Essential Knowledge 4.B.4

Distribution of local and global ecosystems changes over time.

Human impact accelerates change at local and global levels. Examples include:

• Logging, slash and burn agriculture, urbanization, monocropping, infrastructure development (dams, transmission lines, roads), and global climate change threaten ecosystems and life on Earth.
• An introduced species can exploit a new niche free of predators or competitors, thus exploiting new resources.
• Introduction of new diseases can devastate native species. Such as:
• Dutch elm disease
• Potato blight
• Small pox [historic example for Native Americans]

Geological and meteorological events impact ecosystem distribution. Biogeographical studies illustrate these changes. To foster student understanding of this concept, instructors can choose an illustrative example such as:

• El Niño
• Continental drift
• Meteor impact on dinosaurs

Students should be able to:

LO 4.20 explain how the distribution of ecosystems changes over time by identifying large-scale events that have resulted in these changes in the past.

LO 4.21 predict consequences of human actions on both local and global ecosystems.