Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Change Paper
South Carolina has a very large and amazing lake called Lake Murray. Lake Murray is 41 miles long covering 48,000 acres with a depth of 200 feet and 649 miles of shoreline. The vegetation that surrounds the lake supports both animal and plant life. There is also a great diversity of organisms in and around the lake.
Wetlands and aquatic habitats make up some of the ecosystems in and surrounding Lake Murray. Lake Murray is home to striped bass, blueback herring, largemouth bass, gizzard shad, white perch, threadfin shad, and white bass. There are some serious threats to the aquatic habitat. The white perch was mistakenly released into Lake Murray probably from someone’s’ fish tank. The white perch is a very invasive, competitive, and reproduce at an exponential rate. A South American Fish, red-bellied pacu, was introduced into the ecosystem in the same fashion as the White Perch. The Pacu has teeth similar to the prianna. They eat everything in sight to include other fish and reproduce in much the same rate as the White perch. Lake Murray is home the migrating Purple Martins and the beautiful Great Blue Herron.
There are many fresh water plants that make up the aquatic ecosystems. The most common plant species are water primrose, alligator weed, slender and southern naiads, slender pondweed and two types of macroscopic algae, musk grass and stonewort. The lake contains Hydrilla, Water Hyacinth, Common Reed, Water Lettuce, and Giant Salvinia, all of which are considered invasive and have caused major issues for the fish, animals, people, and electric generation from hydroelectric power. There is currently a South Carolina Aquatic Invasive Species management plan in effect to control the spreading of these aquatic plants.
SCEG has a Lake Murray conservation plan in place to improve water quality, reduce erosion and sedimentation along the shore line, and improve wild life habitats. SCEG notes “A naturally vegetated shoreline improves a lake's health, acting as lungs and kidneys, filtering out harmful pollutants, protecting and beautifying valuable property, and enhancing fish and wildlife habitat” (SCEG, 2004).
There is a great deal of human activity in and around Lake Murray. The area surrounding Lake Murray was originally settled by dutch, german, and swiss emigrants in the early 1750s. In 1916 a proposal was made for a hydroelectric plant on the Saluda River. William S. Murray reviewed the region and determined the best placement would be a dam across Dreher Shoals. The hydroelectric project began construction in 1930. The first day of opearation for the project was started in April 1927. Lake Murray came into existence in July 1930.The first day of production of electricity was on December 1, 1930. SCANA currently owns and is responsible for what is known today as Lake Murray. Lake Murray when completed was known to be the largesst man-made lake in the world for power production purposes and Dreher Shoals Dam was the largest earthen dam in the world.
The concentration of nitrates and phosphates were generally higher at upper lake stations compared to lower lake stations. In part, this was attributed to the change from rapidly flowing waters in the upper part of the lake compared to slow-moving waters in the lower of part of the lake.
Today ecology planning is very important in order to keep our environment at a health state. To have an effective plan, ecological planners must plan to protect what nature does best and prevent deterioration. Ecologists must know many things about the ecology in order to develop
com/locate/ocecoaman Economic value of marine ecosystem services in Zanzibar: Implications for marine conservation and sustainable development Glenn-Marie Lange a, *, Narriman Jiddawi b a b Policy and Economics, Environment Department, The World Bank, 1818 H St, NW, Washington, DC, USA Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar Es Salaam, P.O. Box 668, Zanzibar, Tanzania a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Available online 8 August 2009 Marine ecosystem services are seriously undervalued…
Biol. 3061/5261 Communities and Ecosystems 2013 Study Guide for Test 2 This test will be given in class on Thursday November 14, 2013 at 11:25-12:55. This test will cover lectures (5A-9B except not Lecture 9A by Sarah Gutowsky on November 5th), website visits (5-9), and Assignments 2 and 3 (Loop Analysis and Ecological Footprint). For our Community Ecology Textbook by Mittelbach: know Chapters 10-13. Pay special attention to the lecture slides on the book chapters because these indicate…
Color and Name) 1 Yellow – Bees 2 Blue – Humans 3 Red – Flowers 4 White – Lichen POST LAB QUESTIONS 1. Explain how the ecosystem was affected by the missing species for each round of the demonstration. a. Round 1 = Without the bees, plants and trees would not be pollinated. Humans would no longer have honey or get to enjoy the sweet taste of fruits due to the lack of pollination. b. Round 2 = Without humans, maybe there would be a reverse effect. The ecosystem would possible be in better shape…
Bottle Ecosystem Thursday, May 16, 2013 Purpose: The purpose of our investigation was to find the effects that road-salt solution had on our bottle ecosystem; on the aquatic and the terrestrial ecosystems. We are trying to find out whether or not the road-salt will have a negative or beneficial effect on these two environments. Hypothesis: If I add road-salt solution to the soil in the bottle ecosystem, then this will have a negative effect, not only on the terrestrial ecosystem but the…
Outline 4-1 The Nature of Ecology A. Ecology is the study of connections in the natural world. Ecologists try to understand interactions among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere. 1. An organism is any form of life. The cell is the basic unit of life in organisms. 2. Organisms are classified as either eukaryotic or prokaryotic based on the presence or absence of a membrane-bound nucleus. 3. Organisms are classified into species, which group…
Chapter 3 Ecosystems: What Are They and How Do They Work Summary 1. Ecology is the study of connections in nature. 2. Life on earth is sustained by the one-way flow of high-quality energy from the sun, by the cycling of matter, and by gravity. 3. Matter, energy, and life are the major components of an ecosystem. 4. Energy in an ecosystem decreases in amount to each succeeding organism in a food chair or web. 5. Soil is a complex mixture of eroded rock, mineral nutrients…
Wednesday • Homework assignment 2 in MasteringBiology due Friday, right before class • Pretest… Avg. 16.7/39 Outline I. Wrap up discussion of experimental design (brief) II.Introduction to Energy and Laws of Thermodynamics III.Apply understanding of energy and matter to ecosystems I. Food chains and webs II. Energy flow through ecosystems Assembly question: • What are the implications of energy transfer and nutrient cycling to populations, communities, and ecosystems? 1 1/12/2014 Big Ideas • Applying…
been hunted and killed in many cases to the point of being threatened with extinction, not to mentioning fishing lines. Many sharks are keystone species in their ecosystems, which make them important. 2. Biodiversity is the variety of the earth’s species, the genes they contain, the ecosystems in which they live, and the ecosystem processes that sustain all. It’s important because it’s a vital renewable resource. A species is a set of individuals that can mate and produce fertile offspring.…
population (4 factors affect this) 4 factors - Births, deaths, emigration and immigration Births and immigration= death and emigration = stable population MEASURING POPULATION SIZE 1) counting individuals: ( aerial photos, or counting individually) 2) Counting by sample area : randomly select sections of the study area , then estimate Average # of individuals/ section Population size ------------------------------------------- = ---------------------------…
level almost 25% of all deaths are related to environmental factors Environment Humans 60% ecosystems have been seriously impaired by human behavior (unsustainable) Overpopulation Current Population = 7 Billion people Prediction for 2050 = 9.4 Billion People TYPES OF RESOURCES Non renewable Minerals Fossil Fuels Renewable Trees Fertile soil Others “Potentially renewable” CHAPTER 5-7 ECOSYSTEMS ECOLOGY Literally study of one’s “house” Interactions Two components BIOTIC and ABIOTIC Broadest…