Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you discuss the effects of reintroducing previously extinct animals to the North American continent. In your paper, answer the following questions:
- Select one ecosystem found in North America.
- Describe some of the survival characteristics of the plants and animals in your selected ecosystem. Discuss how these adaptations developed in response to biotic and abiotic factors and through the process of natural selection.
- From an ecological standpoint, what could the pros and cons be for populating this ecosystem with animals, such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas, elephants, and camels?
- How could this affect the native plants and animals found in this ecosystem? Discuss the cycling of matter and if it would be disrupted due to this repopulation.
- Would the human population affect the repopulation of these animals to this ecosystem? Why or why not?