ECOSYSTEM

CONTENT

 T H E S O N O RA N D E S E RT
 DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEM
 INTRUDERS IN AN ECOSYSTEM
 B I OAC C U M U L AT I O N I N T H E E C O S Y S T E M
 I N T E RAC T I O N S W I T H I N E C O S Y S T E M
 MY QUESTION
 YO U R G U Y S Q U E S T I O N S A N D Q U E RY ' S
THE SONORAN
DESERT
CACTI (THE PLURAL OF CACTUS) ARE PLANTS THAT ARE ADAPTED TO LIVE
IN DESERTS. DESERTS ARE NOT EASY PLACES FOR ANIMALS AND PLANTS
TO LIVE. DESERTS DO NOT GET MUCH RAINFALL, SO THE ORGANISMS
THAT LIVE THERE MUST HAVE ADAPTATIONS THAT HELP THEM TO SURVIVE
WITH LITTLE WATER. THE TALL PLANTS IN PHOTOGRAPH ARE SAGUARO
CACTI. THEY GROW VERY SLOWLY, AND THOSE IN THE PHOTOGRAPH MAY
BE MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD. THEIR ROOTS SPREAD OUT WIDELY JUST
UNDERNEATH THE SOIL, READY TO ABSORB ANY RAIN THAT FALLS. MANY
ANIMALS LIVE AMONG THE CACTI AND OTHER DESERT PLANTS. GILA
WOODPECKERS MAKE HOLES IN THE CACTI, TO MAKE THEIR NESTS.
OTHER BIRDS ALSO VISIT THESE HOLES. CACTUS WRENS OFTEN USE A
DIFFERENT KIND OF CACTUS, CALLED A TEDDY BEAR CHOLLA, TO MAKE
THEIR NESTS. TEDDY BEAR CHOLLAS ARE SO SPIKY THAT VERY FEW
OTHER ANIMALS WILL GET CLOSE TO THEM. SO THE CACTUS WREN’S
EGGS AND YOUNG ONES ARE PROTECTED FROM PREDATORS.
DIFFERENT
ECOSYSTEM
MANGROVES ARE TREES THAT CAN GROW WITH THEIR ROOTS IN SEA
WATER. THEY FORM FORESTS ALONG THE COASTS OF MANY
TROPICAL COUNTRIES LIKE KARACHI. SEA ICE IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN
DURING THE WINTER IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN, IT IS SO COLD THAT
SOME OF THE SEA WATER FREEZES. RICE PADDY NOT ALL
ECOSYSTEMS ARE NATURAL. THIS AREA OF RICE PADDIES IN
MALAYSIA IS FARMED BY PEOPLE. AT SOME TIMES OF YEAR, THE
PADDY FIELDS ARE FLOODED WITH WATER
INTRUDERS IN
THE ECOSYSTEM
NEW ZEALAND IS A COUNTRY IN THE SPECIES OF BIRDS NEST ON THE
PACIFIC OCEAN. NEW ZEALAND BECAME GROUND. THERE WERE NO
SEPARATED FROM ALL THE OTHER PREDATORS TO EAT THEIR EGGS, SO
AREAS OF LAND IN THE WORLD ABOUT THE EGGS AND YOUNG BIRDS WERE
66 MILLION YEARS AGO. BECAUSE OF SAFE. EVEN THE ADULTS OF SEVERAL
THIS SEPARATION, THE SPECIES THAT SPECIES OF NATIVE BIRD – SUCH AS
DEVELOPED IN NEW ZEALAND WERE THE KIWI – CANNOT FLY. NOBODY
DIFFERENT FROM THOSE ELSEWHERE KNOWS EXACTLY WHEN HUMANS
ON EARTH. BEFORE HUMANS ARRIVED FIRST ARRIVED IN NEW
IN NEW ZEALAND, THERE WERE NO ZEALAND ,BUT IT WAS PROBABLY
PREDATORY
FOR EXAMPLE,MAMMALS THERE.AWAY
RATS STOWED MANYONOFTHEIR BOATS.ABOUT 700 LIVE
RATS NOW YEARSIN AGO.
MOSTHUMANS
OF THE
THE NATIVE
COUNTRY BROUGHT
. THE RATS EAT BIRDS’ EGGS AND DEFENSE LESS YOUNGSPECIES
BIRDS.OF ANIMALS
SINCE THEN,WITH
THEM THAT
OTHER SPECIES HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO NEW ZEALAND. DID NOT
FARMERS BELONGSHEEP,
BROUGHT IN NEW
TO
ZEALAND.
FARM FOR THEIR WOOL AND MEAT. RABBITS WERE BROUGHT ON SAILING SHIPS, TO USE AS
FOOD. BUT THE RABBITS ESCAPED AND BEGAN TO EAT GRASS IN THE SHEEP PASTURES. SO
PEOPLE BROUGHT STOATS FROM EUROPE TO CONTROL THE RABBITS. NOW STOATS HAVE
SPREAD ALL OVER NEW ZEALAND. THEY A FIERCE HUNTERS AND BREED RAPIDLY. THEY CAN
KILL AND EAT BIRDS MUCH LARGER THAN THEMSELVES. STOATS HAVE MADE SEVERAL
SPECIES OF NATIVE BIRD EXTINCT, INCLUDING THE LAUGHING OWL AND THE NEW ZEALAND
THRUSH. STOATS EAT ALMOST 60% OF KIWI CHICKS.
BIOACCUMULATION
IN THE ECOSYSTEM
BIOACCUMULATION MEANS AN INCREASE IN THE CONCENTRATION OF A CHEMICAL OVER
TIME IN A BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM COMPARED TO THE CHEMICAL'S CONCENTRATION IN
THE ENVIRONMENT. COMPOUNDS ACCUMULATE IN LIVING THINGS ANY TIME THEY ARE
TAKEN UP AND STORED FASTER THAN THEY ARE BROKEN DOWN (METABOLIZED) OR
EXCRETED. WE NOW KNOW THAT DDT DOES NOT BREAK DOWN. IT IS A PERSISTENT
CHEMICAL. IT STAYS IN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR MANY YEARS. IT IS NOT BROKEN DOWN BY
DECOMPOSERS. WHEN DDT IS SPRAYED, SOME OF IT IS CARRIED UP HIGH INTO THE AIR. IT
CAN BE BLOWN FOR VERY LONG DISTANCES, FAR AWAY FROM WHERE IT WAS USED. WHEN
DDT GETS INTO AN ANIMAL’S BODY, IT STAYS THERE FOR THE WHOLE LIFE OF THE
ORGANISM – IT NEVER BREAKS DOWN. DDT IS VERY HARMFUL TO MANY KINDS OF ANIMAL.
IT IS TOXIC (POISONOUS). FOR EXAMPLE, IT MAKES THE SHELLS OF BIRDS’ EGGS VERY
THIN AND EASY TO BREAK. SHOWS SOME EGGS OF A BIRD CALLED AN IBIS. THE EGGS DID
NOT HATCH, BECAUSE THE FEMALE IBIS THAT LAID THEM HAD DDT IN HER BODY.
INTERACTIONS
WITHIN
ECOSYSTEM
MY QUESTION
15
QUESTIONS AND
QUERY'S