Biodiversity+&+Sustainability

=Biodiversity and Sustainable Ecosystems= media type="custom" key="13537744" width="230" height="230"media type="youtube" key="a9I3Q6-ZSTI" height="315" width="560"
 * Ecosystems must maintain balance (aka "**equilibrium**")
 * **Biodiversity**is the number of various populations present at any ecological level.
 * Low diversity = fewer populations
 * High diversity = more populations
 * Biodiversity is important because more species means bigger food chains and bigger food webs.
 * More producers = more food for primary consumers = more food for secondary consumers & more oxygen!
 * More species and room for adaptations creates bigger gene pools
 * More ecosystems means more habitat
 * **Sustainability** is meeting today's ecosystem needs without compromising tomorrow's ecosystems.


 * Population Dynamics**
 * **Natality rate** - frequency of births in a population per capita
 * **Mortality rate** - frequency of deaths in a population per capita
 * **Carrying capacity** - the maximum number of individuals that an ecosystem can support


 * 7 Factors that Affect a Population:**
 * 1) **Natality rate**
 * 2) **Mortality rate**
 * 3) **Hunting and predation**
 * 4) **Starvation and accidents**
 * 5) **Loss of habitat**
 * 6) **Human development**
 * 7) **Weather**

If you want to print a PowerPoint version of this lesson:

Here are the questions to answer and hand into Ms. Harris:

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March 27th, 2012
 * Watch all three of the videos Ms. Harris posted above. (Feel free to watch them a couple of times).
 * Think about "Biodiversity" and "Sustainability"... think about how they impact you.
 * Write a **one-page report** on your thoughts on the topics of "biodiversity" and "sustainability".
 * How do they impact your life?
 * What do you think about the sustainability of the Earth? Can we keep doing what we're doing?
 * What do you think will happen if the Earth decided to stop trying to be "eco-friendly".
 * THIS WILL BE SUMMATIVELY GRADED.