Impact of Biome Changes on Water Availability

Answered using GPT-4o mini by AI Answer Generator

Question:

Case 1: The biome of a small agricultural community in the western United States changes from grassland to desert. A species of migrating duck, which can carry bird flu, goes locally extinct.

Case 2: The biome in northern Russia changes from tundra to taiga. Timber harvesting in the region becomes possible. Arctic foxes go locally extinct and are replaced by red foxes that commonly carry rabies.

Sort the consequence based on whether it would apply to Case 1, Case 2, or both: decreased water availability

Answer:

The consequence of "decreased water availability" would apply to Case 1.

In Case 1, the change from grassland to desert typically involves a reduction in water availability due to the arid conditions of a desert biome compared to a grassland.

In Case 2, while the transition from tundra to taiga may involve changes in water dynamics, it does not inherently imply a decrease in water availability in the same way that a shift to a desert biome does. Therefore, "decreased water availability" is not a direct consequence of Case 2.

So, the sorting is:

  • Case 1: decreased water availability
  • Case 2: not applicable
  • Both: not applicable