Human Impact on Ecosystems

What can you do to help protect ecosystems?

• Leave lights on all day.

• Throw trash on the ground.

• Use less water.

• Cut down trees.

Which of the following is NOT a human impact on ecosystems?

• Planting trees

• Littering

• Recycling

• Building cities

What does deforestation directly impact?

• The number of shopping malls

• The amount of desert land

• The habitat of forest animals

• The speed of cars

How does pollution affect ecosystems?

• It increases the number of animals.

• It makes ecosystems cleaner.

• It can harm or kill plants and animals.

• It has no effect on ecosystems.

How can people change or impact biomes?

• By melting the permafrost with campfires

• By cutting down trees and polluting the water

• By raising different kinds of animals on farms

• By using canoes and boats to navigate rivers

The San Marcos salamander, Eurycea nana, is a light reddish-brown translucent salamander about 2–5 cm in length. E. nana is found only in Spring Lake and a portion of the San Marcos River.

Which human activity would most likely decrease the ability of the salamanders to survive?

• Increasing water consumption that decreases the flow of clean water from the springs that feed the river

• Public transportation that reduces the number of automobiles that contribute to pollution runoff into the river

• Tourism that helps fund the educational programs related to river ecosystem conservation

• The addition of a new food source into the river that limits competition for resources

Human activities and natural events can have a large effect on populations, biodiversity and ecosystem processes. How does the growth of the human population into rural areas affect the environmental quality of the native ecosystem?

• Human population growth produces new resources that benefit the native ecosystems.

• Human population growth in rural areas help organisms evolve in order to survive in harsher urban environments.

• Human population growth in rural areas creates additional waste that is put back into the environment and lowers environmental quality.

• Human population growth in rural areas creates additional living areas for humans to populate, which would increase the value of the land.

Match the following statements with the correct words.

• This type of diversity refers to the number of species & abundance of species in a particular place

• ecological

• Organisms with a large gene pool have a great chance of ____ than a population w/limited variability

• Species

• This type of diversity is the variation in genes within a species.

• biodiversity

• The variety of life found on Earth.

• Genetic

• This type of diversity refers to the ways that species interact with each other & their environment

• Surviving

Tags

EEn2.7.2

What is one way humans can positively impact ecosystems?

• By planting native vegetation

• By reducing plastic waste

• By increasing air pollution

• By overfishing in the oceans

Which of the following is a consequence of deforestation?

• Increased wildlife habitats

• Decreased carbon dioxide levels

• Loss of biodiversity

• Improved soil quality