BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction with the nonliving
components (abiotic component) of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.
These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.
Different parts of the ecosystem interact with one another. Changes to one part affect other parts. When all the members
of a species die, that species’ place in the ecosystem is gone forever. In this module you will study the various threats that
are considered causes of the loss of biodiversity.
Population is a group of living things within a certain area that are all of the same species. Vatious populations may be
found in a community. A population of one kind may affect a population of another kind within the community. A jungle
has a greater amount of biological diversity, or biodiversity, than a cornfield. Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in
an area. In a jungle community, some populations, such as ants, fungi, and ferns, can be very large in number. Other
populations such as tigers and snakes have fewer members. In a balanced ecosystem, organisms need a balanced
environment. A change in population sizes may be due to factors affecting the environment.
Populations can be of the same size, but they may have different densities. When we consider the number of individuals
per unit area, we are referring to the density of the population. Differences in population density in any community may
be attributed to many factors. Population sizes change when new members move into the ecosystem. They decrease when
members move out of an ecosystem. The birth rate and death rates can also affect a population’s size. Anything that limits
the size of a population like certain environmental conditions are called limiting factors. Limiting factors keep a
population from increasing in size and help balance an ecosystem. Examples of limiting factors are the availability of
food, water, and living conditions.Light, temperature and soil nutrients are also limiting factors because they
helpdetermine the types of organisms that can live in an ecosystem. The maximumpopulation size an environment can
support is called its carrying capacity. If thepopulation size rises above the carrying capacity, organisms die because
theycannot meet all their needs.
Note:
 Population sizes vary among organisms. They change with the number of births and when they move into an
ecosystem. They also change when members die or move out of an ecosystem.
 Limiting Factors are environmental conditions that keep a population from increasing in size and help balance
ecosystems.
 the carrying capacity is affected by changes in the environment.
 Extinction is the disappearance of a species, when the last member of that species dies.
 When the population of a species begins declining rapidly, the species is said to be a threatened species.
 A species is endangered when its population has become so low that it is possible of becoming extinct.
 Human actions have resulted in habitat loss and degradation that have accelerated the rate of extinction.
What are the seven ecological principles?
 nature knows about best
 all life form are important
 everything is connected to everything else
 everything changes
 everything must go somewhere
 ours is a finite earth
 humans are stewards our nature
Human Causes of Extinction:
1. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses.One of the
country’s environmental problems is the rapid rate at which trees arecut down. Did you encounter the same
problem in your community? In thePhilippines, the major causes of deforestation are:
 Kaingin farming
 Illegal logging
 Conversion of agricultural lands to housing projects
 Forest fires
 Typhoons
As a consequence of cutting down trees, the following effects could take place:
 Soil erosion
 Floods
 Decrease in wildlife resources that will eventually lead to extinction
Note:
 The major cause of wildlife depletion is the loss of habitat.
  Coral reef destruction is caused by dynamite fishing and muro-ami (fishing technique, employed on coral reefs in
Southeast Asia, uses an encircling net together with pounding devices. These devices usually comprise large
stones fitted on ropes that are pounded into the coral reefs).
 Mangrove destruction is caused by overharvesting and conversion of the area into other uses.

Pollution
1. Water pollution
A major problem in lakes, rivers and ponds is eutrophication. It happens whenthe concentration of organic
nutrients that comes from domestic garbage and thrown in bodies of water, increases rapidly. It is supposed to be
a slow process, but man’s activities hasten it up.
Another effect of water pollution is mass death of fish, or ‘fish kill’. A ‘fish kill’ usually happens when there is an
increase in concentration of organic nutrients in bodies of water. This condition causes algal bloom and growth of
aquatic plants. When the algae die, they sink to the bottom and the process of decomposition proceeds. This
process uses up oxygen and as a result, aquatic animals die due to lack of oxygen. Bodies of water are also
polluted with toxic wastes, untreated sewage, and fertilizer run-offs from farm lands. One class of dangerous
chemicals present in water is PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) PCBs are toxic wastes produced in the making of
paints, inks and electrical insulators. Figure 11 shows what happens in the food chain when PCB is present. At
each level of the food chain, the amount of PCB in each organism increases. They are unable to excrete PCB from
their bodies. Through the process of biological magnification, the PCB becomes concentrated in the body tissues
of water organisms. Biological magnification is the buildup of pollutants in organisms at higher trophic levels in
a food chain.

2. Air Pollution
Do you know that cars are one of the major contributors to air pollution? Pollutants can enter the air as gases,
liquids, or solids. Cars burn fuel and produce harmful gases–carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons.
In Metro Manila where a great volume of cars travel each day, smog blanketsthe area, nitrogen oxides and
hydrocarbons from car exhausts react with water vapor or dust particles and produce new irritating chemicals.
Carbon dioxide acts like a blanket over the Earth, holding in the heat that would otherwise radiate back into space.
The trapping of heat by gases in the earth’s atmosphere is called greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a
natural process. But as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, greenhouse effect also intensifies–this will
lead to global warming. Global warming is an increase in the earth’s temperature from the rapid build-up of
carbon dioxide and other gases. This, in turn, could change the world climate patterns. Factories and power plants
that burn coal are also major contributors to air pollution. Coal contains sulfur. When coal burns, sulfur combines
with oxygen in the air to form sulfur dioxide, with choking odor. Power plants also burn coal to give off
particulates into the air. Particulates are tiny particles of soot, dust, and smoke. These particulates block sunlight
and get into your lungs when you breathe.

3. Destruction of Coastal Resources

4. Acid Precipitation
Acid precipitation is commonly known as acid rain. Rainwater is normally acidic, because carbon dioxide is
normally present. Other pollutants, mostly sulfur and nitrogen oxides, make rainwater even more acidic, with a
pH of 5.6 or lower. Emissions from factories and from exhaust of motor vehicles are some examples of pollutants.
Acid rain can be harmful to living things. It causes yellowing of leaves of trees and cause leaves to fall. Acid rain
can occur naturally, from the volcanic eruptions. However we are also causing this, from the emission of vehicles
and of industrial plants that include the burning of fossil fuels. If we continue to increase rate of air pollution, we
are increasing the risk of acid rain to happen. What's the impact of acid rain?
 Deteriorates building that is made of rock
 Acidification of soil and lakes
 Separation of poisonous minerals such as aluminum and mercury from the surrounding ground,
increasing the risk of contamination to lakes/water sources
 Deteriorates trees and forests.
Human activities and overpopulation have caused most of the environmental problems nowadays. People are
beginning to realize that the way they interact with the environment must change to ensure the survival of all
living things. This is one big challenge to maintain the resources needed for survival while ensuring that they will
still be available in the future. This is a practice called sustainable development. This means that a sustainable
society should live under the carrying capacity of the environment. This means that the rate at which society uses
renewable resources does not exceed the rate at which the resources are generated.