Abie L. Benítez
Plants absorb the energy from the sun and it flows through a food chain process that assures the transfer of energy throughout the planet. What an amazing process, so complex and simple at the same time. Lets talk about the layers and how does that support life on Earth. Although different organisms constitute each layer and some energy is dissipated in decay some is added by absorption from the air and some is stored in soils and other sources. Nevertheless it is a sustained circuit in which change can affect more than one species.
Ecologists have discovered a relationship between the diversity and number of species in different places and that of latitude, climate, biological productivity, habitat heterogeneity, habitat complexity, disturbance and the sizes and distances of the islands (Schluter & Riclefs, ?). The more scientist study patterns on biodiversity the more they see the possibility of mechanisms that regulate diversity. Yet, the relationships delineated by the dynamic interactions within the food web show that the number of feeding links per species is somewhat independent of diversity; suggesting that the food web is conserved. Populations are those organisms of the same species which live in the same area and communities are the different species that interact with one another in a given habitat.
Other factors we must take into consideration for diversity is the abiotic environment, which includes the conditions that can determine where a species lives and reproduces. These conditions are such that are not other organisms but that influence animal behavior such as temperature and rainfall. Energy flow, relationships and abiotic conditions are all important to know so that we are aware on what may impact an organism's life and its survival as a species. We must all know that extinction of one species may mean the reduction of fitness in another species. Or that fragmentation cause by urbanization may decrease the fitness of one animal increasing the fitness of another that can become a pest. We all live a planet where systems both biotic and abiotic have relationships and impact each other. In other words the biological and physical factors that sustain the organisms are both important. Thus, balance is important in an ecosystem to maintain an energy or nutrient cycle without disturbances or fluctuations that may threaten the life of the organisms within the system.
Changes in the components of the Earth's biodiversity may cause concerns for ethical and aesthetic reasons, but we must keep in mind that they can also cause changes that can alter ecosystem properties and the goods and services they provide to humanity (Hooper, 2004). The balance in the environment is not only important for plants and animals but it is essential for our own survival as we are consumers of products for nutrition and other resources we need.
