Scribd
Upload
65 views

School of Civil, Environmental, and Geological Engineering: Mapua University

The document is a homework assignment submitted by Jiggs Josef Rotoni for the course Environmental Science and Engineering at Mapua University. The assignment contains answers to four questions about biodiversity and the environment. Rotoni defines biodiversity as the variety of life on Earth and discusses the relationships between living things in an environment. Factors that affect biodiversity include the environment, available food, disease, genetic pollution, and human activities. As engineers, they can help biodiversity by creating sustainable projects that allow both humans and other organisms to coexist. Elements of biodiversity that could be incorporated into a small community design include trees, plants, and areas for animals.

Uploaded by

Jiggs Rotoni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
65 views

School of Civil, Environmental, and Geological Engineering: Mapua University

The document is a homework assignment submitted by Jiggs Josef Rotoni for the course Environmental Science and Engineering at Mapua University. The assignment contains answers to four questions about biodiversity and the environment. Rotoni defines biodiversity as the variety of life on Earth and discusses the relationships between living things in an environment. Factors that affect biodiversity include the environment, available food, disease, genetic pollution, and human activities. As engineers, they can help biodiversity by creating sustainable projects that allow both humans and other organisms to coexist. Elements of biodiversity that could be incorporated into a small community design include trees, plants, and areas for animals.

Uploaded by

Jiggs Rotoni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Mapua University

SCHOOL OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND


GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
S.Y. 2021-2022

ROTONI, JIGGS JOSEF Z.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING


ESE150-2/B2

Date Assigned:
June 2, 2021
Date Submitted:
June 3, 2021

Submitted to:
Engr. Laurita Mendoza
Instruction: Please answer the following: (Following the template and format of Mod1
HW1)

1. What is biodiversity in the environment? Discuss the relationship of the


various living things in a diverse environment.

Looking to the etymology of the word “biodiversity”, it came from two words – “bio”
which means life and “diversity” which means differences or in other term the quality
that makes one unique from the other. From this, we can simply define biodiversity as
the variety of life on Earth which directly corresponds to the wide variety of living things
that inhabit the globe.

As stated, within an environment there are variety of organism that thrive in there.
Some acts as prey for the predators and some just to their jobs as part of the circle of
life. Different organism differs in many ways: the food they eat, their size, their behavior,
appearance, and a lot more. It is within this defined yet different characteristics we can
see how biodiversity works within an environment. The food chain to be exact is a good
representation of how the relationships between various living things work in a diverse
environment. In this chain we can see a hierarchy which keeps the environment
balance.

In relation to engineering, being knowledgeable about this topic is very crucial


because this can greatly contribute to decision making specially when altering a certain
environment and affecting the biodiversity in there. As we all know, construction is
tantamount to deforestation, as more infrastructures are made the wider the space and
greater the resources needed.

In line with this, I think the engineering industry should lean towards sustainability to
help our dying environment and the different forms of life that depends on it.

2. What are the factors that affect the diversity of the species in an
environment?

As discussed, biodiversity is the variety of living things thriving within a certain


area/environment. The globe is a very diverse place with different seasons, weather,
and terrains. Because of the adaptive capability of most if not all organisms, they try to
blend in with the environment where they thrive. This helps them to create features that
separate them from other organisms which creates diversity.

Going into the details, one major component that affect biodiversity is the form of
environment. Some areas are dry, some are wet, some are muddy and the likes. Their
living conditions affect what organism can only survive within it, after all, it is always
survival of the fittest.

Related to this, we also have the available food in that area. Food directly
contributes to growth and development; thus, it affects the diversity of living organisms
within an environment.

We also have the present disease and the genetic pollution. The mortality and
survivability of the organisms living in an ecosystem also depends on these factors. The
presence of invasive species and hybridization are also factoring to be considered.

Lastly, we can also attribute biodiversity with the human population and
deforestation. As humans continue to grow in number, they occupy more space, in
which they take majority of the natural habitat of animal and transforms into residential
spaces. This also result to climate change which is also one of the factors affecting the
biodiversity.

3. How can we as engineers help bring back the diversity of the limited forest
we have now. Discuss.

With regards to bringing back the diversity of the limited forest, it will take a very long
time and considering the fast-paced world where we live in now, I think this is a very
hard task to do, but not impossible. Planting trees and creating different drives may help
but it takes very long time to see its results. On the contrary, it only takes few seconds
to destroy it.

For me, the best course of action to be taken is to make a conscious effort to create
sustainable projects which allows both human and other organisms to live together
without compromising the needs of one another. What I mean by this is to always
consider other forms of living organisms such as plants and animals when doing a
project.
With the increasing trend of people that support and advocate in saving the
remaining natural environment we still have today; I think we can still help the
environment recover from the beating it has received over the course of the past
century.

Likewise, as engineers, maybe we could also lessen the exploitation of the natural
environment for the possibility of a huge profit. We, as one of the driving factors of
modernization and development should take responsibility in protecting and preserving
the remaining forests that we have.

4. If we are to design a small community, what are the elements of


biodiversity that you will incorporate? Discuss.

Space of course is the primary consideration during construction, as such, this


means that engineers need to transform a certain ecosystem to fit for human
consumption. Because engineers are always bounded within contracts, as much as we
want to protect the environment, there is nothing we can do about it. Therefore, I think
the best way to help and lessen the environmental impact of the projects to create
quality projects.

What I mean by quality projects is to create the best possible design to create a
project. For instance, a proper sewage disposal must be provided. This does not only
promote better flow of waste but also helps in preserving the life of the marine animals.
A community with dedicated waste disposal area is also a good move for it helps in
maintaining the environment a little bit cleaner. We can also lean towards green
buildings which provides shelter for human and at the same time, give back to the
environment.

Moreover, by making quality projects, we can lessen repairs which also contributes
to increasing in demand of materials which also gives strain to the environment. This
also reduces the amount and volume of waste the human population produces.

In the same manner, I would also like to get and incorporate elements of biodiversity
in these projects such as providing an area for trees and plants to grow and for animals
to walk and eat.
All of these efforts seem to tedious and difficult job to achieve but as long as we
have the initiative, I think nothing is impossible

Relate the importance of biodiversity in your future work as engineers? What can you
do to improve the present situation of our environment?

Be as succinct as possible with your answers. Please submit on time.

You might also like