This document discusses how environmental change can affect ecosystems through population changes, physical factors, habitat change, and human impacts. It defines key population characteristics like geographic distribution, population density, and population growth rate, and explains how physical changes can cause populations to migrate, adapt, or potentially go extinct if unable to adjust to changes. Human activities like habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, and climate change are highlighted as major drivers of environmental change impacting ecosystems.

2. Effects of Environmental
Change on Ecosystems
Change can result from:
Population Changes
Physical Factors
Habitat Change
Human Impact or Influence

3. Population Change
Population: Members of the same species that live
and interact/reproduce with one another

4. Population Change
Population Characteristics:
Geographic Distribution
Population Density
Population Growth Rate

5. Geographic Distribution
• Geographic Distribution means the area that is
inhabited by an organism. This can very small or very large
depending on the organism.
Juniperus communis (sp)
distribution in
North America.

6. Geographic Distribution

7. Population Density
Population Density is actual number of individuals
of a species in a given area. Below is a human
population density map.

8. Population Growth
Population Growth is the net population growth.
Number of births compared to the number of deaths in
a population.
This can be expressed for geographic populations. Ex:
World human population, USA human
population, Wisconsin human population.

9. Population Growth
Go here to see the world population growth rate.
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

10. World Population Change
500 Years
This type of graph
Shows the exploding
human population.
Notice that this is an
Exponential Curve.

11. Population Growth
Populations will continue to growth unless there is a
factor influences the growth.
Physical changes in the environment can cause
population to do one of three things
1. Migrate: Change locations to one that is better suited
for survival
2. Adapt: Change to meet the physical environmental
change
3. Die: if the change is severe and wide spread a species
may become Extinct.

12. Population Growth:
Extinct is Forever

13. Human Effects on the Environment
Habitat Pollution
Destruction
Invasive Climate
Species Change