Category: Global Systems Science

Chapter 3 { Ecosystem Change Contents } I. An Interview with Dr. Samira Omar Desert ecosystems are very vulnerable to overgrazing by domestic animals. Herds people living at the edges of desert ecosystems have often triggered positive feedback mechanisms that have further reduced the productivity of the land both for wildlife and people. Nature’s time […]

Chapter 2 { Ecosystem Change Contents } Picture the following chain of events: hundreds of oak caterpillars munching holes in the leaves of an old oak tree while squirrels and jays collect acorns and gobble caterpillars too. The squirrel stops to scratch a flea. A pair of chickadees hop through the branches collecting caterpillars for […]

{ Ecosystem Change Contents } { All GSS Books } Design your own miniature ecosystem in a clear plastic or glass container and observe it for at least one month.  In the following laboratory investigation, you will design a small model ecosystem in a terrarium and follow the changes in the living and non-living components […]

Chapter 1 { Ecosystem Change Contents } Imagine you are an astronaut viewing planet earth from a space shuttle 160 miles above the surface. Changing patterns of clouds and reflections from water and snow fields create the illusion of a colossal spherical organism. Many human cultures have believed that Earth is alive; many have attributed […]

{ Ecosystem Change Contents } { All GSS Books } Bryant, Jeannette, ed. Conservation Directory: A list of Organizations, Agencies, and Officials Concerned with Natural Resource Use and Management. National Wildlife Federation, 1995. Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962. Chadwick, Douglas H. “Dead or Alive: The Endangered Species Act.” National Geographic. Vol. […]

ECOSYSTEM CHANGE is about the interdependence of all living things and the nonliving environment. It is also about how human activities are changing ecosystems around the world. See Overview. Contents Chapters Investigations Stay Current 1. Earth Alive! 1.1 Make a Model Ecosystem Chapter 1 2. Energy Through the System Chapter 2 3. Studying Desert Ecosystems […]

Staying current for Chapter 8 See Non-chronological resources for this chapter { Losing Biodiversity Contents } 2025-06-30. Scientists identify culprit behind biggest-ever U.S. honey bee die-off. By Joanna Thompson, Science. Excerpt: U.S. beekeepers had a disastrous winter. Between June 2024 and January 2025, a full 62% of commercial honey bee colonies in the United States died, […]

Staying current for Chapter 7 See Non-chronological resources for this chapter { Losing Biodiversity Contents } 2025-06-09. Climate change’s ‘evil twin’ is much worse than we thought. By Science. Excerpt: As human activities continue to pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, more and more of the stuff gets absorbed into Earth’s oceans, where it reacts […]

Staying current for Chapter 6 { Losing Biodiversity Contents } 2025-01-07. The Fleet-Winged Ghosts of Greenland. By  Caroline Van Hemert, bioGraphic. Excerpt: …Peregrine falcons hold near-mythical appeal in our collective imagination, and for good reason. Topping out at speeds of more than 320 kilometers (200 miles) per hour, they’re the fastest species on Earth, plummeting […]

Staying current for Chapter 5 See Non-chronological resources for this chapter { Losing Biodiversity Contents } 2025-06-13. Fallowed Fields Are Fueling California’s Dust Problem. By Andrew Chapman, Eos/AGU. Excerpt: California produces more than a third of the vegetables and three quarters of the fruits and nuts in the United States. But water constraints are leaving […]