ACTIVITY 1

ACTIVITY 1.1
Textbook

Ch 9.1 – The environment: Life’s support system

 READ: Pgs. 212-213

 COMPLETE: 'Knowledge and understanding' q1-3 in the table below

NOTE: Write out the questions and answers. Answers must be in full sentences.

Ch 9.1 - The environment: Life's support system

Q1 -
Answer: The environment refers to the entirety of biotic and abiotic factors that constitute
the earth, and is of great significance to humanity by providing essential resources to
sustain human life and that of other species.

Q2 -
Answer: Environmental change refers to any variance to the natural state of an ecosystem
and its respective processes. Much environmental change is provoked by human activity
and may be either beneficial to the sustaining of human life, for example the integration of
agricultural practices, or may be adverse, such as biodiversity loss.

Q3 -
Answer: Humanity’s exponential growth has proven and may continue to prove greatly
adverse to the environment and humanity’s general standards of living as said
population growth may place a further strain on environmental resources given the
increasing needs of the population, which may in turn result in the further degradation
of the environment, and as non-renewable environmental resources grow more scarce
and less accessible, the average quality of life for humans may plummet.
ACTIVITY 1.2
Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2 was named after biosphere 1 -the earth on which we all live.

Biosphere 2’s structure was designed to explore the web of ecological interactions in five
representative biomes: an ocean with a coral reef; a wetland environment with mangroves; a
tropical rainforest; a savanna grassland and a coastal fog desert. The structure also has an
agricultural system and human habitat.

The below-ground infrastructure house heating and cooling systems, networked through water
pipes. Solar heating was provided through the glass panels that covered much of the facility. The
cost of this experiment exceeded $US200,000,000 over the period 1985 to 2007.

Using the information from above, your textbook and your own research, investigate the following.

1. The work undertaken by the teams of the researchers on the 1st and 2nd missions.

The Biosphere 2 Project refers to the efforts taken by researchers at the University of Arizona
to ascertain whether a handful of artificially derived environments in controlled conditions
could sustain the lives of eight scientists and to conduct scaled research on the world’s
environments.

2. The problems that plagued the experimental design such as the difficulties in achieving self-
sufficiency in food production dietary deficiencies and difficulties in simulating the
complexity of natural environments including the creation of biological diversity

One of the most prominent flaws in the Biosphere 2 experiment was the presence of
excessive organic nutrients in the soil of the contained environments, largely on account of
the depositing of peat and compost into the soil which prompted the proliferation of aerobic
bacteria that cannibalised the oxygen supply in the environments and jeopardised the
experiment.

3. The personal difficulties encountered by the participants in working cooperatively

Logistical and managemental dysfunction prompted much difficulty within the experiment,
namely in a social aspect, eventuating in the participants of the experiment struggling to
work cooperatively given the unreliability of their ‘coworkers’.
ACTIVITY 1.3
Textbook

Ch 9.1 – The environment: Life’s support system

 READ: Pgs. 212-213 (including spotlight)

 COMPLETE: 'Applying and analysing' q4 and 5

Ch 9.1 - The environment: Life's support system

Q4 -
Answer: The ultimate failure of the Biosphere 2 experiment serves as a testimony to the
vast complexity and convoluted nature of the operation of an environment, and the fact
that the creation of an artificial, simulative environment is a greatly difficult feat, further
emphasizing the importance of maintaining the earth’s irreplaceable ecosystems.

Q5 -
COMPLETE IN YOUR WORKBOOK
(q5 should include all 8 subheadings under ‘challenges to sustainability’)
Population growth:
 The increasing needs of an exponentially growing population are placing great
strain on the environment and its resources.
 The net increase in living standards over generations is also increasing humanity’s
burden on the environment and its resources.

Energy Use:
 Humanity’s use of predominately non-renewable, pollutive, hydrocarbon fossil
fuels to drive human activity and support humans and their growing needs is
greatly damaging to the environment and the careful balance in which it exists.
 Humanity’s further integration of alternative sustainable, renewable fuels such as
solar and geothermal energy may decrease their reliance on fossil fuels and
minimise their environmental impact.
Climate Change:
 Climate change was brought about primarily through the 25% increase in the
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere over the past 200 years as a result of the
excessive burning of fossil fuels and mass deforestation.
 Climate change has caused rising sea levels and the depletion of ice caps and
glaciers, among other effects.
Pollution:
 Pollution is the release of synthetic goods that are harmful to the environment,
into the environment.
 Pollution may hinder the ability of ecosystems to yield natural resources to be used
by humans.

Land Degradation:
 Land degradation is primarily brought about through the loss of natural vegetation for example
by means of deforestation and agricultural practices.
 The loss of natural vegetation loosens the soil to which said vegetation belonged, making it
more prone to erosion.

Habitat Loss:
 A habitat is the physical environment in which a community of species of inhabit
and are largely threatened by global human activity.
 The inhabitants of habitats are largely dependent on them for their survival, and
may be vulnerable to extinction should their habitat be destroyed.
 ACTIVITY 2

Why is biodiversity so important? - Kim Preshoff - YouTube

Highlight the correct answer:

1. An organism that others may depend on for survival is called a(n):

A Keystone species
B Interdependent species
C Diverse species
D Vulnerable species

2. Coral reefs are essential for the survival of other organisms. They provide:
A Microhabitats
B Shelter
C Breeding grounds
D All of the above

3. The tapir and agouti are ______ found in the Amazon Rainforest.
A Carnivores
B Omnivores
C Herbivores
D Decomposers

4. What may cause a species to become less genetically diverse?

A Isolation from members of its species
B Low population numbers
C Both A and B
 D None of the above

5. Ecosystem diversity, species diversity, genetic diversity all intertwine to create ______.
A Vulnerability
B Biodiversity
C Interdependence
D Recycling

6. Humans have cut and frayed the woven tapestry of Earth’s biodiversity. List and describe
three ways.
Coral bleaching from ocean acidification and the net rise in ocean temperature from human
activity affecting the world’s oceans; the critical endangerment of the amphibious ‘Axolotl’
due to excessive, unsustainable human activity in and around their natural habitats; and
excessive hunting and overfishing so as to meet growing human demands which has
eventuated in the loss of much intracommunity and intraspecies genetic diversity.

7. Correctly use the following words in a well-written, scientifically correct paragraph.

Be sure to clearly distinguish the differences between each of them and how they intertwine +
provide examples.
 Species diversity,
 biological diversity,
 ecosystem diversity,
 genetic diversity.
Within any environment, not only are the abiotic factors of critical importance to the
environment’s maintenance, however, the various forms of diversity which may manifest
themselves in an environment are also imperative to the environment’s health and potency.
Some of the most prominent forms of diversity within an environment include genetic
diversity, ecosystem diversity, biological diversity and species diversity. Foremost, genetic
diversity refers to the intraspecies degree of variance of heritable traits, and sufficient
intraspecies genetic diversity should allow for the adequate adaptation of said species to any
significant environmental changes. In addition, ecosystem diversity refers to variance
between different habitats, communities and ecosystems, and is significant as it allows for
the promulgation of a broader range of natural resources. Furthermore, species diversity
refers to the nature of the distribution of species within an ecosystem or environment and is
integral to the effective operating of said ecosystem or environment. Finally, biological
diversity refers to the amalgamation of all biological divergence on the earth, be that species
diversity, ecosystem diversity or genetic diversity and is vital to the sustaining of the natural
environment. Thus, it is clear that there exist a number of forms of diversity within
ecosystems and the environment, and that each are of their own respective significance.