Examples of species coexisting in a symbiotic relation, their mutual benefits and to the wider society
All living things have a form of relationship with organisms different from them in the ecosystem. Those relationships are beneficial and vital for the survival of each of the participating species. There are different types of mutual relationships existing among species, which include animal-animal, animal-plant and plant-plant relationships. Let’s take an example of an animal-plant relationship that involves bees and flowers. It’s noticeable that bees move from flower to flower in search of nectar (Mathew 22).In the process, pollen from flowers stick on bee’s hair and on the legs and as it moves to the next flower, some pollen is rubbed off and enters the flower (140).
Mutual relationship is evident here, in that flowers require the pollen for reproduction. Since plants cannot move around and mingle, the bees make the reproduction process an easy exercise for the plants. On the other hand, bees need nectar for making honey and in the absence of flowers, this would be impossible. This further benefits the wider society in that flowers add an aesthetic value to the enviromnt, and bees provide honey which is used by human beings. Survival of both is therefore beneficial to themselves and the ecosystem around them.
Strategies and characteristics as ecosystems respond to change in development
Development in ecosystems comes about with changes especially in the food chain. The complexity of the relationship between the organisms in the ecosystem depends largely on the composition of the population (Wilson 16). The species possessing and improved reproduction rates have high possibilities of survival in the less crowded places compared to those with low productivity (23). Quantity production is a characteristic of the young ecosystem, while quality marks the older ones (112).
Diversity among the species influences their stability in ecological changes. The organisms with varied and diverse characteristics are prone to survive regardless of the natural changes. Genetic changes in species also contribute to how they adapt to natural changes. Invasion of stress or rapid changes in the ecosystem, retards growth of microorganisms; making it complex for survival. Nature’s response to change is exhibited in ecological changes, especially climate. Many organisms are becoming extinct due to extreme weather changes in both metabolism and ecology. It affects negatively the flora and fauna and in general diminishes their way of coexistence. The ecological perspective to human changes is that human beings are the key participants in the environment. Therefore, their social and economic behaviour in the ecosystem influences their survival regarding how positively or negatively they respond to the ecological changes (Starr 34)
Online-ecological footprint calculators
A footprint estimates the extent to which our utilization of the environment exhausts the natural resources, in comparison to how much nature is able to provide. Calculating the mode of consumption in my village, in comparison to how nature is able to provide; my village is about 40 hectares, with approximately 200 homesteads, therefore the population amounts to almost 2000 people. The village has various business activities like five bars, ten shops, two banks, two hospitals and a post office. It also has an education centre with three high schools. We find out that, the amount of resources that the village demands from nature is too much for it (nature) to provide. There is overconsumption leading to lack of sustainability.
Works cited
Mathew, Pelican. Symbiotic Relationships. New York: McGraw Hill, 2002. Print
Starr, Thomas. Ecology and behavior. Belmont: Brooks Cole Publishers, 2009. Print.
Wilson, Macarthur. Governing Nature. New York: W. W. Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1967. Print.