GEOG 3318 Project: Biogeographic Pattern

        Anthropogenic Stressors Baffin Island The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  concluded in 2007 Fourth Assessment Report   that there is now unequivocal evidence that the world’s climate has warmed and a 90% probability that anthropogenic  GHG  emissions have caused most of the warming since the mid-20 th  century (Fisk et al., 2005 ).  The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe, and these changes are already affecting the life of the people of the North. Permafrost is less reliable; animal ranges are changing, making hunting more difficult; and sea ice loss is drawing increased interest to resources in the Arctic Ocean (Fisk, et al., 2005 ).  The dominant product of fossil fuel combustion is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The overall effect of human activities since the Industrial Revolution has been a warming effect, driven primari...

  Anthropogenic Stressor.  In the Upper Gauley, there is less of a chance of having an anthropogenic stressor in this area. Here, human activity is far and few in between. Many locals live here, so the potential stressor would most likely be a lack of governmental management over pollutants.  Both Summersville Lake and the Lower Gauley have a high anthropogenic stressor of pollution from humans. Tourism is highly encouraged and managed in Summersville Lake and the Lower Gauley. Whether that is human waste (defecation or trash), altering of the physical environment, or hunting/fishing, tourism is a huge stressor to the environment here. Many fish species suffer from water pollutants in this area.  In addition, Summersville Lake is drained once a year by the Army Corps of Engineers in preparation for the spring floods. Draining the lake dries out habitats, as well as nutrients and minerals throughout the lake. The riparian buffer surrounding the waters edge loses those...

 1. Montana's Human Stressors The first human stressor is located in the Yellowstone River. Even though it is Montana's largest free flowing river it is still affected by human activity. Stressors like bank stabilization, diversion dams, water withdrawals, altered hydrographs, thermographs, and sediment regimes from the dams turbines. This has a huge impact on the fish and other aquatic life that inhabit this river. The aquatic life is important because of the fresh water source and food source for land base wildlife. The second stressor is in Northeastern Montana. Things like pesticide, fertilizers and supplements that are given to the livestock seeps into the fresh water environments and effect the local wildlife. This effect has a great impact on the local amphibian population. The effects from these stressors have diminished the local toad and caused birth defects among them. This is very negative to the wild life because the amphibian wildlife is part of the base of the lo...

  Long Beach, CA The plants native to this area are tolerant to drought conditions and increased salinity due to the Mediterranean climate of this area.  Most of the plants found in this area are for gardens/landscaping in urban areas.  Public areas must get their trees approved by the city council before it is to be planted (City of Long Beach 2017).  As this is an area of dense urbanization, the terrestrial fauna in the area is slim.  Outside of pets, there are common animals such as squirrels, opossums, birds, rats, coyotes etc.  Lyonathamnus floribundus (Cataline Ironwood) (UFEI) (UFEI) Cataline ironwoods are successful in this area because they are drought resistance and tolerant to salty soils (UFEI).  They are most likely out competed by other species in other areas in terms of growth rate and height, so they stay within the western/central areas of California.  Procyon lotor (raccoon) (Cabi 2021) (Cabi 2021) Raccoons are found almost anywh...

Atacama Desert https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/South_american_grey_fox.jpg/710px-South_american_grey_fox.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Pseudalopex_griseus_range_map.png/180px-Pseudalopex_griseus_range_map.png South American Gray Fox ( Lycalopex Griseus )      The South American Grey Fox is a species of canid inhabiting most of Southern South America. While it looks like a fox, the creature is actually more closely related to a wolf. It weighs about 10 pounds and is around 2 feet long. Its coat is brindled gray. The canid is mostly nocturnal, preferring to hunt at night. In the region of the Atacama desert, it prefers to stay in the less arid regions and preys on small mammals and lizards. It is adapted to the desert featuring a slower metabolism due to its small size. In addition, the coat matches its surroundings well providing camouflage, and has impressive night vision which helps it move at night. The fox is li...

  Shasta National Forest's Biotic Communities Western North America Alpine Tundra Conditions Western North America Alpine Tundra (WNA Alpine Tundra) ecosystems are found on mountain ranges along the west coast of North America, including the mid-elevations on Mount Shasta (Billings & Meidinger 2015). This ecosystem is characterized by short growing seasons and long winters with high snowpack. Soils in this ecosystem tend to be shallow, rocky, low in organics, and well drained (Billings & Meidinger 2015) .  Plant Communities Plants commonly found in the WNA Alpine Tundra ecosystem on Mount Shasta include wildflowers in the genus Eriogonum , like Sulphur Buckwheat ( Eriogonum umbellatum ), and some trees at lower elevations such as Lodgepole Pine ( Pinus contorta ) (Billings & Meidinger 2015; Anderson 2003; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) & United States Forest Service (USFS) 2016; USDA & USFS 2014) .  Sulphur Buckwheat. Source . Sulphur B...