Does your BioArea belong to a biodiversity hotspot area?

No

Does it contain endemic species?

I can find no species which are endemic to Edinburgh City (my particular BioArea of interest). 

As far as Scotland as a whole is concerned it appears that the Scottish crossbill - Loxia scotica - is the UK’s only endemic species of bird, and also the UK’s only unique vertebrate (https://www.britishbirdlovers.co.uk/bird-brain/does-britain-have-any-endemic-bird-species Accessed 13/01/19)

With regard to endemic flora, as mentioned in an earlier post, Edinburgh is situated in the Central Lowlands/Belt in which is found a rare endemic orchid known as Young's Helleborine (Epipactis youngiana) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_of_Scotland)

Can you find evidence of damaging human activities?

Yes, as a relatively dense urban area there is evidence of damage due to vandalism and air pollution is a particular problem in Edinburgh City.  Edinburgh City Council has declared six Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), five for the pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and one for fine particulates (PM10).  An AQMA is required when a pollutant fails to meet air quality standards which are set by the Scottish Government. Road traffic is regarded as by far the greatest contributor to the high concentrations of NO2 in the city. (http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/11600/air_quality_annual_progress_report_2018). 

Are there areas currently under protection from human presence and/or activities?

Yes, Edinburgh City Council has a legal duty to protect trees in the City and does so by establishing Conservation Areas and issuing Tree Conservation Orders. (http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20064/parks_and_greenspaces/256/trees_and_woodlands)

The Water of Leith runs through the City centre and is conserved and protected by the Water of Leith Conservation Trust, the first river charity to be based in Scotland, in 1988 (http://www.waterofleith.org.uk/ Accessed 13/01/19). 

Does it contain volcanoes or mountains? 

Although no longer active(!) three prominent features of the Edinburgh City landscape – Arthur’s Seat, Calton Hill and the Castle Rock (which Edinburgh Castle sits upon) are the remnants of a Carboniferous volcano system (around 341 to 335 million years old). These areas are now protected as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Seat Accessed 13/01/19)

 

Given that my chosen BioArea is, essentially, an urban one, two examples of urban predator/prey relationships (which I have seen enacted in each case) are:

1. Urban Fox (Vulpes vulpes) (estimated population in 2001 – 430,082 Source: https://www2.gov.scot/Publications/2007/06/22104748/4) and the European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

2. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and the Feral Pidgeon (Columba livia domestica)

Two parasitic organisms

1. Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) which caused the death of a Flowering Cherry (Prunus incisa) in our Communal Garden.

2. Dog roundworm (Toxocara canis) which can be a problem in urban parks as it can infect humans when uncaring dog owners do not clear up their dogs’ faeces 

The ecological niche of two characteristic animals

1. The Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) a sometimes visitor to our Communal Garden which, as a bird of prey which predates small animals such as the Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) in areas of woodland.

2. The Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) which in this Scottish urban area now occupies the niche which used to be occupied by the Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Two organisms that share the same food (niche partitioning) and the way that they manage it

The Water of Leith is a fast flowing freshwater stream which flows through my chosen BioArea.  Two birds, the White-Throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) Dipper and the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) both feed on fish and other organisms from the stream.  The Dipper does so by submerging its body into the stream, targeting small fish while the much larger Grey Heron fishes using its long beak, normally standing at the side of the stream.  Hence the same ecological niche produces a differentiated type of food and a differentiated way of consuming those foods.

Based on the simplified trophic pyramid found in slide 6 of the resource topic 2.1 'Relationship of organisms in ecosystems', make an analogous one with plants and animals from your own BioArea.
Using the organisms mentioned above to create a trophic pyramid would result in the following (from top to bottom of the pyramid):-

Tertiary Consumers: Fox, Kestrel, Owl
Secondary Consumers: Dipper, Heron
Primary Consumers: Rabbit, Squirrel, Pidgeon, Mouse
Primary Producers: Grass, vegetation, trees, water-plants
Decomposers: Honey fungus

Wildlife overexploitation in your BioArea for the food industry, pet market, traditional medicine or the fashion industry.

No evidence of this.

Species of your BioArea that appear on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

None, as far as I can discover.

Possible invasions of alien species in your BioArea during the last decade. Consult also the list of 100 World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species.

I am not sure whether this had occurred “during the last decade” however Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is appearing in gardens and causing concern.

Possible signs of climate change in your BioArea, such as weather extremes

There is a wealth of data indicating significant changes in the climate in Edinburgh, and Scotland as a whole.  See the data from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency at https://www.environment.gov.scot/data/data-analysis/climate-trends/ and ASC (2016) UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017 Evidence Report – Summary for Scotland at https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/UK-CCRA-2017-Scotland-National-Summary.pdf

My own observations suggest that episodes of high winds, such that the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has to close because of risks to visitors and staff, are occurring more frequently and that winters are becoming, generally, milder while summers are wetter.