Energy and Factors that Affect Health

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Food Web

This food web occurs in an aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial one. This is because when a pesticide is sprayed on plants, it affects the animals on land that eat it which is how it gets into the terrestrial ecosystem. However, it also gets into the aquatic ecosystem because pesticides can leach into the soil and enter our waters.  

Trophic Levels

This pyramid shows energy transfer throughout the trophic levels. The 1st level shows the producers, being the water, soil, plants, and aquatic plants. The 2nd level shows the primary consumers which are small fish who eat aquatics plants, and bunnies who eat plants. The 3rd level shows the secondary consumers which are larger fish and wolves. The larger fish eat the small fish, and the wolves eat the bunnies. The 4th level shows the apex predator, being the bear. Bears eat almost everything else on this pyramid.  

Limiting Factors

The limiting factor in these ecosystems is pesticides. Pesticides affect the health of many things such as all the animals that eat pesticide sprayed plants. It is also possible for small animals or insects to be directly sprayed with pesticides. Pesticides also affect the health of fish and other aquatic organisms when they leach into our water. This also causes them to affect the animals that eat aquatic organisms. Humans impact the limiting factor because we are the ones who spray pesticides, causing them to affect the earth, plants, and animals. When some pesticides enter aquatic environments, they can reduce species diversity in aquatic organisms and predatory insects. Pesticides can affect animals by causing endocrine disruption, reproductive effects, neurotoxicity, kidney and liver damage, birth defects, and developmental changes, and alter organisms.  

Sources

Fishel, F. (2003). Pesticides and the environment. University of Missouri Extension. Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g7520 

Pesticide impact on wildlife ecology. Pesticide Environmental Stewardship. (2021). Retrieved March 29, 2023, from https://pesticidestewardship.org/non-target/pesticide-impact/