Why Ecosystem Ecology?

My name is Stephanie and I am a senior with a wildlife biology major and a forestry minor. Ecosystem Ecology is interesting to me because it is the basis of everything that occurs on earth and I think everyone should know something about it. Knowing about the way in which organisms interact with the environment is essential if we ever want to begin to solve any of the environmental problems we have, which makes ecosystem ecology very important. I actually think that most of the problems we have are because we humans are often oblivious to the world around us and only think about what will benefit us. If everyone knew a little more about the way every organism is affected by the things we do, maybe we would think more about the consequences of the decisions we make.

Being a wildlife biology major, I have learned a lot about the way different animals interact with their environments and the effects that humans have on their survival and habitats. I am hoping this class will be an opportunity to learn how organisms other than animals interact with the environment. I think this class will help me broaden my perspective on the environment because I have only taken basic biology classes, so I don’t know much about the cycling of nutrients and carbon between plants, soil, water, and the atmosphere. It will be interesting to learn about the more minute interactions that we can’t really see and the way we influence them. If I didn't take this class, I wouldn't know anything about them.

My main educational goal is to learn about conservation in order to help preserve and protect endangered animal species around the world. In order to have successful conservation efforts, it is essential to have a functional ecosystem that can support biodiversity and allow the animals to survive. I am hoping to learn about all of the small, complex pieces that go into making an ecosystem functional; the pieces that often go unnoticed to people.