Unit 7 Relfection

Unit 7 Reflection

          In this unit, we learned all about ecology, including interdependence, homeostasis, cause & effect, and others. I felt more invested in this unit than others because I think it's interesting to learn about what affects our ecosystems and what we can do to help improve the conditions, and also very rarely felt confused or discouraged about learning more about ecology and the environment. 

          The first thing we learned about was, obviously, ecology. We were taught that ecology is the study of interactions between organisms in their environment. This means it's the study of predators, prey, and how other organisms that live together in an ecosystem work together. I learned that a niche includes all of the factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce and that a habitat includes all aspects of the area in which an organism lives. I didn't think that there was much of a difference before. 

          Interdependence is when all living things are dependent on each other, and abiotic factors, for survival. I thought this was interesting because I didn't think that some living things were so crucially dependent on another to live. Homeostasis, or equilibrium, is when environments are healthiest when they are in balance. Just like the human body, environments are at their healthiest when there is nothing disrupting the natural flow of life. Cause and effect reminds me of karma because if something is thrown out of balance in an ecosystem, it will most likely have a lot of trouble recovering. 

          I feel like I learned a lot more about ecology and environments during the conservation project. It gave me a wider understanding of the true impact that humans have on many different environments across the globe. This project made me more sensitive towards issues like deforestation.