Posted: December 17th, 2022

Unit 5 Project: Ecology and Biodiversity

Unit 5 Project: Ecology and Biodiversity
We’ve spent the last units discussing ecology and biodiversity. Now, let’s apply these concepts to unique real world scenarios – how the actions of humans are influencing the planet.
Major Threats to Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. Biodiversity refers to the number of genes, species, individual organisms within a given species, and biological communities within a geographic area. Biodiversity loss can occur as a result of natural ecological disturbances, such as volcanic eruptions; however, exponential growth of the human population has led to a rate of biodiversity loss that is 100-1,000 times natural baseline rates. Human activities are the main drivers behind the drastic loss of biodiversity that the planet is currently experiencing. As the human population grows, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are transformed by human efforts to find and produce food, adapt the landscape to human settlement, and create opportunities for trading with other communities. Biodiversity losses typically accompany these actions.
Your task
You are to evaluate threats and assess solutions to the loss of biodiversity. You will create a research brief that will evaluate one of the major threats to biodiversity and possible solutions to avoid biodiversity loss.
What needs to be included
You can present your brief as a multimedia project of your choice. Use your strengths and creativity to create a professional and informative presentation that would be helpful to policy makers. This could be a video, a digital pamphlet, a PowerPoint, a blog post – whatever! This assignment is intended to help me gauge your knowledge of ecology, conservation and biodiversity.
To be considered for credit, all of the following items must be addressed in your research briefing:
1. In your own words, discuss what biodiversity is and why it is important. Explain how biodiversity influences ecosystems.
2. Select ONE of the following major threats to biodiversity:
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o Habitat loss
Habitat loss is a major threat to biodiversity, as it involves the destruction, degradation, or fragmentation of habitats that are necessary for the survival of many species. Habitat loss can occur for a variety of reasons, including urbanization, agriculture, mining, and the construction of infrastructure such as roads and dams.

When habitats are lost or destroyed, the species that depend on them are often unable to survive. This can lead to a decline in the number of individuals within a species and, in some cases, the extinction of the species. Habitat loss can also have a cascading effect on other species in the ecosystem, as the loss of one species can affect the populations of other species that depend on it.

Habitat loss is a significant contributor to the current global biodiversity crisis, as many species are losing the habitats they need to survive. To address this issue, it is important to prioritize the conservation of habitats and to work to reduce the impact of human activities on these habitats. This can include measures such as the creation of protected areas, the implementation of sustainable land use practices, and the restoration of degraded habitats.
o Invasive species
o Pollution
o Overharvesting
o Climate change
3. Why is your chosen threat a serious problem?
4. How has exponential human population growth contributed to your chosen threat?
5. How are non-human organisms directly affected by your chosen threat?
6. How are humans impacted, either directly or indirectly, by your chosen threat?
7. What is currently being done to solve the problems caused by your chosen threat to biodiversity? Are there regulations or laws in place? If so, name and describe one.
8. What can people do in their daily lives to help combat your chosen threat to biodiversity?
9. What innovative solutions either currently exist and should be implemented more, or are on the horizon? How do these solutions work? (This answer should not be the same as number 7 or 8) Please note: innovative means creative or advanced. Riding a bicycle and recycling, while great, are not innovative solutions
9. Display at least two images in your project that provide the audience with understanding of why your chosen threat to biodiversity is a problem and of an innovative solution to the problem. One image should be of the problem and one image should be of an innovative solution. A graph or chart that illustrates why your chosen threat to biodiversity is a problem or an infographic of a how a solution works are great ideas. You must include a brief 1-2 sentence caption for each image. Caption should be immediately beneath the image. Caption should be a short, simple explanation of the image. While you are welcome to display images that are just of animals, plants, or factories, these images will not count as one of your two images. I.e., A picture of a polar bear, a picture of a factory with smoke rising out of it, or an illustration of the earth on fire do not provide the audience with understanding of why your chosen threat to biodiversity is a problem.
10. Display your sources: at least three sources must be cited. You do not need to use MLA/APA style. Just supply the full URL on a works cited slide, page, etc. (If you choose to make a video, you still need to visually display your sources. You can display the sources in your video or upload a second file to Canvas with the sources listed.)
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o References from government websites, academic institutions, or organizations that are recognized authorities on the subject are recommended
o Do not use websites, such as Wikipedia, forums, or personal blogs
Recommended Research Resources
https://www.lbcc.edu/library-research-tools
https://www.scientificamerican.com/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/
https://www.iucn.org/
What makes a source credible? Use https://researchguides.ben.edu/source-Assessment if you’re not sure!
Recommended Resources for a Multimedia Project
Creating a web page with https://support.google.com/sites/answer/6372878?hl=en
Making an infographic (digital pamphlet) in https://www.canva.com/learn/how-to-create-an-infographic-design/
to make a graphic novel https://www.pixton.com/student-comic-builder
is a free screen recording tool https://www.flashbackrecorder.com/express/

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