4 Mile Creek Ecosystem
The 4-Mile Creek Ecosystem refers to a community or group of living things such as animals, plants and microbes (Bailey et al., 12) that depend on the 4-Mile Creek for survival. These living things interact with the non-living ones such as air to complete the ecosystem. This gives rise to the existence of biotic and abiotic components in a given environment, which are in a way linked together by the energy flow and the nutrient cycles. Different ecosystems take different sizes. However, they usually take a specific space that is limited in nature.
The 4-mile creek ecosystem is located near Lake Ontario’s shores. Densely wooded bluffs characterize the ecosystem. The 4-mile creek is the home of many fauna and flora. Examples of fauna in this ecosystem include blue white-talled deer and blue herons while flora includes the white trillium and greenbrier. All these make the 4-mile creek an attractive place to visit. Its proximity to the Niagara Falls also gives it an added advantage since most tourists would visit it too
Essentially, abiotic factors refer to the non-living factors that affect the ecosystem. They include the physical factors and the non-living chemicals. Most of the abiotic factors fall within the soil and water of the ecosystem. The 4-mile creek ecosystem, for an extended period, has been subjected to discharged coolant water as an effect of the reactors of nuclear production. Sometimes, the coolant water killed the ecosystem’s vegetation, with its high flow rates. The waters also had an effect on eliminating the seed banks of the wetlands. The ecosystem was also characterized by discharge of heated effluents, which negatively affected the ecosystem (McLusky et al., 34).
The 4-mile creek ecosystem is dominated by herbaceous species. This species is mainly in the planted areas. However, under the herbaceous species, there exists a shrub canopy of black willow (Hecht et al., 32). The ecosystem is dominated by dense macrophytes. Other organism species present include fish, insects, reptiles and birds, which are in high amounts. The interaction amongst all these species in the ecosystem balances the available conditions for survival. This is because others are the producers such as the plants, the consumers, and some become the decomposers.
The biodiversity of the 4-mile creek ecosystem takes four components. They include the regional diversity, the ecosystem diversity, species diversity and the genetic diversity. The 4-mile creek ecosystem is a home to a number of living organisms that include birds of all kinds (Vallero et al., 32). The living organisms here are both plants and animals. The most common animals in the ecosystem include the blue white-talled deer and blue herons, which are in high capacities. The white trillium and the green bier represent the common flora. As such, there exist in an ecosystem the various trophic levels in the ecosystem. This makes it a balanced ecosystem as far as the food chain and food web are concerned (Shunk et al., 18).
The 4-mile creek ecosystem has the necessary trophic levels as would be expected. Essentially, the free existence of abundant green plants naturally serve as the primary source of food in the ecosystem, which is in abundance. The abundance of the green plants such as shrubs is essential in that it supports the entire ecosystem as most animals that are herbivorous in nature entirely rely on it. They are the producers in the first trophic level. As such, they are directly consumed by the herbivores that fall in the second trophic level. Carnivores such then take the third and fourth trophic levels depending on what food they consume. This gives the 4-mile creek ecosystem the necessary balance that is required in any ecosystem (S.hulze et al., 13).
Various organisms in the ecosystem have different ways in which they relate to one another. However, the most common interaction of organisms in this ecosystem is that of parasitism, then followed by the mutual interaction. The weak shrubs in the creek depend on attaching themselves to the strong trees in order to get sunlight and fresh air. The fish in the creek also depend on the water plants for food. Essentially, this is very important for the ecosystem to balance (Moody et al., 20).
Human activities have played a major role in the 4-mile creek ecosystem. Farming and cattle activities in the creek represent a major activity in the creek. However, some of the activities go unnoticed and as such, it becomes difficult to evaluate the extent to which they affect the ecosystem. The two major disturbances in the ecosystem include wildfire and mining, since they have a strong impact on the stream catchments. Wildfire as a result of human activities has a major effect in the ecosystem in that it affects a lot of factors that enhance an ecosystem. Wildfire reduces the infiltration rates of the soil and increase erosion. As a result, the stream discharge is increased. The same applies to the sedimentary yield (Schow.alter et al., 45). As such, human, activities always have an impact, positive or negative, to a given ecosystem.
In the 4-mile creek ecosystem, there exists competition, both intra-species and interspecies. The competition is normally due to scarcity in some element, and as such, the organisms have to compete to acquire it. In the 4-mile creek ecosystem, there is competition for food from the organisms. As such, this gives the ecosystem the required natural balance.
Works Cited
Bailey, Robert G. Ecosystem Geography. New York: Springer, 1996. Print.
Garratt, Richard, Michael Allaby, Michael Allaby, Peter D. Moore, Trevor Day, Peter D. Moore, and Peter D. Moore. Ecosystem. New York, NY: Facts On File, 1999. Print.
Hecht, Max K, William C. Steere, and Bruce Wallace. Evolutionary Biology: Volume 10. New York: Plenum Press, 1977. Print.
McLusky, Donald S. The Estuarine Ecosystem. New York: Wiley, 1981. Print.
Moody, Skye K. Habitat. New York: St. Martin's Minotaur, 1999. Print.
Schowalter, Timothy D. Insect Ecology: An Ecosystem Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic Press, 2006. Print.
Schulze, Peter C. Measures of Environmental Performance and Ecosystem Condition. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press, 1999. Print.
Shunk, Aaron, and Steven G. Driese. Late Tertiary Paleoclimate and Stratigraphy of the Gray Fossil Site (eastern Tn) and Pipe Creek Sinkhole (northcentral In). Waco, Tex: Baylor University, 2009. Print.
Vallero, Daniel A, and T M. Letcher. Unraveling Environmental Disasters. Boston: Elsevier, 2013. Print.
