TPO 13 Lecture 2
Ecology
Narrator: Listen to a part of a lecture in an ecology class.
Professor:
So, continuing our discussion of ecological systems--- whole systems. The main thing to keep in mind here is the interrelationships. The species in the system err…. and even the landscape itself, they are interdependent. Let's take what you've read for this weekend and see if we can apply this interdependence idea. Mike?
Student:
Well, um…, how about beavers--- ecosystems with beavers in waterways.
Professor:
Good, good, go on.
Student:
Like, well, you can see how it's so important, cause if you go back before European settled in north America, like before the 1600s, back when native Americans were the only people living here, well, back then there were a lot of beavers, but later on, after Europeans…
Professor:
OK, wait, I see where you are heading with this, but before we go into how European settlement affected the ecosystem, tell me this--- what kind of environment do beavers live in? Think about what it was like before the Europeans settlers came, we'll come back to where you were headed.
Student:
OK, well, beavers live near streams and rivers and they block up the streams and rivers with like logs and sticks and mud. You know, they build dams that really slow down the flow of the stream. So then the water backs up, and creates like a pond that floods the nearby land.
Professor:
And that creates wetlands. OK, tell me more.
Student:
Well with wetlands, it's like there is more standing water, more Stillwater around, and that water is a lot cleaner than swiftly flowing water, because the dirt and settlement and stuff has the chance to sink to the bottom.
Professor:
More important for our discussion, wetland areas support a lot more variety of life than swiftly flowing water. For example, there are more varieties of fish or insects, lots of frog spices, and then species that rely on those species start to live near the wetlands too.
Student:
Yes, like birds and mammals that eat the fish and insects, and you can get trees and plants that begin to grow near the standing water, that can't grow near the running water. Oh, and there's something about wetland, and ground water too.
Professor:
OK, good. Wetlands have a big affect on ground water, the amount of water below the surface of the land. Think of wetlands as, Umm, like a giant sponge, the earth soaks up a lot of this water that's continually flooding the surface, which increases the amount of water below. So where is there a wetland, you get a lot of ground water, and ground water happens to be a big source of our own drinking water today.
All right… So, back to the beavers, what if the beavers weren't there?
Student:
You just have a regular running stream, because there is no dam, so the ecosystem would be completely different, there would be fewer wetlands.
Professor:
Exactly, so, now let's go back to where you were headed before, Mike. You mentioned the change that occurred after Europeans came to North America.
Student:
Yeah, well, there used to be beavers all over the place, something like 200 million beavers, just in the continental United States. But when Europeans came, they started hunting the beavers for their fur, because beaver fur is really warm, and it was really popular for ** hats in Europe. So the beavers were hunted a lot, overhunted, they are almost extinct by the 1800s, so… that meant fewer wetlands, less standing water.
Professor:
And what does that mean for the ecosystem? Kate?
Student:
Well if there is less standing water than the ecosystem can support its many species, because a lot of insects and fish and frogs can't live in running water, and then the birds and animals that eat them, lose their foods supply.
Professor:
Precisely, so the beaver in this ecosystem is what we call a keystone species. The term keystone kind of explains itself. In architecture, a keystone in an archway or doorway is the stone that holds the whole thing together, and keeps it from collapsing. Well, that's what a keystone species does in an ecosystem. It's the critical species that keeps the system going. Now,
beaver populations are on the rise again, but there is something to think about.
Consider humans as part of these ecosystems, you've probably heard about water shortages or restrictions on how much water you can use, especially in the summer time, in recent years. And remember what I said about groundwater; imagine if we still have all those beavers around, all those wetlands. What would our water supply be like then?
TPO 13 Conversation 2
Narrator:Listen to a conversation between a student and the language lab manager.
Student:
Hi, I'm not sure, but err... is this the Carter language lab?
Manager:
Yes, it is. How can I help you?
Student:
I'm taking the first year Spanish this semester. Our professor says that we need to come here to view a series of videos. I think it is called Spanish Working on Your Accident.
Manager:
Yes, we have that. Err...They are on the wall behind you.
Student:
So, I can just take....err.....Can I take the whole series home? I think there are three of them.
Manager:
I guess you haven't been here before.
Student:
No, no I haven't.
Manager:
Ok, well, you have to watch the videos here. You need to sign in to reserve an open room and sign out the video you need, just start with the first one in the series, each video have an hour long.
Student:
So, it is a video library, basically?
Manager:
Yes, but unlike the library, you can't take any videos out of the lab.
Student:
OK, so how long can I use the video room for?
Manager:
You can sign up for two hours at a time.
Student:
Oh, good, so I can watch more than one video when I come up here. Is the lab pretty busy all the time?
Manager:
Well, rooms are usually full read after dinner time, but you can sign up the day before to reserve the room if you are.
Student:
Err...the day before....But, I can just stop in to see if the any lab is open, right?
Manager:
Sure, stop in any time.
Student:
What about copies of these videos? Is there just one copy of each in the series?
I don't want to miss out everyone comes in a once.
Manager:
Oh, no, we have several copies of each tape of Spanish accident series. We usually have multiple copies for everything for each video collection.
Student:
Super. So...how many rooms are there total in the lab?
Manager:
They are pretty small. So, we normally get one person or no more than a small group of people in their watching the video together. Actually, someone else for your class just came in and took the first Spanish video into watch. You could probably run in a watch with them. Of course, you are welcome to have own room. But, sometimes students like to watch with classmate, so they can review the material with each other afterwards. For example, it was with some content they didn't really understand.
Student:
I guess I prefer my own room. I concentrate better about myself and I don't want to miss anything, you know, and it is probably already started watching it...
Manager:
No problem, we've got a lot of rooms open right now. When you come in, you sign your name on the list and I signed the room number or if you call that event that it attended tell you your room number, if you forget, just come in and take a look at the list. The videos are over there.
Student:
Great, thanks.
