NATURAL RESOURCES pot

[...]... that study, manage, protect, and preserve animal life—in particular, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S Forest Service (USFS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for providing an abundance of resources for information on this important subject I would also like to acknowledge and thank the many universities... vast amount of animal life on Earth yet to be discovered, but if humans do not make conservation of wildlife habitat a priority, we may never know what life existed and its potential importance to humans This volume in the Natural Resources series focuses on the many aspects that make animals such a vital resource Chapter 1 looks at the biosphere, the role of biodiversity, why animals exist where they... existed Periodic natural events, such as meteor impacts, volcanoes, glaciers, climate change, drought, fire, and flooding have disturbed ecosystems and led to the reduction or extinction of species, reducing biodiversity As civilization has developed, humans have had an important impact Several human activities directly or indirectly threaten biodiversity For example, humans often disturb natural ecosystems... because it causes competition with native species for survival Destruction of habitat is another way humans can adversely affect biodiversity When natural lands—such as deserts, wetlands, or grasslands—are converted to urban areas or farms, it leads to the loss of natural plant and animal habitats   animals Overexploitation is another problem When humans hunt animals or use animals for food, raw materials... community refers to all the populations in a specific area or region at a certain time and involves many interactions among species They may interact in their acquisition of food or other environmental resources Ecologists believe that a community that has high diversity is more complex and stable than one that has low diversity They have found that the food webs of communities with high diversity are... energy and matter are transferred in and out of them The largest ecosystem people can relate to is the Earth, because it constantly converts solar energy into many different kinds of organic products Natural ecosystems are made up of abiotic factors (air, water, rocks, and energy) and biotic factors (plants, animals, and microorganisms) The Earth’s biosphere, including the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere... within a species and among different species An example of genetic diversity in humans is the variation in hair and eye color, height, and facial appearance Ecosystem diversity—this is the variety of natural systems found in a region, a continent, or on the planet A mountain, a prairie, and a wetland are examples of three different types of ecosystems Within each ecosystem there are habitats that may... because they would be competing against each other for survival Because of this, the processes of competition, predation, cooperation, and symbiosis occur A habitat is the place where many species live naturally Billions of different things live together in a habitat Some beings are so tiny, they can only be seen with a microscope Others, like whales, horses, or giraffes, are huge All species play a... would also like to acknowledge and thank the many universities across the country and their biology departments, as well as private organizations that diligently strive to protect our precious animal resources  Introduction O ver millions of years, animals have adapted to various environments on Earth Animals exist everywhere—from the steamy rain forest jungles to the polar ice caps; from the highest... ecosystem consists of a community of animals, plants, soil, minerals, water, and air, each component of the system fills a special role It is a delicate balance, and humans have the ability to destroy this natural balance When the balance is disrupted, this can trigger a multitude of other disruptions because all the components are tied together, thereby threatening the health and existence of the entire .