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Fundamentals

The document discusses the fundamentals of ecology, focusing on the interactions among organisms and their environment, as well as the importance of biodiversity at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. It highlights the alarming rate of species extinction due to human activities and outlines the impact of climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from fossil fuels. The text emphasizes the unprecedented scale of human influence on the Earth's climate system since the mid-20th century.

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11 views2 pages

Fundamentals

The document discusses the fundamentals of ecology, focusing on the interactions among organisms and their environment, as well as the importance of biodiversity at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. It highlights the alarming rate of species extinction due to human activities and outlines the impact of climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from fossil fuels. The text emphasizes the unprecedented scale of human influence on the Earth's climate system since the mid-20th century.

Uploaded by

Nyrixz39
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Document 2: Environmental Science

Understanding ecosystems, biodiversity, and climate change

Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of


organisms, the interaction among organisms, and the interactions
between organisms and their abiotic environment. Ecologists seek to
explain life processes and adaptations, distribution and abundance
of organisms, the movement of materials and energy through living
communities.

The scope of ecology contains a wide array of interacting levels of


organization spanning micro-level (e.g., cells) to a planetary scale
(e.g., biosphere) phenomena. Ecosystems, for example, contain
abiotic resources and interacting life forms (i.e., individual organisms
that aggregate into populations which aggregate into distinct
ecological communities).

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life and can be studied on


multiple levels. Genetic diversity examines genetic variation within a
species. Species diversity looks at the variety of species within a
habitat. Ecosystem diversity assesses diversity at the community
level. The current rate of species extinction is 100 to 1000 times
higher than the background rate, largely due to human activities.

Section continues for 20-50 pages when printed to PDF

Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-


induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale
shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods
of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an
unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change
on a global scale.

The largest driver of warming is the emission of gases that create a


greenhouse effect, of which more than 90% are carbon dioxide and
methane. Fossil fuel burning for energy consumption is the main
source of these emissions, with additional contributions from
agriculture, deforestation, and industrial processes.

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