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GCU Topic 2 Biome and Ecosystem Essay
Environmental Science (BIO-220)
Grand Canyon University
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Isaiah Lopez Grand Canyon University Professor Michael Rush Aquatic Biomes and Wetland Ecosystems Biomes can be described as a global area that is characterized living organisms and organisms such as plants and animals who share the same climate to which every biome contains an ecosystem. Aquatic biomes are any biomes that is inhabited water and are usually found in marine or freshwater habitats. This is also where wetland ecosystems make their presence known as they can be found inside an aquatic biome. Wetlands is any land covered or saturated with water at the surface or soil of a certain area. This makes it the home of several unique plant and animal species to which aquatic plants distinguishes wetlands to other ecosystems like terrestrial landforms. Depending on the amount of water in this ecosystem, it should provide how the soil will develop and which inhabitants live there. Wetlands consist of both animal and water species. Marshes, swamps, and bogs are forms of a wetland ecosystem (Salimi, Almuktar, Scholz, 2021). A wetland is located in Florida called Everglades. Wetlands soak up all the excess water which prevents flooding. Inside an aquatic biome and wetland, there are keystone species, invasive species, and endangered species that are all important and make up their environment. Keystone Species have a high impact on an ecosystem that acts as a relationship. These keystone species is what makes up the wetland ecosystem because without it, that ecosystem would most likely cease to exist which is critical for a functioning wetland influencing other plants and animals within that ecosystem (Fitzpatrick Baltensweiler, 2021). In the Everglades wetland in Florida, the most common keystone species are alligators. The alligators are important for this wetland because they provide a home for themselves building alligator holes to which these holes aid and help other animals store water and food when dry season approaches. These keystone species help this wetland maintain balance though without endangered species have habits in the Everglades wetland are whooping crane, bald eagle, red wolf, mussels, and the swamp rose. The alligator may be considered a keystone species but also endangered because of the everglade problems in that particular wetland. These alligators seem threatened these pythons because they are able to kill them. Grazing threatens the wetland and aquatic biomes putting the soil compaction in way (Sousa, Nogueira, Miranda, Teixeira, 2020). There are a few things to consider that actually help these endangered species like less chemicals and pesticides are being used on the lawns of the community to which these pesticides and chemicals harm the water when it reaches the soil. The use of less water helps increase vegetation which provides food and resources for all the animals and plants. Aquatic biomes and wetlands are the basis of providing water to support every plant and animal living in the ecosystem. This biome and ecosystem increase water, supplies and resources not to mention the habitat that it provides them. Keystone, invasive, and endangered species all play a particular role in how their ecosystem functions and provides for them. References Salimi, S., Almuktar, S. A. A. A. N., Scholz, M. (2021). Impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems: A critical review of experimental wetlands. Journal of Environmental Management, 286. Fitzpatrick, B. R., Baltensweiler, A., Düggelin, C., Fraefel, M., Freitag, A., Vandegehuchte, M. L., Wermelinger, B., Risch, A. C., Andersen, A. (2021). The distribution of a group of keystone species is not associated with anthropogenic habitat disturbance. Diversity Distributions, 27(4), Wang, Y., Tan, W., Li, B., Wen, L., Lei, G., Blakeslee, A. (2021). Habitat alteration facilitates the dominance of invasive species through disrupting niche partitioning in floodplain wetlands. Diversity Distributions, 27(9), Sousa, R., Nogueira, J. G., Miranda, F., Teixeira, A. (2020). Time travelling through local ecological knowledge regarding an endangered species. The Science of the Total Environment, 739, 140047.
GCU Topic 2 Biome and Ecosystem Essay
Course: Environmental Science (BIO-220)
University: Grand Canyon University
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