Climate and Change in Ecosystems Answers

Changes in land use can have a great impact on ecosystems. These changes often reduce the amount of available land and resources for organisms. These changes cause organism populations to decrease, sometimes even leading to complete loss of species in an ecosystem. These changes are typically permanent.

The growing and flowering seasons of plants will start earlier as a result of an earlier spring caused by warmer conditions. The growing and flowering season will most likely also last longer, resulting in increased plant growth.

Student answers will vary. Possible answers include seasons, tide cycles, population sizes, succession, evolution, landscape changes, and climate changes.

Natural change to ecosystems occurs all the time for various reasons. These changes, for the most part, increase the productivity of an ecosystem, allowing for greater biodiversity, symbiosis, and adaptability. While natural disasters like volcanoes, wildfires, and hurricanes can devastate an ecosystem, ecosystems ultimately recover from these disasters through the process of succession and return to a healthy state. This process keeps the soil of ecosystems fertile and capable of sustaining organisms.

Organisms that have a narrow temperature tolerance range cannot survive in a wide variety of temperatures. Even small changes in climate can affect organisms that do not have a high tolerance for change. These organisms will be forced to adapt, relocate, or die off. If climate change is widespread, such organisms may not be able to survive.

Student answers will vary. Possible answers include extreme weather, disease, land use change, invasive species, and pollution.