Philip Burton Research

B1.

- Risks and benefits of human intervention to the biodiversity of aquatic or terrestrial ecosystems

Tree plantation:

Benefit - Trees and shrubs improve soil and water conservation, store carbon, moderate local climate by providing shade, regulate temperature extremes, increase wildlife habitat and improve the land's capacity to adapt to climate change. These are all benefits forests and shrubs offer the environment and in turn, us.

Risk - these plantations are generally less effective at storing carbon, habitat creation and soil erosion control than natural forests. Tree plantations also replace forests with a monoculture or limited mix of trees in a plantation leaving the risk of vulnerability pests and diseases due to low species diversity and genetic diversity present in such plantations. Not only this but such plantations yield much lower habitat diversity for potential organisms than natural forests.

References:

“When Planting Trees Threatens Forests.” Earth.org - Past | Present | Future, 30 June 2020, https://earth.org/plant-trees-threaten-forests/  Accessed 27 Sept. 2021.

“Top 5 Benefits of Trees - Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority.” Www.lsrca.on.ca,

www.lsrca.on.ca/Pages/Top-5-Benefits-of-Trees.aspx#:~:text=Trees%20and%20shrubs%20improve%20soil.

Monoculture or livestock:

Benefit

• simple
• Cost efficient
• Larger yields
• Require less land
• Easier maintenance

Risks -

• Contributes the largest impact to the environment out of industrial farming systems
• Lack of species diversity makes livestock vulnerable to disease, pests, etc
• High resource requirements
• High greenhouse gas emissions
• High waste production
• Decline in soil fertility surrounding the monoculture

References -

 “Monocultures in America: A System That Needs More Diversity – Debating Science.” Umass.edu, 5 Dec. 2017, https://blogs.umass.edu/natsci397a-eross/monocultures-in-america-a-system-that-needs-m%20%20%20%20ore-diversity/ 

“Study Outlines Dangers of Monoculture Reliance.” The Western Producer, 25 Apr. 2019, www.producer.com/news/study-outlines-dangers-of-monoculture-reliance/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFrom%20a%20sustainability%20perspective%2C%20these. Accessed 27 Sept. 2021.

‌Overharvesting of wild plants for medicinal purposes:

Benefits -

• Provides steady income for many workers
• Contributes greatly to global economies
• Provides a substantial investment of capital
• Cost efficient  and very profitable as the plant grows wildly thus no planting and cultivating process is needed

Risks -

• Greatly affects plant species population
• Unsustainable as rate of harvesting is faster than rate of repopulation
• Can result in the extinction of species

References -

Roberson, Emily. Medicinal Plants at Risk Nature’s Pharmacy, Our Treasure Chest: Why We Must Conserve Our Natural Heritage. 2008.

‌Use of pesticides to control pests:

Benefits -

• Very effective at wiping out population of pests and resolving the problem
• Cost effective
• Allows crops to grow with huge yields and quality due to the lack of naturally occurring pests such as mice, weeds, rats, mosquitos, etc.

Risks -

• Often inadvertently harms other organisms even if they aren't pests
• Can cause a range of health problems for people if crops become contaminated or are improperly cleaned
• Can leach into and contaminate underground water posing a threat for humans and any organisms drinking it
• Can build up in the animals that are contaminated and poison food chains

References:

Jakuboski, Samantha. “The Dangers of Pesticides | Green Science | Learn Science at Scitable.” Nature.com, 2011, www.nature.com/scitable/blog/green-science/the_dangers_of_pesticides/.

“30 Major Pros & Cons of Pesticides & Herbicides.” E&C, 1 Aug. 2020,

https://environmental-conscience.com/herbicides-pesticides-pros-cons/ 

Suppression of wildfires:

Benefits -

• Minimizes and prevents property damage
• Saves lives or organisms that would otherwise die in the fire
• Protects resources and natural wilderness
• Protects people

Risks -

• Leads to accumulation “fuel loads” increasing the risk of large catastrophic fires
• Prevents fire resistance from developing in wilderness areas
• Prevents the benefits of naturally occurring wildfires such as steam flow, increased downstream water availability, drought resistance in trees, and the improvement and natural transformation of the habitat
• Prevents an increased availability in resources like water since tree population and subsequent resource demands have been reduced

References-

Wikipedia Contributors. “Wildfire Suppression.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Dec. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire_suppression.

S, Robert, et al. “Wildfire Management vs. Fire Suppression Benefits Forest and Watershed.” Berkeley News, 24 Oct. 2016, news.berkeley.edu/2016/10/24/wildfire-management-vs-suppression-benefits-forest-and-watershed/.

My comments on 3. There has been much criticism of current Ontario government policies on the environment and conservation. For example a consultation on the species at risk was going to allow “pay to slay” so that land developers could pay to protect a species at risk in another area and be allowed to develop the area with the species at risk. Ontario Nature has been advocating against these policies as did Banting Students 2 years ago. Unfortunately, oftentimes bill are hidden in other bills such as Home for Ontarians that the public does not reali\e is a back door way of allowing developers access to previously protected lands and species.  For example on the wetlands issue see: https://ontarionature.org/campaigns/wetlands/

3. In situ conservation strategies are being used to conserve local wetlands including the creation of the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program by the province of ontario to commit 30 million dollars over the course of 5 years to wetland restoration, creation and conservation. Another Conservation effort for local wetlands is Ontario's current wetland policies including the Places to Grow Act, 2005 & Growth Plan that protects wetlands located within the Growth Plan planning areas, outside of settlement areas from development. With the addition of many other wetland policies protecting wetlands and many regions of ontario. Another conservation effort made to protect local wetlands from pollution is the Water Resources Act, which prohibits discharge of polluting material that may impair the quality of water, which encompasses impacts on aquatic life, including those within wetlands.

References:  Look at the Ontario Nature perspective and fix spacing to single space

Ontario.ca, 2021, www.ontario.ca/page/wetland-conservation-strategy#section-1. Accessed 27 Sept. 2021.‌        

“Wetlands at Work in Ontario.” Ducks Unlimited Canada, www.ducks.ca/places/ontario/wetlands-at-work/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2021.

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Add title to topic, reduce spacing in references, make links so you can just click on them to access

4.  The planting of native species in a disturbed area is one of the biggest parts of habitat restoration. In doing so, the natural balance and diversity of the ecosystem is being allowed to restore itself as the native species thrive in their native habitat, thus the habitat becomes restored with them. This not only helps create/repair the natural ecosystems that had previously been present in these disturbed areas, it also helps eradicate any invasive species that might have infiltrated the areas by providing new competition for resources. Some species may benefit from human intervention as they require reintroduction into their natural environments or introduction into other compatible environments. Alongside this, human intervention also benefits species through the creation of laws, regulations and policies that protect both them and their habitats. Primarily, species that have suffered major habitat loss, disturbances or invasive species-related threats as well as endangerment(to name a few) benefit from human intervention.

References:

“Habitat Restoration | Encyclopedia.com.” Www.encyclopedia.com, www.encyclopedia.com/science/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/habitat-restoration.

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“Risks and Benefits of Human Intervention.” African Rainforest, sbi3u1biodiversity.weebly.com/risks-and-benefits-of-human-intervention.html.

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B1.2

Higher temperatures affect the survival of species in freshwater environments as fresh water can determine which organisms survive in which parts of the lake. Each organism has an optimal temperature in which they can survive in, thus determining where they can survive, and how well they and their populations thrive. Optimal temperatures also determine the chemical reactions taking place in the freshwater environment as well as where and when they take place. These chemical reactions are highly significant in the ecosystem as they are accountable for the release of nutrients from sediment in the lake. These chemical reactions are responsible for significant events in the ecosystem such as algal growth to the accumulation of heavy metals within organisms of the food chain. Rising temperatures also affect freshwater bodies by causing something called lake stratification. This is when lakes become separated into two layers of different density due to different temperatures. This disturbs sediment at the bottom potentially releasing more phosphorus further contributing to algal bloom, which affect all ranks of diversity in the ecosystem whether the algal blooms are HABs or they are not directly harmful. The disruption of sediment in the bottom of lakes also results in lower oxygen levels near the bottom of such freshwater habitats subsequently resulting in lower rates of reproduction, smaller stature and shorter lifespans of species living within oxygen deprived areas of the lake. Lastly, the trend of rising temperatures affects freshwater species as most animal species that reside in lakes are exotherms, meaning they are not able to regulate their body temperature like mammals. Thus as temperatures rise, so does their body temperature and subsequently their metabolism, meaning they are required to consume much more food than usual to maintain their body size. This not only affects the species with higher metabolic rates but it also affects their prey and the animals that rely on them and their species populations for sustenance. Higher metabolic rates means higher demand for food, over competing for that food as well as the significant impacts on the species populations in which they feed on. If the population of the species that they feed on becomes decimated, the species lower in the food chain that fed such species higher in the food chain would experience overpopulation leading to potentially catastrophic imbalances in the food chain. This would ultimately affect many species in the habitat in many negative ways as well as the abundance of resources present within.

References:

“How Temperature Affects the Quality of Fresh Water.” IISD Experimental Lakes Area, 14 Aug. 2018, www.iisd.org/ela/blog/commentary/temperature-quality-fresh-water/.

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