Page 13 - Microsoft Word - geo class task.docx

Describe the functioning of the ecosystem (animals, plant, biophysical interactions).

Interaction: A string of volcanoes and areas of seismic activity border The Pacific Ocean,
known as ‘The Ring of Fire’. The horseshoe shaped zone extends 40, 000 kilometres with
approximately 452 volcanoes scattered from the southern tip of South America to New
Zealand. The Ring of Fire is the result of several tectonic plates, all apart of the lithosphere.
The tectonic plates located in these geologically active zones, are constantly moving
resulting in natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. These disasters
can result in effects such as disturbed currents.

Interaction: Bioaccumulation refers to the build-up of substances such as chemicals within
an organism. This process takes place when an organism absorbs a possibly toxic substance
at a faster tare than the substance is lost by catabolism and excretion. Creatures living in the
deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean such as shrimp can contain high levels of man-made
toxins. Crustaceans such as Hirondellea gigas are polluted by PCB’s (contaminants in the
water). Recently, PCB levels were reordered to be 50 times higher than in crabs in one of
China’s most polluted rivers. Bioaccumulation is the result of human impacts however
effects both the hydrosphere and biosphere. The impact of these contaminants could
potentially cause not only damage to the marine wildlife, but also cancer and damage to
reproductive and immune systems in humans.

Interaction: Overfishing takes place when more fish are caught than the population can
replace through natural reproduction. This practice can result in an imbalance to the life in
the oceans and the ecosystems. The poor management of illegal fishing and overfishing can
have detrimental impacts on the environment. The fishing can cause food chains to be
disordered resulting in an increased growth of some organisms such as algae and a decrease
in fish such as tuna. Further, coastal communities across the world may depend on fish as
their primary source of protein. Overfishing threatens this source as it causes reduced
security, particularly in developing countries. This interaction depletes diversity in the
biosphere however is gaining attention from organisations such as WWF.

Explain why this ecosystem needs protection (refer to linkages, biodiversity, location and/or
extent).

The Pacific Ocean requires protection in order to conserve its marine wildlife and prevent
further damage to the area. The extent of the ecosystem is extremely large meaning it is
more resilient than smaller ecosystems. However due to the resources, biodiversity and
intrinsic values of the ecosystem, it must be protected. If the ecosystem is not protected,
linkages in food chains will continue to deplete essentially resulting in the failure of the
ecosystem. Further, many animals such as the blue whale which are endangered may
become extinct resulting in detrimental damage to both the ecosystems linkages and the
tourism industry that is existent due to the whale itself. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of
the world’s ocean basins therefore it is vital that the ecosystem is protected.