Guideline of Field-Based Natural ecosystem project Select a site and ecosystem G
ID: 100072 • Letter: G
Question
Guideline of Field-Based Natural ecosystem project
Select a site and ecosystem
Get information about the potential field sites such as wildlife refuse, state Park, any natural areas by doing web searches or field visits.
Based on the information you collected, select a field site that contains one or more of the possible natural ecosystems choices listed below. For your safety and to ensure a well-informed quality experience, you should try to make sure that all visits are supervised by park rangers or tour guides.
Select a natural ecosystem type
Project requirements
Begin with a brief description of the of the field site you selected (4 points)
Describe the actual ecological setting of the ecosystem you selected (4 points)
Indicate date and time of visit and weather conditions for the day
Provide an inventory of species and the physical and behavioral ecological factors observed
Compare and contrast the conditions of the actual ecosystem you observed to those of the ecosystem as described in the textbook and/or class notes (ideal ecosystem) (6 points)
Explain differences between the observed and ideal ecosystem (6 points)
Make recommendations as needed to maintain or restore the ecosystem (5 points)
Explanation / Answer
Natural ecosystem is defined as the ecosystem which is not impaired by the human activity ans is self sustained or renewed. Nandankanam zoo is a natural ecosystem selected for this project. It is situated in Bhubaneswar, Odisha (India) and is spread over an area of 4.37sq.km. It can be easily reached by road, rail and air. The nearest railway station is Barang which is 2 km from the zoo while Bhubaneswar (capital city) railway station is 20km from the zoo. It is famous for white tigers and lion safari. It is known forcaptive breeding of gharial (crocodile breeding). Visiting the zoo with registered guides provides a rich experience and description of the the animals, birds and reptiles present alongwith the history.
the ecological setting consists of botanical park in the nandankanan zoo along with Deer park, water bird aviary , reptile park, nocturnal houses and aquarium. It also includes Kanjia lake has been designated as natural wetland of India recently. There are also elephant ride and lion safari are available for visitors as well as one can enjoy the serene beauty of the forest by aerial ropeway and boating. One can enjoy staying inside the forest in the available cottages during daytime.
The zoo is open and suitable to visit round the year but the best time to visit is during winters from October to February when the temperature is low around 10oC. The zoo timings are from 7:30am to 5:30pm in summers while in winters its 8:00am to 5:30pm.
Zoo is the roosting place for Cormorants, Open billed stork, white ibis, Egrets, Herons. It also offers nice locatioin for weaver bird nests. Crocodile enclosures are also present. Apart from salt water Crocotides, reptiles such as monitor lizard, chamelion, snakes such as pythons are easily visible. It has more than 3000 animals and birds. different species of monkeys, orangutans, Patas monkeys can be seen. Indian Pangolin, Eastern rossela, winged macaus and Cinerous vultures add to its list. hundreds of different species of birds and butterflies move freely in the zoo. It is the first place where birth of white tiger from colour tiger, which has given its unique identity to this zoo. Indian porcupines, Brow antler-deer, Swamp deer, chimpanzee,Elephants, himalayan black bear, sloth bear, Malayan giant squirrel are bred sucessusfully in the zoo.
(a) The ecosystem observed has very high genetic diversity and consists of many species of plants and animals. (b) However, many species which are not indegeniou/ native to the country are also present which is not described in notes. (c) Sunlight which drives all the biological cycles , has different degree of peneration in the forest depending on the thickness of the foliage giving rise to different flora and fauna locations. (d) Food chain is long is complex. Animals are provided with water reserviours in contrast to ideal where single water reserviour is present and animals have to move to drink water which acts as hunting ground for most of the animals. (e) human acitivity is present to take care of the animals (f) breeding centres for animals are present in the observed ecosystem
(a) the contrasting features of the natural ecosystem involves high sustainibility and productivity is variable. (b) The food chain is long. (c) Tigers and lion does not hunt naturally as in ideal ecosytem, instead they are provided with food. (d) Non native species of animals and birds are present in the natural ecosystem which causes substantial shifts in ecosystem function. Their natural habitat is not present but kept in artificially prepared similar environments. (e)Animals and birds are protected from extreme environment changes such as during extreme heat in summer which is not observed in ideal ecosystem. (f) water quality is compromised in these natueal ecosystems as compared to the ideal ecosystem.
Recommendations to mainatin the ecosystem involves: (a) Human activity should be lowered as it affects the behaviour of the animals. Monkeys generally snatch items held by people, which causes encounter between monkeys and humans, not suitable for their well being (b) Waste/ garbage management should be taken care of. Plastic items and other harmful products (rubber etc) if thrown in open , can cause health hazards as well as when eaten by any animal or bird hampers their well being. (c) water quality should be maintained in the lakes, ponds. polluted water is the main cause of dieases in animals. if not changed at regular intervals would act as breeding grounds for various disease causing pathogens. drinking water for animals should be regulary checked for its quality. (d) cleaniness is another major aspect to be observed for maintaining healthy animals.(e) Engandered species should bred to increase their population and should be taken good care.
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