My grandparents lived near the beach in Northern California. We would visit the ocean every single time we visited with them and we would always go to the same beach. It seemed like the beach never changed all the years I was growing up. One visit when I was older, in high school, we went to "the beach" and the dunes were completely gone and there was a river running out to the ocean. Our beach was completely transformed from grassy dunes to clumps of grass and a river flowing through the sand. The beach had completely changed! What happens to all the grasses and insects, birds and creatures that lived there? Would they ever come back? Do major changes to ecosystems ever recover eventually and go back to normal? Neighboring ecosystems provide help after a disturbance like this. Seeds are spread, plants begin to grow again and creatures come back when there is enough food, water and shelter to help them thrive and grow. There is something called "keystone" species that help the ecosystem recover and thrive. At the ocean a keystone species could be a type of grass, or a verbena plant that runs across the surface of the sand extending its roots into the sand. Species of ice plant are very common and associated with beaches. Surfers are another species that is well known at beaches too.... Should we take care of ecosystems? They are everywhere, you know... Healthy ecosystems provide many resources for animals, insects, birds, reptiles and on and on. They even provide health for us. You may ask, "How does a healthy beach ecosystem keep me healthy when I live 500 miles from a beach?" Some species of birds don't stay in the same area all the time, they migrate. If they spend summer on the beaches and fly inland during the winter, if there is a disaster or something should happen that destroys a large number of these migrating species it would set off a chain reaction in many ecosystems. If the birds didn't come inland, the food that they usually eat and control, say copepods, a tiny crustacean that is a protein source for birds found in many water ways...these tiny organisms would "bloom" and there wouldn't be anything to eat them and this would have an effect on fish species, plant species and humans. The effects of unhealthy ecosystems is far reaching. The tiny copepod eaten for nourishment by thousands of birds each spring can turn into an invasive species if there aren't thousands of birds to eat them. Imbalance can happen that fast. We take care of our bodies so we don't get sick and can enjoy life without pain and suffering. We need to take care of our ecosystems too, plants, animals, fishes, and so many more living things so they can live, thrive and enjoy the fullness of their lives, no matter how big, no matter how small...
7 Comments
Jackson Baird
5/7/2019 03:19:21 pm
First again. I win.
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OLIVER ROPER
5/7/2019 03:30:57 pm
Jackson you don't even read the blog. Anyway I'm Second and I claim second.
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ian
5/7/2019 03:41:14 pm
that was me on the couch and my the way i claim 0th yeah it is before one
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Sebastian lei
5/7/2019 03:58:45 pm
I'm going to try that couch thing.
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Aaron
5/7/2019 06:23:03 pm
me too.
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kajetan
5/7/2019 07:56:13 pm
now i want to go couch surfing
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5/8/2019 07:30:02 am
Quit freaking out Deadpool. What are you, a little girl.
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |