Английский для специалистов по защите окружающей среды и безопасности жизнедеятельности. Ульянова О.В. - 36 стр.

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sy lawn on a school campus, it displays relatively low biodiversity. In the

case of a lawn, one plant species dominates. The diversity of organisms that

live in and on the soil may also be low because of fertilizers, pesticides, and

foot traffic.

Biodiversity in communities is determined by three factors: space, time,

and feeding. If the community space has numerous layers diversity increases.

For example, a forest has several layers beginning on the floor and moving to

the top of the canopy.

Changes in use of time also increases diversity. Two species of plants

can live in the same area if one blooms and grows in the spring, while the

other does so in the fall.

Different feeding strategies also increase diversity. Some birds feed on

seeds, some on insects, and other on nectar. Because they do not compete for

food, all three types of birds can live in the same area.

Answer your partner’s questions.

After that ask these questions to your partner.

• Where is the area of greatest biodiversity? Why?

• What areas have greater biodiversity index in oceans? Why?

Student B: Read Text B.

Text B

From a global perspective, species diversity falls into gradients. The

area of greatest diversity is around the tropics. Moving toward the poles, di-

versity decreases. For example, there are many more species of insects living

near the equator than there are in Canada. This diversity gradient can be ex-

plained by the fact that the tropics are warm, humid regions with plenty of

sunlight. Such areas support more types of plants than cool, dry ones.

In oceans, diversity decreases with distance from the continents. Near

the continents, there is plenty of food and there are many types of habitats.

Runoff from land carries minerals and nutrients into the waters. Shallow,

coastal areas provide beds of seagrasses and kelp that provide places to hide,

nesting areas, and a lot of food. Far out to sea where water is deep, light can-

not penetrate to the bottom to support plant life. The deep seafloor is gener-

ally uniform, providing animals with few places to live.