Stream Life Ecosystem
An ecosystem is made up of plants, animals and other forms of life as well as the environment in which they live. Ecosystems are self-sustaining, which means everything that each living member of the ecosystem needs can be found within the ecosystem and that all of the functions of the ecosystem are continuous.
Ecosystems rely on natural balance. A wetland ecosystem is not only made up of the living creatures in the ecosystem, but it also includes the water and the chemicals in the water (for example: whether the water is fresh, salty or brackish), the soil and the air. All of these factors are necessary for maintaining the health of the ecosystem. If the water is drained from an area, the removal of that important component of the ecosystem will have an effect on everything else in that environment. Likewise, if something is introduced, like pollutants or excess salt water it will also become a problem for the ecosystem.
How can change in one part of an ecosystem affect change in other parts of an ecosystem? Give an example.
What impact do humans have on the ecosystem? How do humans have an impact on the diversity and stability of ecosystems?
How can you personally help to preserve Hawaiian stream life?
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
If roots or some kind of clog was stopping the stream from flowing well, the old water sits longer and the stream becomes more dirty since the water doesn’t circulate well.
Humans have a big impact on the ecosystem because if we litter everywhere, it sets off a domino reaction. It will start off as us littering, then it will get into the storm drains, into the streams, and probably end up killing an animal or plant.
Humans have an impact on the diversity and stability of the ecosystem because we choose to either throw the trash on the ground or not to throw the trash on the ground. Sadly, most people choose to throw it on the ground instead of a trash can. But when we do that, we knock the balance of the ecosystem off when we litter and pollute.
I can pick up and throw out rubbish that I see in streams, or I could clear away things that block the flow of a stream so that the stream will flow better and animals that live in the stream will be able to swim through the stream easily.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
When Westerners came, they brought all sorts of animals, some on purpose, some by accident. For example, the mongoose was brought over on purpose. They were meant to kill off the rats in the sugar cane fields, but they are awake in the day and the rats are awake at night, so instead of eating the rats, mongoose started feeding on native birds. The effect is nowadays there are hardly any native Hawaiian birds left.
Humans had an impact on the diversity and stability of the stream ecosystem because they channelize or force the water in the streams to go in a certain direction. We also litter and put things down the storm drain. Most things that go into the storm drain end up in the oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. Things like plastic bags or any liquid thing like paint can choke or smother any sea or stream creature, so don’t pollute.
I personally can help clean up streams after a big storm because that’s usually when things are washed through the storm drains or are carried into the streams by the wind. I can also help by helping take invasive species out of the rivers and streams. I can also not pollute.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:04 pm
One thing that people can change are the creatures itself. For example, if you were to put a different fish in a stream, it would probably compete for food, or maybe if it was a carnivore, it could even eat all our stream life!
Humans have a huge impact on an ecosystem. For example, humans are always diverting water from one stream while it is high in the mountains to use it as their water supply. I n fact, there is a court case going on right now, and they are fighting about whose water it is from the stream.
I think that I can help buy picking up litter to help the ecosystem sustain itself.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
If you change the plants by the streams, the new plants could kill the other native plants that were feeding the animals in the stream. Then a lot of our native stream animals will die.
Humans could change an ecosystem almost as fast as a snap of your fingers. For example, if you have a pet gold fish and you dump him into the stream, your gold fish could compete and kill a lot of the other fish in the stream. What about when you wash your car or paint your house, and then you dump out all of those chemicals out into the storm drain. The chemicals can go down to the ocean and pollute the ocean.
I can help by giving my goldfish back to the fish store instead of dumping it in the stream or flushing it down my toilet. I can also help by picking up rubbish and putting it into the trash.
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:13 pm
A change in one ecosystem could affect another part of another ecosystem because if you dump your fish from your aquarium into a stream, then that fish (carnivore) will eat up all our native fish and animals. That fish will invade the stream and a lot of our native stream animals will die.
We have a great impact on the ecosystem because we could easily pollute our stream. For example, when we paint our house and we rinse our brushes out, those chemicals will go into the ocean and will ruin the life cycle of many fish. Like Mrs. Leong said, the fish lay many eggs and not a lot of them live. If we prevent this from happening, maybe a lot of the native stream life will come back faster. The diversion of water is very bad for our native stream life. For instance, the water level is really low and when the sun is out, there are no trees or plants to give them shade. The water level can become very low and that might kill them.
I can personally help by not dumping anything into the storm drains or picking up any rubbish I see, and always remember to give any fish back to the pet store.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:18 am
I think that it’s important to take care of our native Hawaiian streams because if we take care of our streams, they will take care of us. A lot of our streams have either been channelized, polluted, or taken over by invasive species.
Our poor native plants and animals have to fight to survive because they’ve had to adapt to so many changes made by humans. One big change that really affects the animals is channelizing the streams because our fish can’t go through their natural diadromous cycle.
We can do a lot to help our streams, and it isn’t hard. We can pull invasive plants, give our aquarium fish back to the pet store so they don’t take over, or even do something as simple as not dumping chemicals down storm drains. I hope that one day our plants and animals will be healthy again in the natural ecosystem they belong in!
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:31 am
For example, when the Polynesians first came to our islands, they brought wild boar which now is destroying our forests. When it rains, mud washes into our streams and our streams turn brown. Humans are the essential part of the eco-system because what we do affects what happens around of us, like when humans started to channelize our beautiful streams one by one. For the fish who before were used to having shade from the streams, they had to adapt to having no shade in the channelized streams. If Hawaiiians like us bind together to help malama the aina, we will have clean forests and clear streams.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
If you put aquarium fish in the stream, they get out of control and start competing for food with native Hawaiian animals, or if they are carnivorous, they will eat the Hawaiian animals and might make them extinct.
Humans affect the streams negatively with channelization. Channelization can kill fish.
We can help the streams by taking out invasive species!
January 24th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
If you change one part of the eco-system like putting your fish in a stream, your fish will now compete for food. Next your fish will lay eggs and destroy the native fish of the stream.
The humans can do some serious damage to Hawaii’s stream eco-system in such ways as throwing trash down a drain polluting the water and irrigating the streams.
What I can do is spread the news to all my friends and tell them to spread the message so pollution will be reduced. RESPECT HAWAII’S WATERS ! ! !
January 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
A change in one part of an ecosystem can affect other parts if that one part is destroyed, added to, or depleted. An example is a fresh water stream ecosystem if saltwater gets into the fresh water stream. Then the whole ecosystem is destroyed. If all the food for the fish were gone, then the fish would die.
Humans have a big impact on an ecosystem even if it is good or bad. When humans divert stream water by using concrete channels, they destroy the stream’s ecosystem. But we help the stream ecosystem by cleaning up the streams and recycling. Humans do many different things that change the diversity and stability of a stream ecosystem. For example, when we overfish, that changes the natural balance of the ocean. But when we introduce new species, it can destroy the native ecosystem. One example is the mongoose that was introduced in Hawaii in hopes of killing off mice, but mongoose is up during the day and mice are up at night so the mongoose started to eat native birds and that affected the native ecosystem.
I can personally help preserve Hawaiian stream life by recycling, throwing away anything plastic, not letting wasteful things go down the storm drain, and conserving water.
January 24th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
If new plants that not that are not native to the stream take over the native stream plants, the animals in the stream will not have food and starve. When the herbivores are all gone, the carnivores will have nothing to eat.
The impact humans have to the ecosystem is that if we litter, then the stream life can eat our trash and die from it. Like with storm drains, when people wash their car, they let the water and soap go down the storm drains and it goes into the streams. All the stream life can die from swimming in the polluted water.
If I had a fish and I did not want it anymore, I can give the fish to a pet store and not dump it into a stream. I would not pollute the streams either.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:39 am
If a person plants new plants and puts new animals in the streams, they will kill the streams by killing all the native plants so that the native animals have no food. Then pretty soon, the animals may become extinct.
Humans can impact the eco-system quickly by diverting water. The water in the ditch can be so hot and slowly fry animals because there may be so little plants in the ditch, they cannot provide shade.
I can personally help stream life by picking up rubbish and not letting any dirty water go down the storm drain.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:31 am
A change in a higher part of a stream can change the rest of the stream ecosystem because if you dump waste or dirt into a storm drain, it will go straight into the streams and kill it. It will pollute the water so we can’t drink it and the fish will die.
Humans have a huge impact on a stream’s ecosystem. We can easily kill a stream in a year or two. If we divert the water or channelize streams, the streams will die along with the plants/animals that live inside of it. Also the reefs will die because there are no nutrients going into the ocean. If we stop polluting the water and start throwing rubbish in the trashcan instead of the storm drains, the stream animals can live in a clean and healthy stream.
I can help to preserve Hawaiian stream life by telling my friends not to drop rubbish in the ocean or in the streets.
January 25th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
A change that can happen is that if you put your fish into streams, it will start to compete for food with other fish, and the fish from the streams will not get any of this food if your aquarium fish which you dumped in the stream fights for it.
Humans have an impact on a stream ecosystem because if we litter, what will happen is that the water will get polluted and the fish from the streams could get get stuck and get caught in a plastic bag or a six pack can soda carrier. Another impact is channelization which will destroy the Hawaiian streams.
I can help to save streams by reminding people not to litter in streams, but in other places too.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
One change that can happen is when a person changes his oil. It so happens that the old gunky oil goes down the sewer drain and gets into a stream. The algae will get sick and inedible, and the fish and hihiwai will eat it and die, or the fish and hihiwai would starve to death. Another change is when someone dumps his old aquarium’s pregnant fish into the stream. The fish would then start reproducing and start eating our fish and native fresh water animals!
We humans have an huge impact on the stream’s ecosystems because if we do pollute the streams, we won’t have any more fresh, clean, pure water to drink and our population would die off. Also if we dumped all our aquarium fish into the streams, then we might not have all the good fresh water food to eat.
I can help and do my part by telling my family members to not let all their garbage go down into the sewer drain, then their friends might tell others. Also I will tell my family members to not dump their aquarium fish into streams and their friends might do the same thing.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:57 am
If you change the ecosystem up in the mountains and clog the water, the stream will dry up. Therefore, all the creatures in the stream will die.
Humans can impact an ecosystem by polluting it, therefore, destroying it; or cleaning it, therefore, helping it live and maybe even making it better.
You can personally help preserve a stream by cleaning it up after a big storm when trees and branches fall into it, and on a regular basis, clean the invasive species out of it.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:57 am
If one part of the stream is changed, then the rest of the stream might be altered with the one part that you changed. An example of an altered stream is the waiahole ditch because the water that was supposed to go to the windward side is now going to the leeward side.
Humans have control over the ecosystem that is stream life. Humans have a huge impact on stream stability because of the fact that people along with the animals need water to live ,and without it then everything will die.
I can pick up anything that doesn’t belong in the streams and the sea. I can save the water that my house uses by turning off the faucets while brushing my teeth and washing the dishes.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Change in one part of an ecosystem can ruin other parts of an ecosystem.
One example is that if part of the stream is channelized, all of the dirt from the top comes rushing down the rest of the stream murking up the rest of the stream. Also, another way it could mess up the stream is if the water in the channelized part of the stream doesn’t get water, the bottom part of the stream won’t have water
An impact that the humans have on the ecosystem is that we channelize the streams. We also take the water off of the streams too. We humans have an impact on the diversity because we use too much water and take it out of the streams. Streams are a part of the ecosystem.
I can help to preserve Hawaiian stream life by stop polluting the streams.
January 26th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Change in one fraction of an ecosystem can ruin everything in that ecosystem. One example for that is if you start to divert water from a stream like what is happening to Waiahole ditch. The water is supposed to flow to the windward side but not much water is going there because they are taking the water and giving it to the leeward side. Now many kalo plants cannot grow and many fish cannot be raised. The people who are selling them aren’t make that much money.
Humans have a huge impact on the ecosystem because if we litter it can trigger so many things. For example, if I drop a candy wrapper on the ground and it goes into a storm drain, it goes out to streams. Fish might think it’s food and eat it. They can choke and predators who eat those fish might die because they don’t have any food.
Humans have an impact on the diversity and stability of the streams because one little thing like dropping trash on the ground upsets the balance of nature.
I can pick trash that has fallen out of trash cans and put it back in, and make sure that it can’t fall back out. I can also try not to use as much soap to wash my parent’s cars.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
An introduced kind of plant like mangrove can affect one place of an ecosystem and hurt other places too. If the mangrove lives in one little area and it is sucking a lot of the oxygen up, it will spread by itself and start killing a lot of stream life. If you go to Heiea fishpond, you will see so much mangrove.
People have a humongous impact on ecosystems because they have the power to do a lot of things to ecosystems. For example, we have the power to divert water to places and that will totally impact stream life by diverting the water.
Humans have an impact on the diversity and stability of stream life throwing their rubbish away. If some person doesn’t care about animals, then they might throw their plastic bag down a storm drain. It might get eaten by a animal and that will mess up a lot of things.
I can personally help stream life by making sure I use green (environmentally friendly) products. I also will not litter and let it go down storm drains. I also can ask my dad not to use fertilizer so when it rains, it doesn’t wash all the poison down the drain.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I think the change in a ecosystem affects the place very much because it will grow more and it can harm the environment around it. For example, the mangrove will grow and grow, and it will go take the whole fish pond over. And the fish in the fish pond, what do you think is going to happen to them? Well I know, the mangrove is going to suffocate the fish and then there will no fish.
I think humans have a big part on the ecosystems because they can introduce plant and animals, but sometimes that’s bad because if you think about it and you put a carnivorous fish in a fish pond, he will eat the other fish.
We the humans have the power of diversity and stability over the stream life. We have a choice of throwing the rubbish on the ground or where it is supposed to go. But where does a lot of it go…on the ground. The trash will find a way to go to the the ocean and maybe it could hurt an animal. And that could upset the balance between the ocean and the humans.
I think I can throw my rubbish away where it is supposed to be thrown and if I had a chance to pick up some of the rubbish on the beach so an animal wouldn’t get hurt or even die, I will do it.
February 4th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
There are a lot examples of one part of an ecosystem affecting another one. One example is if when you divert a stream that goes where it was not originally built to go, it affects the plants and other forms of life such as the kalo, and fish that were supposed to get the water. This also affects the people that eat the fish and also grow the kalo.
Humans have the most impact on the stability and diversity of ecosystems. I feel this way because if humans wanted a change in the direction of the streams they could easily divert it. But there’s a problem with the way we divert streams now. That problem is we don’t return the water. That’s the difference between the way our ancestors made took care of them and the way we treat streams today.
Some ways we can help Hawaiian stream life is to start protests based on not making channelized streams and returning more water to its original place.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
When foreigners came, they brought rats accidentally, but the rats had diseases that were killing off native Hawaiian plants and animals. So they brought mongoose to eat the rats. Unfortunately, they did not know the rats were nocturnal, so when they came out in the day to feed, they ended up eating plants because there were no rats around.
Humans have an impact on ecosystems because they change the land to their benefit by not caring about the other life around them. For example, the humans channelized the streams so they could grow sugar cane to sell. Sadly, they did not think of returning the water to the streams so they dried out and all the plants and animals perished. (How do you protect yourself in a flat bare stream?)
I can preserve the stream and other ecosystems by picking up ôpala or making signs so other people can pick it up too. Together, we can help preserve our ecosystem, one ôpala at a time.
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
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