Ecology Portfolio
Stephanie Strong and Bailey Craddock
Part B - Hierarchy of Ecology
Abiotic Factor: Air (it's everywhere)
1.) Please see chart above.
2.) Which level of ecology encompasses all of the others?
The biosphere encompasses ecosystems, communities, populations, and oganisms.
What is the smallest level that includes abiotic factors?
The smallest level that includes abiotic factors is the ecosystem.
2.) Which level of ecology encompasses all of the others?
The biosphere encompasses ecosystems, communities, populations, and oganisms.
What is the smallest level that includes abiotic factors?
The smallest level that includes abiotic factors is the ecosystem.
4.) The male worker honey bees, the bees that humans normally see, have a special niche, or role in the community, in terms of plant reproduction. Honey bees pollinate flowers by transferring the pollen and nectar from one flower to the next. Therefore, while honey bees usually live in the deciduous forest or grasslands biomes, honey bees can usually live anywhere where there is an abundance of pollen.
5.) If honey bees were removed from the community, the flowers would suffer, as the flowers' nectar and pollen would not be joined by the bee. Therefore, flowers would not reproduce as easily, leading to a decreased population size. Also as a result, species that feed on the bees (birds, raccoons, spiders, wasps, frogs, toads, crickets, ants, grasshoppers, cats, dogs) would suffer as a result of a decreased food source. For more information, one can view the movie, "Bee Movie," which actually shows the detrimental effects of a decreased bee population -- no more Rose Parade!
5.) If honey bees were removed from the community, the flowers would suffer, as the flowers' nectar and pollen would not be joined by the bee. Therefore, flowers would not reproduce as easily, leading to a decreased population size. Also as a result, species that feed on the bees (birds, raccoons, spiders, wasps, frogs, toads, crickets, ants, grasshoppers, cats, dogs) would suffer as a result of a decreased food source. For more information, one can view the movie, "Bee Movie," which actually shows the detrimental effects of a decreased bee population -- no more Rose Parade!
Part C - Demography
Demography is the statistical study of human populations though size and distribution. Demographers can study a population’s health and future through life expectancy, total fertility rate, crude birth rate, and crude death rate. Crude birth rate calculates a population’s total number of births per 1,000 in a year and can be used to record and predict population growth. Crude death or mortality rate is a population’s annual number of deaths per 1,000 and can be used to calculate the overall health of a nation.
Age structure can show how a population is going to develop, predict the progression of an age bracket., and possible growth patterns. For example, if a population has a large amount of people in their forties and fifties, within ten to twenty years, that nation is going to need to develp a plan of action for providing for them in their old age such as social security and housing.
Japan
- Located off the coast of China in the Pacific Ocean
- Crude Birth Rate = 8 per 1,000 and Crude Death Rate = 9 per 1,000 (shows that there are not enough births replacing deaths so population is declining)
- This nation is developed
- 23.1% is over 65
- Based on the age structure, the nation is decreasing its population size. There are more elderly than youth.
Pyramids
- Mexico's population is increasing rapidly based on the bell-shaped population pyramid. There are a significant amount of babies being born.
- Japan is the country that is experiencing a decrease in population because the majority is over 45 and there are not many babies compensating for the elderly.
- Located off the coast of China in the Pacific Ocean
- Crude Birth Rate = 8 per 1,000 and Crude Death Rate = 9 per 1,000 (shows that there are not enough births replacing deaths so population is declining)
- This nation is developed
- 23.1% is over 65
- Based on the age structure, the nation is decreasing its population size. There are more elderly than youth.
Pyramids
- Mexico's population is increasing rapidly based on the bell-shaped population pyramid. There are a significant amount of babies being born.
- Japan is the country that is experiencing a decrease in population because the majority is over 45 and there are not many babies compensating for the elderly.
Part D - World in Balance: People Paradox
India:
India is facing a population boom, as its age structure pyramidis shaped like a triangle with many children approaching reproductive age. Measures have been put into place to decrease the average number of children that women bear (the figure has decreased from seven children to four), but cultural expectations, especially those placed on a woman by her husband and inlaws, often encourage large families. The women have very little control in the family; arranged marriages are still practiced and, therefore, the husband's parents control the family structure. As a result, fertility rates remain high.
Japan:
Fertility rates have dropped drastically in Japan as a result of economic progression. In contrast to India, women in Japan have a primary role in the workforce as a result of globalization. Therefore, many women are delaying both marriage and childbearing. As a result, the average children born to a family is barely at replacement level. In addition, raising a child in Japan is very expensive (childcare, education, etc), which serves as a further deterrent for large families. In conclusion, as a result of globalization and women's education, the population pyramid of Japan is a rectangle. The number of elderly Japanese is increasing in proportion to the remaining population.
Sub-Saharan Africa:
In sub-saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS has ravaged the country's population, largely those at reproductive age. Therefore, a large proportion of the population has been removed, leaving the elderly and the young as the largest populations. Because many children are expected to die, families bear many children, which is causing a population boom in the country. Women also must face prostitution as a means of survival, which has furthered the HIV/AIDS epidemic, worsening the population disproportion.
India is facing a population boom, as its age structure pyramidis shaped like a triangle with many children approaching reproductive age. Measures have been put into place to decrease the average number of children that women bear (the figure has decreased from seven children to four), but cultural expectations, especially those placed on a woman by her husband and inlaws, often encourage large families. The women have very little control in the family; arranged marriages are still practiced and, therefore, the husband's parents control the family structure. As a result, fertility rates remain high.
Japan:
Fertility rates have dropped drastically in Japan as a result of economic progression. In contrast to India, women in Japan have a primary role in the workforce as a result of globalization. Therefore, many women are delaying both marriage and childbearing. As a result, the average children born to a family is barely at replacement level. In addition, raising a child in Japan is very expensive (childcare, education, etc), which serves as a further deterrent for large families. In conclusion, as a result of globalization and women's education, the population pyramid of Japan is a rectangle. The number of elderly Japanese is increasing in proportion to the remaining population.
Sub-Saharan Africa:
In sub-saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS has ravaged the country's population, largely those at reproductive age. Therefore, a large proportion of the population has been removed, leaving the elderly and the young as the largest populations. Because many children are expected to die, families bear many children, which is causing a population boom in the country. Women also must face prostitution as a means of survival, which has furthered the HIV/AIDS epidemic, worsening the population disproportion.
Part E - Scavenger Hunt
Part F - Food Chain / Food Web
The majority of the energy in this food chain where the flower converts sunlight to chemical energy. This energy supplies nutrients for each trophic level and every time energy transported to a new trophic level, 10% of energy is lost. Therefore, the autotrophic level has the majority of the energy.