! The different types of trees, flowers and insects are all examples of a biodiverse community. Every abandoned building has a story about how it got that way, whether it's an urban legend or the truth.Rotting, crumbling, or completely invaded by nature, abandoned buildings can be as creepy as they are fascinating.From ancient ruins uncovered underneath ash to hospitals that have been left to rot, there are a many abandoned buildings around the world and the history behind them included Barbados .39The 98-year-old Empire Theatre on 39 https://www.insider.com/abandoned-buildings-from-around-the-world-2017-9 Page 44 of 91 Probyn Street, The City, which had been closed since 1975,The Barbados National Trust, the body incorporated by an Act of Parliament to be involved in the preservation of places of historic, architectural and archaeological interest and of ecological importance or natural beauty, has been doing its best to stay true to its mission. Of late, the Preservation (Barbados) Foundation Trust, has been doing its part to raise funds for the preservation of the built heritage of Barbados. On Government’s part, we have heard of efforts to be made to restore the historic Empire Theatre building, in historic Bridgetown, our capital, that is now a UNESCO World Heritage.40Like all insects and creatures, a dragonfly plays a vital role in the planet's ecosystem. Dragonflies are especially important because their lives affect both water and land ecosystems. Dragonfly eggs are laid on or near water, so when they hatch, the nymphs are able to not only breath underwater but also to propel themselves through it.41This allows them to feed on the organisms that also live underwater such as mosquito larvae 40 https://www.barbadosadvocate.com/columns/preserving-our-built-heritage 41 https://pets-animals.blurtit.com/1189703/what-does-the-dragonfly-do-in-the-ecosystem#:~:text=Like%20all%20insects%20and%20creatures%2C%20a%20dragonfly%20plays,underwater%20but%20also%20to%20propel%20themselves%20through%20it. Page 45 of 91 (which can be harmful to humans).This occurs for one to five years until the nymph becomes a fully grown dragonfly. According to Victoria Picking An adult dragonfly42 contributes to the environment in two ways. Firstly by eating insects from the air to stop over population of certain species, similar to the nymph. Secondly the dragonfly is prey to other creatures such as birds and frogs, playing a vital role in the food chain. The presence of a dragon fly is also an indicator of fresh water. Interestingly, scientists also use dragonflies as an indication to how healthy a water ecosystem is. As dragonflies are low in the food chain, studying their numbers can quickly reveal a water systems health. Soil is the link between the air, water, rocks, and organisms, and is responsible for many different functions in the natural world that we call ecosystem services. These soil functions include: air quality and composition, temperature regulation, carbon and nutrient cycling, water cycling and quality, natural "waste" (decomposition) treatment and recycling, and habitat for most living things and their food. We could not survive without these 42 https://pets-animals.blurtit.com/u/1667684/ Page 46 of 91 soil functions.43Soils are the environment in which seeds grow. They provide heat, nutrients, and water that are available for use to nurture plants to maturity. These plants form together with other plants and organisms to create ecosystems. Ecosystems depend on the soil, and soils can help determine where ecosystems are located (check out the Around the World page for more examples.) These plants then provide valuable habitat and food sources for animals, bacteria, and other things.A well covered soil prevents erosion. Barbados celebrated "gully biodiversity" because gullies are the main local forested areas.Gullies in Barbados are homes to wild vegetation and animals. A gully is a winding ravine approximately 20 meters deep, which runs from elevated inland areas to the coast. They were originally underground caves and developed when the roofs of these caves collapsed over time creating a valley-like formation.44 43 https://www.soils4teachers.org/soil-and-environment/ 44 http://nhdbdos.com/index.php/nhd/gullies Page 47 of 91 CHAPTER 1 HUMMINGBIRDS According to Wikipedia Ecology (from Greek: ο!κος, "house" and -λογία, "study of")45 is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment 46 Ecology considers or- ganisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystems, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences of biogeography, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology and natural history. Ecology is a branch of knowledge, and it is not synonymous with environmentalism. Hummingbird-pollinated flowers are most commonly found in the understory of lowland rainforests and in the cloudy forest of tropical mountains. Scientists believe that many plants in these regions rely on hummingbirds as pollinators because bees and other flying insects do not thrive well in the very rainy conditions. 45 In Ernst Haeckel's (1866) footnote where the term ecology originates, he also gives attribute to Ancient Greek: χώρας, romanized: khōrā, lit.'χωρα', meaning "dwelling place, distributional area" —quoted from Stauffer (1957). 46Stadler, B.; Michalzik, B.; Müller, T. (1998). "Linking aphid ecology with nutrient fluxes in a coniferous forest". Ecology. 79 (5): 1514–1525. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[1514:LAEWNF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0012-9658. ^ Humphreys, N. J.; Douglas, A. E. (1997). "Partitioning of symbiotic bacteria between generations of an insect: a quantitative study of a Buchnera sp. in the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) reared at different temperatures". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 63 (8): 3294–3296. doi:10.1128/AEM.63.8.3294-3296.1997. PMC 1389233. PMID 16535678. Page 48 of 91 For protein, they eat insects caught on the fly. Hummingbirds drink up to two times their body weight per day. As they move from plant to plant, they carry pollen. As they pollinate the native wildflowers in parks and the plants in your garden, hummingbirds add a splash of color to our landscapes Hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) are amazingly adapted pollinators. They have long, slender bills and tube-like tongues that they use to drink nectar from brightly-colored flowers; this gives them the energy they need to fuel their high metabolism. For protein, they eat insects caught on the fly. Hummingbirds drink up to two times their body weight per day. As they move from plant to plant, they carry pollen. As they pollinate the native wildflowers in parks and the plants in your garden, hummingbirds add a splash of color to our landscapes. Hummingbirds are only found in the western hemisphere. Most of the more than 300 species of hummers live in Central and South America. About 26 species visit the United States during part of the year and 17 breed Page 49 of 91 here. In North America, ruby-throated hummingbirds populate the eastern United States; common species in the west include broad-tailed, rufus, and black-chinned. Hummingbirds that breed in North America overwinter in Mexico, though migration corridors vary by species. Hummingbirds take epic flights that follow the coasts, the spine of the Rockies, or even across the Gulf of Mexico in a long-distance 18-to 22-hour, non-stop flight. Their migration flights to the north in the spring correspond to flowering times of native plants at their destination. Climate change may affect this synchronization.47. In addition to nectar from flowers and feeders, these birds eat small insects, beetles, ants, aphids, gnats, mosquitoes, and wasp. So, hummingbirds are great to have in your backyard! 47https://www.nps.gov/articles/hummingbirds.htm Page 50 of 91 According to Lisa M. Genier - Adirondack Council Program Analyst Hummingbirds are interesting creatures and have many unique qualities. Some of these qualities are physical features, others are quirky behaviors. I bet you know a few of these, but others may surprise you.48 1. Many Species I once saw a National Geographic television special on hummingbirds that said that there are over 330 species of hummingbirds! I was shocked. I had no idea, since I was only familiar with one species, as I’m sure you are as well, the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. The Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird 48 https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/blog-139/news/10-facts-about-hummingbirds--and-other-interesting-tidbits-1101.html Page 51 of 91 Page 52 of 91 The Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Surprisingly, hummingbirds are only found in the Western Hemisphere, with almost half the species living around the equator. About five percent of hummingbird species live primarily north of Mexico, and only about two dozen species visit the U.S. and Canada. A few species remain year-round in the U.S. along the Pacific coast. 2. They Eat A lot Hummingbirds have a very high metabolism and must eat all day long just to survive. They consume about half their body weight in bugs and nectar, feeding every 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 flowers throughout the day. In addition to nectar from flowers and feeders, these birds eat small insects, beetles, ants, aphids, gnats, mosquitoes, and wasp. So, hummingbirds are great to have in your backyard! Page 53 of 91 3. They’re the Smallest Hummingbirds are the smallest of all bird species. The bee hummingbird of Cuba weighs only 1.95 grams or about as much as a ¼ teaspoon of sugar! It would be logical that if hummingbirds are the smallest birds, they would also have the tiniest eggs of any bird. For reference, a Ruby-throated hummingbird’s egg is about the size of a pea and its nest is roughly the size of half a walnut shell. And they love to make their homes in gardens because they are secluded and quiet. So please make sure to check branches before you do your spring cleaning in your yard. 4. Female Builders Page 54 of 91 Interestingly, only female hummingbirds build nests and will lay only two eggs. The male hummingbird is not involved in raising young, and will often find another mate after the young are hatched. After hatching, baby hummingbirds will stay in the nest for approximately three weeks. 5. They Travel One thing that surprised me about hummingbirds is that they migrate. In fact, some travel over 2,000 miles twice a year. They winter in Central America or Mexico and migrate north to their breeding grounds in the U.S. during late winter and early spring. Hummingbirds will typically gain 25-40 percent of their body weight before they start migration in order to make their trip. They generally fly alone, often on the same path they’ve flown earlier in their life. Page 55 of 91 Hummingbirds fly by day when sources of nectar are the most abundant. They also fly low, which allows the birds to see, and stop at, food supplies along the way. Research indicates a hummingbird can travel as much as 23 miles in one day. 6. They've Got the Moves No other birds can fly like hummingbirds. They can fly forward, backward, and even upside down! Hummingbirds are also the only vertebrae capable of hovering for a period of time during flight. 7. And They’re Fast Along with being agile, hummingbirds have speed and stamina. They have been clocked at nearly 30 mph in direct flight and more than 45 mph during courtship dives. Page 56 of 91 Not only do hummingbirds move from place to place quickly, but their body parts also move rather fast as well. A hummingbird's heart beats from 225 times per minute when it’s at rest and more than 1,200 times per minute when it is flying. Its wings beat about 70 times per second in regular flight and more than 200 times per second while diving. 8. But They Rest Too Hummingbirds are one of the few groups of birds that go into torpor - a very deep, sleep-like state in which metabolic functions are slowed to a minimum and a very low body temperature is maintained. Hummingbirds have high metabolic demands and their feathers are poor insulators, so going into torpor allows them to survive when conditions make it impossible to maintain their normal 105 degrees Fahrenheit body temperature. Page 57 of 91 Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in Torpor" Hummingbirds can go into torpor any time of the year when temperature and food conditions demand it. (If torpor lasted for long periods, we would call it hibernation.) 9. They Are Anti-Social (and can be mean!) Hummingbirds are, for the most part, unsocial creatures. They compete for food sources and often when more than one hummingbird is around, it ends up in a series of high-speed chases. Mating season can get a bit competitive as well, and male hummingbirds get mean. To prove their dominance, male hummingbirds will bob and weave and then use their needle-like beaks like knives and stab each other in the throat. A violent way to get his mate. 10. Big-Brained Bird Page 58 of 91 Page 59 of 91 A hummingbird’s brain makes up 4.2 percent of its weight; proportionally, that’s the largest of any bird’s. By comparison, our brains are two percent of our body weight. Studies have shown that hummingbirds can remember migration routes and every flower they’ve ever visited. They can also figure out how long to wait between visits so the flowers have time to generate more nectar. They can even recognize humans! 49 Threats The average life span of a hummingbird is five years, but they have been known to live for more than 10 years. As with any creature, there are threats to the hummingbirds’ survival…some natural and some man-made. Climate Change: Unfortunately, hummingbirds are being affected by the earth's changing temperatures due to climate change. Their migratory patterns are changing which is causing different species to be spotted in loca49 https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/blog-139/news/10-facts-about-hummingbirds--and-other-interesting-tidbits-1101.html Page 60 of 91 tions well outside their normal range. This may make it more difficult for them to find food, which may lead to a populations’ decline. Habitat Loss: Urbanization, agriculture, logging, and development in tropical areas threaten many hummingbird species. Since hummingbirds are so small, even minor development can have a tragic impact on them. Praying Mantis: Yes, you read it correctly, praying mantis can kill hummingbirds. Even though hummingbirds are about eight times larger than the mantis’ usual meal, they will wait at feeders and launch a sneak attack using their rapid reflexes. So, if you find a praying mantis at your hummingbird feeder, gently remove it and place it at another location. Please don’t kill the praying mantis, they eat bugs and are beneficial to your backyard ecosystems.50 50 https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/blog-139/news/10-facts-about-hummingbirds--and-other-interesting-tidbits-1101.html Page 61 of 91 According to Danit Brown A common way to think about species going extinct is to think of them as functioning completely separately from other species. It can be easier to think of the animal as existing in a vacuum rather than an ecosystem.51 For example, think about a poster encouraging people to donate to help preserve whales. The posters usually provide information about how beautiful or smart whales are, but rarely discuss how the whales' roles in an ecosystem can help preserve other plants and animals. A study published in Science is a reminder that extinction is actually very complication. Extinction of one species can cause a domino effect of extinction in its ecosystem. Scientists call this process coextinction.52 Hummingbirds And Army Ants For example, take hummingbird flower mites. If hummingbirds went extinct, the mites could go extinct too because they would have no way of getting from flower to flower. Then the flowers, because they depend on the hummingbirds and mites to spread 51 https://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/coextinction.php 52 https://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/coextinction.php Page 62 of 91 pollen, also go extinct. The army ant, for example, is host to over one hundred affiliate organisms, ranging from beetles and mites to ant birds. These kinds of species are keystone species in an evolutionary sense, and so are extremely important from a conservation standpoint. In fact, according to this study, if all the affiliate species that are expected to go extinct on the endangered list are not saved, an additional 6300 species become, at least, endangered53. Even if coextinction isn't the main reason for species extinction, it's incredibly helpful to remember. Efforts that seem as if they're focused on one particular animal are actually helping several others.54 An ecosystem consists of all of the organisms living within an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment.55 Among other things, ecology is the study of: 53 https://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/coextinction.php 54 https://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/coextinction.php 55 https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/ Page 63 of 91 Life processes, interactions, and adaptations The movement of materials and energy through living communities The successional development of ecosystems Cooperation, competition and predation within and between species. The abundance, biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment. As the second largest family of birds in the world with more than 300 distinct species, these small birds pollinate numerous types of flowers. They are most attracted to red, yellow, and orange blooms like petunias and zinnias. However, as the world warms from the increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the warming temperatures make it harder for these birds to eat, rest, and even reproduce. Rather than search for food in the increasingly hotter summers, some hummingbirds simply seek shade to remain cool. They are also less social during the hotter weather, suggesting they are not as likely to mate. The hotter days are not the only problem for these birds Page 64 of 91 — warm nights can also be problematic. Hummingbirds go into a slower state at night called torpor, when their body temperatures can drop by more than half, so warming nights will limit how much energy they can save. Suitable habitats for hummingbirds are also starting to shrink as the climate changes. Spring blooms are occurring earlier in the year, affecting the timing between blooming plants and hummingbirds’ return from their tropical winter retreat. This can leave the flowering blooms without their necessary pollinators, and at the same time birds have less food, which puts both plants and animals at risk. Glacier lilies in the West are one example. Male hummingbirds typically look for seasonal locations to settle before these first flowers bloom, but the time between their first arrival and the first flowering has shrunk by 13 days over the last 40 years, giving the birds less time to prepare a location before food is available. At this pace, two decades from now, the birds will miss the first flowers by the time they return in the spring. Pollinators are important not just for flowers, but for agriculture in general. And large farming operations have an impact on the climate. Large-scale farming may be respon- Page 65 of 91 sible for masking the trend of warming summers in parts of the U.S. Tremendous amounts of water are released by the leaves in mature corn fields, and the evaporation of that water into the atmosphere has a cooling effect. The only location where a cooling trend has been observed in summertime high temperatures has been in the Midwest, where most of the U.S. corn is grown. But even there, the nights are continuing to warm.56# 56 https://climatechange.lta.org/risks-to-hummingbirds-an-important-pollinator/ Page 66 of 91 CHAPTER 2 BEES In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other. The ecological niche describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors and how it in turn alters those same factors. A niche is a role an animal fills to keep the community healthy. A niche is how an organism makes a living. A niche is an animal’s job in an environment. 57 For example A giraffe's niche is feeding on the canopy on trees and its habitat is the Savannah. A squirrel's niche is eating acorns and its habitat is the forest A bee's niche is making honey, pollinating flowers, and drinking nectar and its habitat is a forest or a field.Bees are vital for the preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity in nature. They provide one of the most 57 https://ecologyhelp.weebly.com/habitat--niche.html Page 67 of 91 recognisable ecosystem services, i.e. pollination, which is what makes food production possible.58 The aforesaid expression is critical because In order to be able to feed the world’s growing population, we need ever more food, which must be diverse, balanced and of good quality to ensure the progress and well-being of humankind. Bees are renowned for their role in providing high-quality food (honey, royal jelly and pollen) and other products used in healthcare and other sectors (beeswax, propolis, honey bee venom). But the work of bees entails much more! The greatest contribution of bees and other pollinators is the pollination of nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food. A third of the world’s food production depends on bees, i.e. every third spoonful of food depends on pollination.Over the past 50 years, the amount of crops that depend on pollinators (i.e. fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts and oilseeds) has tripled. Bees play an important role in relation to the 58 https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/about/the-importance-of-bees.html Page 68 of 91 scope of agricultural production. Effective pollination increases the amount of agricultural produce, improves their quality and enhances plants’ resistance to pests. Page 69 of 91 Page 70 of 91 Cultivated plants that depend on pollination are an important source of income to farmers, especially smaller farmers and family-owned farms in developing countries.59 5 Ways Bees are Important to the Environment 1. Biodiversity As pollinators, bees play a part in every aspect of the ecosystem. They support the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants, which serve as food and shelter for creatures large and small. Bees contribute to complex, interconnected ecosystems that allow a diverse number of different species to co-exist. There is no doubting the importance of bees to our food supply. Without them, our gardens would be bare and our plates empty. But we should also remember the other reasons bees are important to the environment. Let us know how you plan to help bee populations in your own garden!. 2. Wildlife Habitats 59 https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/about/the-importance-of-bees.html Page 71 of 91 Bees are known for their elaborate hives, but they also help build homes for millions of other insects and animals. Their role as pollinators is vital in the growth of tropical forests, savannah woodlands, and temperate deciduous forests. Many tree species, like willows and poplars, couldn’t grow without pollinators like bees. Even your own garden serves as a home for hundreds of tiny creatures, from birds and squirrels to thousands of tiny insects. If bees disappeared, the animals that depend on these plants for survival would vanish as well. 3. Food Source Bees produce honey to feed their colonies during the cold winter months. Humans have harvested honey for thousands of years, but we aren’t the only ones who consider it a sweet snack. Critters like birds, racoons, opossums, and insects will raid beehives for a taste of nutritious honey (and bee larvae). Bees themselves are also a part of the food chain. At least 24 species of bird, including the blackbird, rubythroated hummingbird, and starling, prey on bees. Many spiders and insects, like dragonflies and praying mantis- Page 72 of 91 Page 73 of 91 es, eat bees as well. Bees produce honey to feed their colonies during the cold winter months. ... 4. Wild Plant Growth It’s not just farm-grown fruits and vegetables that rely on pollinators to thrive. Many species of wild plants depend on insect pollinators as well. Bees are responsible for the production of many seeds, nuts, berries, and fruit, which serve as a vital food source for wild animals. 5. Pollination What’s your favourite summer crop? If you love apples, melons, cranberries, asparagus, or broccoli, you should tip your sun hat to our fuzzy, insect friends. Page 74 of 91 To germinate, these plants require the transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower (the anther) to the female part (the stigma). As bees move from flower to flower in search of nectar, they leave behind grains of pollen on the sticky surface, allowing plants to grow and produce food. Bees earn their reputation as busy workers by pollinating billions of plants each year, including millions of agricultural crops. In fact, pollinators like bees play a key role in one out of every three bites of food we eat. Without them, many plants we rely on for food would die off.60… Globally there are more honey bees than other types of bee and pollinating insects, so it is the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination mainly by bees, but also by other insects, birds and bats.61Many domestic and imported fruits and vegetables require pollination. Examples include avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash, and 60 http://www.pthomeandgarden.com/5-ways-bees-are-important-to-the-environment/ 61 https://www.sustainweb.org/foodfacts/bees_are_important/ Page 75 of 91 sunflowers for oil, cucumbers, citrus fruit, peaches, kiwis, cherries, cranberries and melons. For crops such as blueberries and almonds, the honey bee plays an essential role in pollination of commercial crops, with around 80% of the US crop said to be dependent on honey bees. Honey bees can also pollinate clover and alfalfa, which are fed to cattle, so there are implications for the meat and dairy industry too. And that is not to mention the huge range of manufactured food products made from all these ingredients.In addition, honey bees play a significant role in the pollination of other important crops such as cotton and flax. And there are also a number of valuable non-food products produced by the honey bee, such as beeswax used in cleaning and beauty products. Importantly, it should be noted that In 2008, the British Bee Keepers Association estimates that honey bees make a significant contribution to the £165 million annually generated for the UK economy through pollination by insects, with the figure put at £200 million in 2009 by the UK’s Public Accounts Committee. Many flowering food crops in the UK rely on honey bees for this service, for example: apples, pears, field beans, runner and Page 76 of 91 Page 77 of 91 dwarf beans, broad beans, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and oil seed rape, with 39 commercial crops reliant on bees in total. Even if a crop is not directly pollinated by a honey bee, the crop still benefits indirectly from being in an environment in which honey bees are working, due to the increased biodiversity in the area which stimulates the crop. At the end of the day The bumble bee is also used commercially in the UK as a pollinator of food crops, in particular for tomatoes and soft fruits such as strawberries. Due to their size, shape and ability to vibrate vigorously they are more effective at pollinating certain crops. In the UK we have 25 native species of bumble bee. This may seem like a healthy number but unfortunately three species are already extinct, two are critically endangered and many more are seriously declining in numbers.62 Overall They have special features to collect it - like branched hairs called 'scopae' or combs of bristles called pollen baskets on their legs. ... Because they gather pollen to stock their nests, bees are generally the most effective pollinators since they visit many more flowers and carry 62 https://www.sustainweb.org/foodfacts/bees_are_important/ Page 78 of 91 Page 79 of 91 more pollen between them.63# 63 https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/why-do-we-need-bees Page 80 of 91 CHAPTER 3 PARROT Parrots (Psittaciformes) have been viewed as efficient consumers of the reproductive structures of plants. ... Through both antagonistic and mutualistic interactions with their food plants, parrots can exert cascading effects on the plants' life cycles and shape the structure and functioning of ecosystems.64 According to Mongabay One of the most recognizable bird groups in the world is the parrots (about 315 species) with their bright colors, distinctive loud calls, powerful beaks, and feet with two toes facing forward and two facing rearward. Parrots are most prominent in the rainforest, although they are found in countless other tropical habitats around the world. Parrots feed on seeds, fruits, grass, leaves, and plant shoots and use their strong beaks to crack hard shells, grind their food, and as a third limb for climbing. Parrots come in a range of 64 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2017.1387031?journalCode=temu20 Page 81 of 91 Page 82 of 91 sizes from the 39-inch (1 m), three-pound (1.4 kg) hyacinthine macaw of Brazil to the pygmy parrot which rarely reaches three and a half inches (9 cm) and weighs only about half an ounce (15 g). Page 83 of 91 Page 84 of 91 Besides size variation, some parrots have very unusual habits, like the Southeast Asian hanging parrots which sleep hanging upside down like bats. Many parrots live in flocks or in life-long partnerships with a single mate. When one member of the pair dies, the other mate either lives out its life in lonely solitude or joins another pair to make a triple. Many parrots show marked sexual dimorphism with males usually more strikingly colored than females. Due to their attractive coloration, many parrots are threatened by over-collecting for the pet trade in addition to threats from loss of habitat.65$ 65 https://rainforests.mongabay.com/0411.htm Page 85 of 91 CHAPTER 4 TREES Trees are important to the ecosystem for several reasons. Without trees, human life could not exist on Earth. According to the Community Forest Guidebook, 100 trees remove about five tons of CO2, and 1000 pounds of other pollutants within their lifetime. CO2 is toxic to the human body so it is important for trees to remove it.66According to the Community Forest Guidebook, 100 trees remove about five tons of CO2, and 1000 pounds of other pollutants within their lifetime. CO2 is toxic to the human body so it is important for trees to remove it.The pollutants that 100 trees remove in their lifetime also include 400 pounds of ozone and 300 pounds of particulates. This is crucial for those people who suffer from respiratory disease. Especially in urban areas, trees are able to reduce ambient temperatures. Carbon dioxide, nitrogen and other pollutants can cause a “heat-island effect.” However, trees are able to reduce the heat by 5 to 8 degrees.After storms, trees are able to 66 https://sciencing.com/trees-important-ecosystem-5895158.html Page 86 of 91 trap large amounts of water in their leaves, trunks and branches. The Community Forest Guidebook says that for every 1,000 trees, storm water run-off is reduced by one million gallons.Trees provide shade that is necessary for keeping animals from the heat outdoors. Trees also provide a home for many types of animals.67 67 https://sciencing.com/deforestation-affect-air-10632.html Page 87 of 91 Page 88 of 91 Page 89 of 91 Cutting down trees is necessary to produce wood for construction, paper and other applications, but logging and other activities that kill trees can potentially lead to negative impacts on ecosystems and the environment as a whole.Large scale tree cutting can lead to deforestation, a transformation of an area from forest to terrain with little vegetation. Plants create oxygen and absorb greenhouse gases. The destruction of trees may, therefore, encourage global warming. Changing temperatures can alter which organisms can survive in an ecosystem.Cutting trees can result in the loss of habitat for animal species, which can harm ecosystems. According to National Geographic, "70 percent of Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their homes."Tropical forests like the Amazon rain forest promote a cycle of evaporation and rainfall. Loss of the rain forests could result in warmer and drier climates near the tropics, according to NASA, which could destroy ecosystems that many animal and plants depend on.68 68 https://sciencing.com/biomass-calculated-5526995.html Page 90 of 91 Published Devgro Media Arts Services Publishing ®2015 Page 91 of 91