General Principles of Ecology Essay Example for Free

General Principles of Ecology Essay The term ecology refers to the study of abundance and distribution of living organism in an ecosystem, together with the interaction that exists between them and the natural environment. The distribution of organisms is usually influenced by the adaptation of a certain organism to the environment. An adaptation refers to an organism’s ability to exist successfully in a given environment. Therefore, organisms can only exist in environments that they are adapted to. When a given species of animal or plant is adapted in a given natural environment, then it becomes distributed in that environment densely and in high numbers. Those that lack the ability to adapt well are poorly distributed, since they cannot cope with the pressures or stress that emanate from the environmental conditions. Different species of plants can be adapted to low and high –nutrient environments. Plants always try to adapt to the environments in several ways. The plants that inhabit low –nutrient areas grow at a slow rate, as an adaptation to the scarcity of nutrients. These plants also have the ability to recycle nutrients internally. Those in high nutrient areas on the other hand grow fast. They have the ability to control the absorption of nutrients at minimum levels. The breakdown of dead organic matter in the soil undergoes several processes. The first process of breakdown involves the alteration of the organic matter chemical components. This is then followed by another process, whereby the chemical components are split or fragmented. After undergoing these two processes, the organic matter mineral nutrients are then released into the soil and they are then converted into simpler components that can be absorbed by the plants. The day length influences the seasonal activity of plants and animals, because the length of the day length triggers certain changes. These changes include the climatic patterns in an area. Both plants and animals synchronize their behavioral and physiological activities with the seasonal changes. By doing this, they are able to carry out certain activities based on the season of the year. For example, the migration in animals is sometimes synchronized with the seasonal changes. Plants on the other hand, synchronize activities such as pollination with seasons when the activity can be easily facilitated by the pollinators. Temperature conditions in a given natural ecosystem affect the response of both the homeotherms and the poikilotherms. While the homeotherms have the ability to maintain their internal environment temperature at a stable level, the poikilotherms on the other hand cannot regulate their internal environment temperature. Changes in temperature triggers behavioral changes in poikilotherms as they try to regulate their body temperature depending on the external temperature. For example, some poikilotherms may bask out in the sun so as to regulate body temperature by warming their bodies. The homeotherms try to regulate their body temperature using feedback mechanisms in their body systems. For instance, their blood vessels may undergo dilatation or constriction as their bodies try to conserve heat. Climatic changes may trigger an inactive state in animals, especially during the cold season or winter. Hibernation and torpor are two examples behavioral adaptations in animals to very low temperatures. In both, animals go into a state of inactivity and they lower their body metabolism as a strategy of conserving energy . However, there is one major difference between the two. In hibernation, the animals’ body temperature at a significant level. Animals that hibernate become inactive for a long period of time. Torpor on the other hand is whereby animals lower their body temperature but at minimal levels as compared to that in hibernators. Animals that undergo torpor may be inactive but usually wake up several times. The Black Bear is not considered as a true hibernator because its body temperature does not reduce significantly as that of a true hibernator . Furthermore, the bear remains alert and active during the period of â€Å"hibernation†. References Odum, E. P. (1971) . General Principles of Ecology, Third Edition W. B. Suanders Company. Smith, T. M. , and Smith, R. L. (2005). Elements of Ecology. (6th Edition). Benjamin Cummings Publishers

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas :: Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Essays

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas "Perhaps it would be best if you imagined it as your fancy bids, assuming it will rise to the occasion, for certainly I cannot suit you all." This is an open invitation for you, the reader, in the short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." Ursula K. Le Guin is simply inviting you to become her main character. How might you accept or deny this malicious request? It is quite simple, really. To accept it is to read on, and to deny it is to disembark in the endeavor. The city of joy, your own Omelas, is developing continuously in your head. How sweet it is. The image of the bay surrounded by the mountains with Ursula's white-gold fire enchanting the air. Oh, and one cannot forget the tantalizing orgy custom fit to your most personal delights. Can you even begin to imagine the mere possibility of an association between religion and sexual pleasure without the possible deviance of human authority? It all seems nearly ovenvhelming. The fascination continues with every mom ent of lustful anticipation. One cannot deny their own perversion long enough to stop engaging in a plot that might encourage it. But there is a catch of course, for there is always a catch. This particular one is quite deviant really, for this city is a complete deception. It is a place of lamentation and punishment. It is a prison that simply provokes the archaic smiles described within the sentences. How best can one describe the goal of such a story? I believe I shall attempt to do so by describing the main character, you of course! You are presented with three stages and then you are given three questions. In the end, it will be your duty to determine the final event. Create-a-meal, no my friend, instead you are given the tools to create-a-setting. You are presented with brilliant horses and jubilant music, bright colors and beautiful scenery, a blissful introduction, indeed. Shockingly enough, in the second paragraph it is quickly taken away from you. A dagger penetrates your balloon image. You are told that the smiles and happiness of the city are not genuine. Ursula K.

Belonging: Indigenous Australians and Connected Family Relationship Essay

Belonging is the enlightenment felt when man gains an awareness of themselves, which may or may not include affiliations to others & the wider world. This insight is found in the texts of ‘As You Like It’ by William Shakespeare, ‘The Last Samurai’ directed by Edward Zwick & ‘The Past’ by Oodgeroo Noonuccal. As You Like It initially accentuates familial & political usurpation, injustice, exile & the pain of being made to feel that no one longer belongs in either court or family. The physical level of ‘wrestling’ within the play metaphorically acts as an impulsive level of ‘grappling’ amongst civilisation. This diminishes any sense of connection amid urban society & in effect, the court is seen as a world of division, lack of acceptance & where powerless people such as Orlando do not seem to belong. In the play, belonging, however, develops from the interaction of the characters nature & nurture. For Oliver & Orlando these aspects varied. Oliver is of noble ‘birth’, yet his degenerate nature contrasts to that of Orlando’s. Despite this, Oliver accuses Orlando of being a villain, whilst carrying only hate for him, personifying his soul, â€Å"I hope I shall see an end of him, for my soul†¦ hates nothing more than he†. Henceforth an absence of filial connection existed between the siblings. Nonetheless this insufficiency dwindles as the two venture through Arden, discovering diverse values, emotions & essentially a forced change of nurturing, with Oliver in particular. He experiences brotherly love & sacrifice, evoking an inherent benevolence, in the paradox, â€Å"Twas I, but ’tis not I: I do not shame to tell you what I was, since my conversion so sweetly tastes, being the thing I am.† Oliver now ‘belongs’ in a connected family relationship, & to a ‘self’ that he can now perceive as being different from before. Shakespeare uses Jacques to show how the guise of ‘not belonging’, veneers a desire to find belonging on another level. â€Å"Out of these convertities there is much matter to be heard & learned.† In repelling a return to the court, Jacques endorses a transcended form of belonging, a self-belonging of a philosophical, intellectual & spiritual degree. Ironically, while isolating himself from man, it is through the company of various temporary characters that Jacques cultivates his conceptions about humanity. From the movie ‘The Last Samurai’, the concept of belonging is centred on the idea of kinship & assimilation. Recalling Algren’s initial encounter with the Samurai, a reservoir of fear in the modernised Japanese soldiers is present as they are overwhelmed by their masochistic nature. Zwick’s use of fog concocts an atmosphere of ambiguity & evokes panic amongst the moderns, symbolic of their imbalance in contrast to the kinship of the Samurai. Evidently, Zwick shapes meaning by contrasting two opposing societies & values, allowing the responder to realise the importance of belonging. Zwick’s attempt to provide the responder with an insight into Algren’s mentality is achieved with flashbacks & diary entries. The flashbacks are nightmares of Algren’s shameful past, which creates within him a resent & rage towards all things, the core of his isolation. Likewise the diary entries are an extension on this device in which they keep the responder informed on Algren’s current state. Per contra, a clear breaking of disparity emerges as he writes â€Å"It is here I’ve known my first untroubled sleep† thus gradually assimilating with eastern culture. The entries begin to represent a lack of defiance & a growing curiosity, the idea of acceptance being associated with understanding & comfort ultimately grants Algren refuge & a sense of belonging. The composer’s use of symbolism contributes to the assertion of attaining belonging. The rain is a recurring symbol which represents revelation & growth within Algren & the fire signifies creation & rebirth of a new asylum found with the Samurai. Colour itself is a symbol; the dull darker colours are mostly associated with the westernised area, rendering a disconnected aura. On the contrary, we are introduced to the collation of vibrant earthly colours found at Samurai village, betokening a sense of truth, a place where Algren can develop a conceptual understanding of himself & others. In ‘The Past’, Noonuccal enunciates her sense of belonging to Aboriginal culture with the direct juxtaposition of the past & present; White & Aboriginal ethnology. The importance & connection to the land for Aboriginal Australians is accentuated through metaphoric antiquity, â€Å"But a thousand camp fires in the forest†¦Are in my blood†. The multitudinous campfires insinuates the significant length of Aboriginal history in antithesis with late European settlement & comfortable white culture, â€Å"In easy chair before electric radiator†. Noonuccal differentiates past & present to express how an individual’s unresolved identity can influence their belonging in the present. Noonuccal fails to find association with present, white ethnics due to her inability to relate & attain solidarity. As an Aboriginal Australian, Noonuccal’s belonging lies within her Aboriginal identity & her strong mutuality with nature, the land, her ancestors & the past. Her firm belief in animism expresses the camaraderie she shares with her environment. Personification is employed to communicate the idea of animism, as seen in the third stanza, â€Å"The tall surrounding trees that stir in the wind.† Noonuccal achieves a state of harmony through an intimate alliance with the land that shapes their integrity. Ultimately, through the use of various literary techniques & discussion of the texts, it is prominent that†¦

The Effects of Alcohol on Campus Essay - 1367 Words

Alcohol on campus has always been a problem. Since the beginning of higher education, students have rebelled against the rules and laws of the university and the state. Underage drinking has become a nationwide pandemic. With the legal drinking age now at twenty-one, at least half of the college population is underage, leaving room for more students to engage in binge drinking at fraternities, athletic events, and dorm rooms. The fact that half the students are underage makes them more rebellious and wanting to feel above the law, often ending in underage drinking. The articles that will be reviewed and discussed in this paper demonstrate the importance of substance-free residence halls and a survey taken to analyze the effects of alcohol†¦show more content†¦The campus wants to send the massage to incoming students that the majority of the campus does not participate in binge drinking or drink at all. Many students who answered the survey responded that part of their binge drinking was due to â€Å"trying to fit in† and â€Å"because everyone else does,† (Weitzman, 31). Substance-free residence halls, where substances are not permitted, provide students a safe place to be who are easily influenced by peer pressure to drink and use other drugs (Finn, 2). Beth Wallace, Director of Health Services at Wofford College in South Carolina said, â€Å"By being able to set up an area that is more wellness conscious, we can show that our school supports a wellness norm. We hope the area will grow each year. It is one way in which we can change the whole environment of college to make alcohol a less significant focus of social activity.† When students drink in excess, resulting in intoxication, many participate in reckless behavior, due to the effects on the brain. Often, this recklessness is taken out on buildings or property. Vandalism-related repair expenses are extremely expensive, especially because this problem could be extinguished. At Western Washington University, Nash Hall’s vandalism costs dropped from thousands of dollars to just sixty dollars per year, after the residence hall went substance-free. The university’s other halls’ vandalism expenses remained the same, as they did not become substance-free. At Washington UniversityShow MoreRelatedEffects Of On Campus Housing On College Students Drinking Behavior1565 Words   |  7 PagesEffects of on-campus housing on college students’ drinking behavior: A Literature Review Educational scholars have widely researched the effects of on-campus housing on the behavior of college students and one of the behavioral effects is on drinking behavior. 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