The ecosystem of my village 4ºA

The white mulberry (Morus alba) is a tree species belonging to the genus Morus, family Moraceae. Trees up to 15 m high, with greyish young branches. Leaves with petiole 1.5-2 cm and blade 4-6 by 4-5 cm, more or less ovate, subacute, irregularly toothed or lobed, obliquely cordate, slender, glabrous except along the veins, light green. Infrutescences (sorosis) as long as their peduncles (2.5 by 1 cm), white or pinkish-white, which are the blackberries. The species is cultivated for its leaves, the only food for silkworms, whose cocoons are used to make silk. These trees are native to the temperate zones of Central and East Asia (China, Manchuria and Korea) and are widely cultivated in Asia, Europe and America.

The butterfly or silkworm (Bombyx mori) is a species of lepidopteran insect in the family Bombycidae.&nbsp; The larva is up to 8 cm long; the twelve segments into which it is structured are clearly visible, the grey hatching colour turning either white or light yellow or white with black bands separating the segments. The female butterfly expels orange to brown coloured internal fluid. Males are slightly smaller and move much more than females; they also have more streamlined abdomens and larger wings, although it is very rare for either of them to take flight.

THE ECOSYSTEM OF MY VILLAGE

The wild poppy (Papaver rhoeas), is a phanerogamous species of the genus Papaver, belonging to the family Papaveraceae (Papaveraceae). It is an annual plant that can reach more than 50 cm in height. It has erect, slightly branched stems with fine hairs. The leaves, which are borne alternately along the stem, without petioles, are pinnate and very toothed on the margins with a single central rib. The flowers, deep scarlet in colour, bell-shaped and almost spherical, have four fine petals and two hairy sepals. The petals are very delicate and fade quickly, so the flowers cannot be used in floral ornaments. The black stamens form a ringed cluster around the gynoecium, giving it the appearance of a black button. The fruit is a unilocular capsule with false septa, pale green, oval/subglobose in shape, truncated by a kind of lid at the top (disc) with 8-18 rays and with numerous inframillimetric seeds, which escape through pores below the upper disc (poricidal dehiscence). As in all species of the genus, the tiny seeds are kidney-shaped, honeycombed with a polygonal reticulum and brownish in colour. They flower from early to late spring. They do not withstand hot climates and humidity.

Average temperature: During the course of the year, the temperature generally varies from 3 °C to 33 °C and rarely drops below -2 °C or rises above 37 °C.

Average precipitations per year: La Puebla de Alfindén is 187 metres above sea level. ... According to Köppen and Geiger climate is classified as BSk. The temperature here is on average 15.5 °C. The precipitation is 408 mm per year.

Description of biotope: In terms of agricultural resources, the municipality is similar to neighbouring municipalities in terms of soil and crops. However, its industrial development has led to an increase in the industrial workforce, to the detriment of the agricultural workforce. In the last 20 years, the industrial workforce has risen from 30% to 80% and is likely to continue to increase.

POSITIVE IMPACTS TO CORRECT THE NEGATIVE ONES

As we have talked before, humans affect the environment and ecosystem in positive and negative ways. Protecting endangered species and cleaning lakes and seas for example has a positive effect on the environment. But as we live in La Puebla de Alfindén, and here there are no seas neither big lakes, some positive impacts humans do here are at home, we help the planet by recycling and growing lots of plants and vegetables. Also creating green, open space laws, to protect them from development. This includes bridges over highways and freeways that allow deer and other creatures to migrate across the developed area without threat of death-by-vehicle.. As you know, La Puebla is full of lands were farmers grow lots of plants which help the ecosystem. We have also saved hundreds of animal species from dying out completely due to natural factors. The merits of this can be debated as some believe we should let natural selection happen as its supposed to, others argue we have a duty to save these species.

BIOTIC FACTORS:

The&nbsp;European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), is a species of&nbsp;rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula. It is characterised by a body covered with thick, woolly, pale brown to grey fur, an oval head and large eyes. It weighs between 1.5 and 2.5 kg in the wild. It has long ears of up to 7 cm which help regulate body temperature and a very short tail. Its front legs are shorter than its hind legs. It measures 34 to 50 cm in gentle conditions, even more in domestic meat breeds. All these characteristics possessed by this species in the wild may vary significantly according to the breed. It lives in dry areas close to sea level with soft sandy soil to facilitate the construction of burrows.&nbsp; burrows. They inhabit forests, although they prefer large fields covered by bushes where they can hide.&nbsp;In the past, they were also common on arable land &nbsp;although new ploughing methods include the destruction of rabbit burrows. Despite this, this species has adapted to human activity by living in parks, grassy fields or even cemeteries. They are sometimes found in agricultural crops where they feed on lettuce, grains or roots that were intended for human consumption.

The bees, Anthophylls (Anthophila, gr. 'flower-loving'), are a clade of hymenopteran insects, not placed in taxonomic category, within the superfamily Apoidea. Bees are distinguished from apoid wasps by the setae or hairs covering their bodies, which, in the case of bees, are feathery and branched. The females of most bees have pollen-carrying organs, called scopae or corbiculae, usually on the hind legs or on the ventral region of the abdomen. There are also differences in the distribution of the hindwing veins. In females, the seventh dorsal abdominal lamina is subdivided in two. The ethologist Karl von Frisch studied the navigation of the domestic bee. He showed that bees communicate by means of the bee dance, in which a worker bee indicates the location of a food source. He showed that bees can orient themselves in three different ways: by the sun, by the polarisation of light rays and by the earth's magnetic field. He showed that they prefer the information provided by the sun. They use the other mechanisms when the sky is cloudy. The dance takes two forms: a circular one if the food source is less than fifty metres away, and a figure of eight, which indicates the direction if the food is further away.

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a migratory species of passerine bird of the family Hirundinidae. It is the swallow with the largest range in the world. It inhabits Europe, Asia, Africa, America and part of Australia. It is a small bird. The adult male of the nominal subspecies is between 14.6 and 19.9 cm in length, including the 2 to 7 cm of the elongated outer tail feathers. It has a wingspan of between 32 and 34.5 cm and weighs between 16 and 22 g. Its upperparts are metallic blue and its forehead, chin and throat are reddish. A thick dark blue stripe separates the throat from the whitish breast and abdomen. The outer tail feathers are elongated, giving it the distinctive deep forked appearance of swallows. There is a line of white spots along the outer edge of the upper tail. The appearance of the female is similar to that of the male, but the tail feathers are shorter, the blue of the upperparts and breast band is less lustrous and the breast and belly are paler. The juvenile is browner and exhibits a paler reddish face and whiter underparts; it lacks the long tail feathers of adults. The barn swallow's preferred habitat is open fields with low vegetation, such as pastures, meadows and agricultural land, preferably with water nearby. The barn swallow avoids areas of dense vegetation, steep or heavily built-up areas. The presence of open, accessible structures such as barns, stables and sheds that provide nesting sites and exposed locations such as wires, roof edges and bare branches for perching are also important in the swallow's choice of breeding sites. During migration, it tends to fly over open areas, often near water or skirting mountain ranges.

Definitions:

Ecosystem: it is a community or group of living organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment.

Biotope: it is a portion of a habitat characterized by uniformity in climate and distribution of biotic and abiotic components, as a tidal pool or a forest canopy.

Biocenosis: a self-sufficient community of naturally occurring organisms occupying and interacting within a specific biotope.

Habitat: it is the place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS HUMANS CAUSE IN OUR ECOSYSTEM

Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: If we talk about the whole world, the negative impacts humans cause in our ecosystem are much bigger and worse than if we talk only about La Puebla de Alfindén. Overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels and deforestation, have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality and undrinkable water. Talking about pollution, humans pollute the land, water and air with unwanted refuse. Looking towards deforestation, for every corn field you see, chances are good there was once a forest in its place. As our population continues to increase, humans create more and larger farms, which means removing the dwindling number of forests. These are some of the many negative impacts that we, as humans, cause to the ecosystem. I´ve talked in a general environment, for example in big places, but as I´ve said before, if we talk of La Puebla, these impacts would be the same but in a much smaller proportion.

COOPERATIVE INTRASPECIFIC RELATIONSHIP Families: Are relationship between parents and their offspring, so the parents can look after the offspring. They can be temporary or permanent. Parental: made up by the parents and their offspring. Example: the barn swallow.

Caste system: All the individuals are organised in a hierarchic way and are descendants of a particular female. Example: ants and bees.

COMPETITIVE INTRASPECIFIC RELATIONSHIP Individuals have to compete for a limited resource. Example: Poplars compete for sunlight and grow to get it

This relationship benefits both participants, is not essential for the survival of the partcipants and one species doesn't favour the development of the other. Example: The bees pollinate plants, the wild poppy.

Predation:

An individual called predator feeds on another one called prey. Example:The swallow bird (predator), eat insects, bees (prey).

The prickly saltwort or prickly glasswort (Kali turgidum), among other names, is an annual plant of the Amaranthaceae family, which grows in sandy soils all over the world. Due to its very high sodium content (up to 6 % of solid matter), its ashes used to be used in the production of glass and in the manufacture of soda. The plant is erect and grows up to one metre in height; it is highly branched from the base, the branches curving towards the stem, giving it a globular appearance. The branches are tender and green when young; with age they show coloured nodes with vertical purple striations on the internodes, and a marked hardening. The leaves are cylindrical, slightly larger at the base, alternate and with a spiny apex. A species of Eurasian origin, it is distributed in Europe, Asia and North Africa, naturalised in North America. It prefers dry, saline soils and is able to withstand wide variations in pH and climate, being found from the Russian steppe to tropical areas. It is considered a weed and is actively combated. It inhabits dry and desert areas; fallows, disturbed soils, roadsides, sandy shorelines.

Definition of population: a community of animals, plants, or humans among whose members interbreeding occurs. A community of Barn Swallow among whose members interbreeding occurs.

Definition of community: a group of humans, plants, or animals living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. A group of Sheeps living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

The sheep (Ovis orientalis aries) is a domestic ungulate quadrupedal mammal, used as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are artiodactyla, or hoofed animals. Although the term "sheep" is applied to many species of the genus Ovis, it generally refers to the domestic subspecies of Ovis orientalis. Sheep are relatively small ruminants, usually with a curly coat called wool and often with spiral-shaped side horns. Their height and weight vary depending on the breed. The rate of growth and their adult weight is an inherited trait and they are often selected for in breeding. Females usually weigh between 45 and 100 kg and males between 45 and 160 kg. Sheep are exclusively herbivorous mammals. Most breeds prefer to eat grasses and other short-fibre plants, avoiding the higher woody parts of plants.

Light wood

Name and location of my village.

La Puebla de Alfindén is a municipality in Spain, in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous region of Aragon. Belonging to the Comarca Central, it is located on the left bank of the river Ebro and near the mouth of the river Gállego. It has an area of 16.95 km² and a population of 6303 inhabitants.

Name

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