Aside from the obvious differences between the environment shown in the video presented and
the area in which I live currently I think there are some noticeable contrasts. To start, like most people
who live in South Florida, I am surrounded by concrete buildings and expressways. At first thought it is
more difficult to think of any similarities with the environment in the video. Due to the urban lifestyle it
is natural to expect there to be a lack of relationships among the organisms in my area. To be specific, I
live in about a 12-block area of South Florida that is littered with apartment buildings. I would have to go
out of my way to find the traditional definition of “nature.” The food web that I have attached has been
observed by me on days that I have walked my dog in my neighborhood. At the base we have traditional
plants and trees. The trees in my area have these odd red seeds growing off of them. These producers
are consumed by small reptiles such as lizards, insects such as butterflies and caterpillars, as well as
small mammals such as squirrels and the odd rat. The secondary consumers in my area contain what is
comedically the apex predators of where I live. This includes stray cats as well as small birds of prey such
as smaller species of hawks. I believe the simplest way urban areas like mine can increase biodiversity is
to building green infrastructure. The easiest way to do this without knocking buildings down would be
planting trees in appropriate areas as well as on street mediums or expressway shoulders and exits.
Making drastic changes to many of our already existing landscapes can usually do harm than good so
these simple measures are a good way to affect things incrementally. Speaking of doing more harm than
good I think it’s appropriate to talk about our obvious favorite non-native species in South Florida. The
Green Iguana. Many South Floridians believe these are native to our lands, but they arrived in droves
from South America and have done so much harm in the time they have been here. They massacre
ecosystems due to their broad dietary preferences. These include plants and trees that can house
specific insects. The Green Iguana is responsible for many species to dwindle in our area due to its
invasive nature.