BIO 111 W20 Assignment: Ecological Footprint and Keystone Species

This biology assignment, likely for a BIO 111 course, examines two primary topics: ecological footprints and keystone species. Part A focuses on calculating an individual's ecological footprint based on resource consumption, including water usage, clothing choices, and dietary habits. The student calculates their own footprint and discusses strategies for reducing it, such as minimizing commuting, reducing consumption, and minimizing food waste, and discusses the impact of human activities on biodiversity, including migration, greenhouse gas emissions, mining, and modern farming practices. The discussion highlights the importance of protecting biodiversity and the need for more research, legislation, and policies. Part B shifts to keystone species, defining their role in maintaining ecosystem stability. The assignment explores various examples, including the gray wolf and sea otters, and discusses how their removal can drastically alter habitats and impact biodiversity. The assignment uses the example of the Gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park to illustrate the effects of keystone species on their respective ecosystems. References from scientific journals are included to support the arguments presented. The assignment emphasizes the importance of understanding and protecting keystone species to conserve biodiversity and maintain ecosystem health.

Running head: BIOLOGY
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Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Part A:
One person's ecological footprint is estimated by summing up all the demands of an
individual vying for biologically viable resources, Like cropland to cultivate potatoes or
cotton, or timber forest or carbon dioxide pollution sequestration.
My ecological footprint calculated by the form is 12.7 hectares (ha).
The Earths needed to sustain my way of the present life is = 12.7/ 1.9 ha
= 6.684 ha (Mancini et al.,
2016)
By calculating the ecological footprint by circling the appropriate box, I got an idea about
reducing the carbon footprint (Network, 2017).
Minimize commuting by goal setting for tangible avoidance of cycling, hiking, carpooling,
and as much as the practical use of public transportation. Setting my aim to walk or use a
cycling bike to go somewhere within 2 miles of my house. I will make a routine to study
large transactions 'energy usage because these give the most excellent prospects for an
individual to reduce the ongoing impact.Live a life, which lacks in energy-consuming
equipment and electric gadgets.Reducing purchases of new goods, particularly commodity-
intensive, highly packed, or partially packed.Purchase non-processed produce from local
producers, farmers markets, eco cafes, and organic food shops. Reducing food waste by pre-
planning menus and storing as often as necessary (Scholz, Eriksson & Strid, 2015).
Humans and their activities have adverse impacts on biodiversity in several ways. The
migration of the population from developing countries to developed countries would produce
an unprecedented spike in global emissions. The migration of the population from developing
countries to developed countries would produce an unprecedented spike in global emissions.
The 'greenhouse effect' is an associated result of a variety of gases. Some of these arise
spontaneously produces by the growing human population of a particular place. Most GHG

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emissions are generated by fossil fuel burning for shipping, power production,
manufacturing, and household use. Fuel use is related to income rates, and a more significant
share of carbon is reserved for wealthier, more industrialized countries (Wu et al., 2016).
Mining is the second significant reason behind the increasing carbon footprint. .Mining
results in soil degradation and groundwater pollution directly. The useable surface water
pollution occurs from the chemicals produced from the mining method. Mining operations
are extremely hazardous, and pollution from mining impacts the local habitat. Thus, one
mining can affect the ecosystem of the water body as well as the biodiversity of the nearby
land (Abood et al., 2015). Modern farming destroys biological diversity as farmers substitute
the current norm for local crops, the genetic diversity of these plants declines, and specific
valuable genes that gradually vanish from the environment entirely. Eventually, the species
that are less capable of battling diseases, so eliminating any advantageous genes that impair
the ability of a species to survive changes in the climate (Dudley & Alexander, 2017). The
significant impact of increasing the ecosystem force the other organisms to adapt
accordingly. Many types of animals and plants have adjusted to the different conditions,
sources of food, pests, as well as to the challenges in urban and suburban settings, where they
flourish near to humans. Green roofs and other green spaces create ecological channels inside
towns that include a versatile habitat on a relatively small total surface area for birds and
insects as well as certain plants. Many species depend on a particular sound for a mating that
is hindered by noise pollution. Most of the animals learned to surmount residual noise by
modifying specific facets of their song of mating. The adaptation also includes genetic
adaptation. The most prominent adaptation is found in the birds. They genetically adapted to
higher noise, congestion, and urban density pain resistance. This adaptation is not just for
humans but also for rivals, predators, and animals (Hunter, 2007).

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It can be concluded from the above discussion that ecological footprint is a crucial aspect
to protect the biodiversity. The human aid activities lead the disruption of the biodiversity
and lead the other species of the system to adopt accordingly. The consequence is as
dangerous as the extinction of some species. More research, legislations and policies need to
implemented to save the ecosystem and educated people about the importance of conserving
the biodiversity.
Part B:
Keystone species, in biology, is a species that creates a disproportionately large
impact on the ecosystems in which it exists. These species take part in preserving the local
biodiversity in an ecosystem either by regulating certain species communities that would
otherwise overpower the environment or by offering the fundamental resource for an
extensive range of species. The term keystone species, introduced in the year 1969 by
an American zoologist Robert T. Paine, and was taken from the tradition of using a wedge-
shaped stone in bridge or other building to stabilize the roof of a bridge.
Much like specific stones in the framework rely for assistance on the keystone,
individual organisms in a biological group rely on the involvement of a keystone species to
sustain the stability of the community. Keystone species are fundamental to their particular
ecosphere and habitat because they play a significant role that is considered essential to the
existence of the organisms that share the same environment. They describe a whole network
of habitats. Without the keystone organisms, habitats will either be radically altered or simply
fail to function. There are a number of specific Keystone Species groups, and they all serve a
particular function within their ecosystem, which differs from each other. The gray wolf and
the sea otter play as the keystone predators. When the predators are eliminated from the
environment, their prey numbers rise exponentially. In another way, it can be said that the

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predators survive because of their particular pray like salmon and kelp. Other keystone
species ranges comprise of keystone modifiers and keystone mutualists. Modifiers change
their particular habitat under the ecosystems, such as beavers and prairie dogs, and preserve
environments of their own and other animals. Mutualists engage in mutually beneficial
relationships, and the hummingbirds are the most prominent example of mutualists keystone
species (Mello et al., 2015). Some plants evolved in such a way that it can only be pollinated
by hummingbirds, the birds are also known as link species for this reason. If the birds get
eliminated from the environment, the plant will stop pollinating and result in the extinction of
the species. The examples state that keystones species provide poor adaptive stability. This
suggests no other organisms will be able to fill their ecological niche if the keystone species
get vanish from the environment. The habitat, even the whole ecosystem, will be required to
alter drastically, enabling the habitat to be invaded with new and potentially destructive
organisms. The keystone species is not limited to any particular species and from fungi to
plan to a mammal, and any species can serve as the keystone species. It is
not necessary that the biggest or most common habitat species will serve as the keystone
species. Nearly all keystone species, though, are animals that have a tremendous impact on
the food webs. The manner in which these species manipulate the food chains ranges from
the environment to the environment (Modlmeier et al., 2014).
Krill has an outstanding Phytoplankton consuming feature. They consume
phytoplankton throughout the summer and get fed by the algae beneath the sea ice throughout
the winter. In the Antarctic, the primary producers are the phytoplanktons. There is one
advantage of the very small size of the organism that no many other organisms can eat them.
Krill have the desired size relative to the other Antarctic animals to become the main predator
for those phytoplanktons. This fact makes the Krill the major consumer of the Antarctic. If
Krill had vanished from the Antarctic environment, it would have a drastic, adverse effect on

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almost all Antarctic wildlife, especially on massive Antarctic animals like penguins, seals,
and whales (Martins et al., 2015).
Gray wolf, primarily found in Yellowstone National Park, USA's, was one keystone
predator. It became a dominant predator which helped to maintain the populations of bison,
birds, rabbits, and elks in check (LavallÃ, 2018).
The two species reside in two different habitats, one is in the ocean, and another one
is in the land. Their food habits are also different. However, they both serve as the keystone
species in their respective habitat.
The effect of removing a particular keystone species from a habitat can be understood
from the example of the Grey wolf. In the year 1872, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
was designated as a National Park. There were around three or four hundred wolves present
in the area at that time. The federal government started to kill the wolf population,
anticipating the effect of the wolves on elk and bison populations, as well as cattle held by
local cattlemen. Wolves' population had mainly been removed from the western 48 states and
Mexico by the 1930s and existed mostly as a small population in Alaska. With the key
predator questioning posing as a threat, elk herds increased, contributing to field overgrazing.
This culminated in significant decreases in numbers of several plant species, and in effect,
affected other organisms, such as beavers, as the Elk was fed on the food they depended on.
In 1966 the wolves were declared to be endangered species, and the 1973 Endangered
Species Act later called for their preservation and restoration of the species (Raynor, 2017).
Grey wolves relocated to Yellowstone Park in 1995 to help combat the growing elk
population, but their influence went much further. The restoration of the wolf managed to
preserve this sanctuary of biodiversity and contributed to the proliferation of countless
animals (Raynor, 2017).

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From the above discussion it can be concluded that every species has its unique
characteristic by which it is connected to the other species of the same habitat. The keystone
species can is crucial to protect the biodiversity and their importance can be justified by the
incident of Grey wolves. Therefore, it is important to protect the species in its own habitat.
References:
Abood, S. A., Lee, J. S. H., Burivalova, Z., Garcia‐Ulloa, J., & Koh, L. P. (2015). Relative
contributions of the logging, fiber, oil palm, and mining industries to forest loss in
Indonesia. Conservation Letters, 8(1), 58-67.
Dudley, N., & Alexander, S. (2017). Agriculture and biodiversity: a
review. Biodiversity, 18(2-3), 45-49.
Hunter P. (2007). The human impact on biological diversity. How species adapt to urban
challenges sheds light on evolution and provides clues about conservation. EMBO
reports, 8(4), 316–318. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.embor.7400951
LavallÃ, C. D. (2018). Social Behaviour and Trophic Interactions of Gray Wolves (Canis
lupus), the Keystone Species in Yellowstone National Park. Proceedings of
Manitoba's Undergraduate Science and Engineering Research, 4.
Mancini, M. S., Galli, A., Niccolucci, V., Lin, D., Bastianoni, S., Wackernagel, M., &
Marchettini, N. (2016). Ecological footprint: refining the carbon footprint
calculation. Ecological indicators, 61, 390-403.

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Martins, M. J. F., Lago-Leston, A., Anjos, A., Duarte, C. M., Agusti, S., Serrão, E. A., &
Pearson, G. A. (2015). A transcriptome resource for Antarctic krill (Euphausia
superba Dana) exposed to short-term stress. Marine genomics, 23, 45-47.
Mello, M. A. R., Rodrigues, F. A., Costa, L. D. F., Kissling, W. D., Şekercioğlu, Ç. H.,
Marquitti, F. M. D., & Kalko, E. K. V. (2015). Keystone species in seed dispersal
networks are mainly determined by dietary specialization. Oikos, 124(8), 1031-1039.
Modlmeier, A. P., Keiser, C. N., Watters, J. V., Sih, A., & Pruitt, J. N. (2014). The keystone
individual concept: an ecological and evolutionary overview. Animal Behaviour, 89,
53-62.
Network, G. F. (2017). Ecological footprint. The Share Guide: The Holistic Health Magazine
and Resource Directory.< http://www. shareguide. com/Ecological. html>(25 March
2008).
Raynor, J. L. (2017). Essays on Measuring the Economic Impacts of Keystone Species. The
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Scholz, K., Eriksson, M., & Strid, I. (2015). Carbon footprint of supermarket food
waste. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 94, 56-65.
Wu, Y., Shen, J., Zhang, X., Skitmore, M., & Lu, W. (2016). The impact of urbanization on
carbon emissions in developing countries: a Chinese study based on the U-Kaya
method. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, 589-603.