Name: Yuzhu Gong Due Date: 2015/10/25
Article Title: Ecosystems on the Brink
Author/Source: Scientific American
Article Title: Ecosystems on the Brink
Author/Source: Scientific American
A: List major ideas, concepts or key points - point by point
- Peter Lake was altered and made clearer by a group of scientists that added largemouth bass in 2009 in order to measure water clarity every 5 minutes for 24/7.
- In the summer of 2010, the Peter Lake changed dramatically.
- It was abounded in fathead minnows, pumpkinseeds and other small fish.
- Now, these species were rare, for the most part eaten by the largemouth bass.
- Water fleas and other tiny animals that the small fish once devoured were now free to flourish.
- Because these diminutive animals graze on algae, the lake water became clearer.
- Carpenter triggered the switchover on purpose, as part of an experiment he is running on the factors that lead to persistent changes in the mix of organisms eating and being eaten by one another.
- Humanity is putting tremendous stresses on the world’s ecosystems, so scientists expect to see more food webs to be flipped.
- Ideally, an early-warning system would tell us when to alter human activities that are pushing an ecosystem toward a breakdown or would even allow us to pull ecosystems back from the brink.
- Prevention is the key.
- The rise of fast, cheap computers has recently allowed ecologists to run simulations of many different kinds of ecosystems.
- Food webs are involved with many weak links because it may keep species from driving one another to extinction.
- Mathematical models have also revealed vulnerable points in food webs, where small changes can lead to big effects throughout entire ecosystems.
- The changes of certain predators can have huge effects on the rest of their food web.
- It is really difficult returning a food web.
- Climate change is also altering food webs, in some cases by shifting the ranges of predators and their prey.
- It takes longer than usual to return to its regular state.
- The early-warning system does provide the opportunity to anticipate some surprises before they happen.
B: Summarize the author's main point or idea
In modern life, the ecosystems are in danger by human interventions which leads to the flipping of many food webs. A lot of scientists like Stephen Carpenter are trying to figure out the reason why is occurring. They try to analyze the situation by adding largemouth bass to Peter Lake in 2009, and it shows that the lake becomes clearer due to these diminutive animals graze on algae, so the lake water became clearer. Food webs are usually dominated by weak links in the food webs because if a predator can eat several species, it can survive the extinction of one of them. And if a predator can move on to another species that is easier to find when a prey species becomes rare, the switch allows the original prey to recover. The weak links may thus keep species from driving one another to extinction. This group of scientists try to make an equation that allow them to know when is the tipping point of food web. It is difficult returning to its original state. Even though this equation is useful but it does not mean they are always useful because some ecosystems are altered briskly before people can do something with it. The final goal for this equation is to know the tipping point thus we can prevent it.
In modern life, the ecosystems are in danger by human interventions which leads to the flipping of many food webs. A lot of scientists like Stephen Carpenter are trying to figure out the reason why is occurring. They try to analyze the situation by adding largemouth bass to Peter Lake in 2009, and it shows that the lake becomes clearer due to these diminutive animals graze on algae, so the lake water became clearer. Food webs are usually dominated by weak links in the food webs because if a predator can eat several species, it can survive the extinction of one of them. And if a predator can move on to another species that is easier to find when a prey species becomes rare, the switch allows the original prey to recover. The weak links may thus keep species from driving one another to extinction. This group of scientists try to make an equation that allow them to know when is the tipping point of food web. It is difficult returning to its original state. Even though this equation is useful but it does not mean they are always useful because some ecosystems are altered briskly before people can do something with it. The final goal for this equation is to know the tipping point thus we can prevent it.
C: Reaction to the article
My Own Thoughts on the Topic:
Today's ecosystems are not in a good shape because a lot of the ecosystems are altered to a point where is no possibility for recovery in terms of crucial species or keystone species by human interactions. In this article, the author illustrates Peter Lake to try to analyze the cause of flipping in a food web. The changes of certain predators can have huge impacts on the ecosystem. The reason why we should have more weal links than strong links in the food web is because it keeps species away from extinction. I think it is vital to have an equation that allows us to know when is the flipping point that way we can prevent that to happen since it has difficulties to return. Prevention is the key.
My Own Thoughts on the Topic:
Today's ecosystems are not in a good shape because a lot of the ecosystems are altered to a point where is no possibility for recovery in terms of crucial species or keystone species by human interactions. In this article, the author illustrates Peter Lake to try to analyze the cause of flipping in a food web. The changes of certain predators can have huge impacts on the ecosystem. The reason why we should have more weal links than strong links in the food web is because it keeps species away from extinction. I think it is vital to have an equation that allows us to know when is the flipping point that way we can prevent that to happen since it has difficulties to return. Prevention is the key.