2+-+Ecosystems

Review for Quiz on Monday - Ecosystems, Food Chains/Webs, and Trophic Pyramids
Quizlet vocabulary review - Ecosystems
 * =Energy Cycle - [|Food chains and webs]Review this=
 * =Then do this, Food web [|game] SHOW Mrs. Van Meter when you've finished!=

Classwork 9/29 & 9/30 - Trophic Pyramids: Notes and Summary
Trophic pyramid summary

This is a discussion assignment worth 15 points. Read the article above. Summarize 3 important facts about trophic pyramids and what they represent by Clicking the Discussion tab and writing *your own* post. Then, click on someone else's post and either comment or question.

This assignment is worth a total of 20 points and is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, 9/29/10

 * Complete the REAL! dissection as directed in class
 * Line the tray with white paper towel
 * Very carefully pull apart the owl pellet using the probes and tweezers
 * Categorize and count every bone found!
 * Be sure you have answered all of the questions on the Owl Pellet handout.
 * Complete the GoogleForm to be inserted below
 * Complete the Virtual Owl Pellet for homework. Print out the certificate afterward.
 * Complete the @Owl Pellet Summary for your lab. Class data will be analyzed.

Due Monday 9/27 at the beginning of class. This assignment is worth 12 points.
Food chains and food webs - Notes and terminology. - Note the required use of color! Food webs show where the energy is transferred. Click on the following for more examples of food webs - they are messier than you want to make them! Food Web - Do this activity first! You can print the certificate for 3 points extra credit on your Food Web assignment. Brain Pop movie on Food Chains & Food Webs Summary and multimedia on Food Webs + create your own! Build-your-own Food Webs (Australian ecosystems) Scienceray Sea Otter Food Web Food Chains (actually more on trophic levels and energy)

Classwork 9/22! Movie - Ecosystems - located in the HS Shared folder->Science->VanMeter-> Environmental->Ecosystems. This assignment is worth 10 points.
For handouts: p.1 - complete together before the movie p.2 - definitions to study later, during the movie, you might jot specific examples! p.3- complete this after the movie (with partner, this is hard) p.4 - ignore this p.5 - complete together after the movie Packet due at end of class (I'm looking at p.3)

Due Tuesday 9/21 at the end of class. This assignment is worth 20 points.
(Handout )

Choose an Ecosystem from the following (only 2 people may work on the same ecosystem):
 * Fairmount Park, Philadelphia- Josh
 * Adelaide, Australia - Paula
 * Juneau, Alaska- Hayley
 * St. John's, USVI - Maddie and Maryclare
 * Hawaii - Laurinda, Sarah F
 * Kuala Lumpur - John
 * Los Angeles, CA - Emma
 * Niagara Falls, NY - Adolfo, Kelsey
 * Great Barrier Reef, Australia - Melanie, Fidelia
 * Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean - Sarah P
 * Cairo, Egypt - Justin, Tori

Fill in the table given (on your handout) by listing or describing at least 11 of the 14 listed components. You may not give the same example twice!

Ecosystems - "A community of organisms together with their physical environment, viewed as a system of interacting and interdependent relationships and including such processes as the flow of energy through trophic levels and the cycling of chemical elements and compounds through living and nonliving components of the system." ¹ (Mrs. Van Meter)

² Click on the picture above for explanation and more illustrations of other types of ecosystems.

Biotic- Aden -Definition: "Biotic means relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms; specifically organisms in an ecosystem. For example, trees, rodents, insects, etc."

Abiotic- Brandi - Not associated with or derived from living organisms. examples: sunlight, temperature, wind patterns, and precipitation

The abiotic components of a grassland ecosystem are the non-living features of the ecosystem that the living organisms depend on. Each abiotic component influences the number and variety of plants that grow in an ecosystem, which in turn has an influence on the variety of animals that live there. The four major abiotic components are: climate, parent material and soil, topography, and natural disturbances. "abiotic." The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. 16 Sep. 2009. .

"Abiotic components." Grassland Conservation Council of British Columbia. 2009. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

Niche - Caroline - A niche is how an organism thrives in its environment. [wikipedia.com] September 14, 2009. "Ecological niche -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. <[]

Habitat - Laura - "the natural environment of an organism; place that is natural for the life and growth of an organism: a tropical habitat." [dictionary.com]

Habitats are found within a system of interactions between organisms and their environment. Habitats vary in size and are places where a group of living organisms live at the same time. References; "habitat." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 15 Sep. 2009. .

"Living Things: Habitats and Ecosystems." The Franklin Institute. Web. 15 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

Grall, George. Habitats; Fresh Water. Web. 15 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

Parasite - (parasitism) "An organism that lives in or on and takes its nourishment from another organism. A parasite cannot live independently."⁴ Star Trek illustration of a parasite (rather gross) Note that the host is harmed by the parasite inside.³ media type="custom" key="1988796"

Host -Mrs Van Meter - "an organism that harbors [another]... typically providing nourishment and shelter" For instance, your body may be hosting a cold virus! September 23, 2009. "Host (biology)." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 23 Sept. 2009. <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host_(biology)>] "Treating Colds Naturally." Healing Daily. Web. 23 Sept. 2009. .

Symbiote (symbiotic) - The way two organisms interact (mutualism, predation, commensalism, parasitism are all categories of symbiosis) this is lichen, which is a fungus and an algae living together "Hainault Forest." Hainault Forest Website. Web. 23 Sept. 2009. .

Mutualism - A relationship where both organisms benefit. "File:Hummingbird hawkmoth a." Wikipedia. Web. 23 Sept. 2009. .

Commensalism- Mrs. Van Meter - a relationship where one organism benefits and the other is neither benefitted nor harmed

Predator (prey) - Chris - "carnivorous animal or destructive organism: a carnivorous animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animals in order to survive, or any other organism that behaves in a similar manner"

Explanation I picked the Grizzly bear as my illustration because, it hunts and eats other living animals.

Sources "Predator definition - Dictionary - MSN Encarta." MSN Encarta : Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and Homework. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

"A Little Bit of Grizzly Bear Trivia » Smarter Outdoors Blog." Smarter Blogs. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

Competition - Joey - []

competition- the use of the same limited resource by two or more species.

Organism - Shane []

[]

"a form of life composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes."

ex. i choose like a cell thing for my picture because when i think of an organism i think of that. Species - Shannon - The term species refers to "a group of closely related and interbreeding living things; the smallest standard unit of biological classification. Species can be divided into varieties, races, breeds, or subspecies. Red pines, sugar maples, cats, dogs, chimpanzees, and people are species; Siamese cats and beagles are varieties, not species." "species." The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 17 Sep. 2009. . The word species can apply to both plants and animals. Miller, Jonathan. "Brokers As Endangered Species: Freaking Out On The Boston-Minneapolis Hypothesis." Matrix. 06, March 2006. Miller Samuel Inc., Web. 17 Sep 2009.[].

Population - Shawn a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting a given area. (Shawn McCarthy)

Community - Erin "an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area" - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/48/6548-004-4D277914.gif

All the living things in the picture are a part of the community. A community doesn't just have to be humans or animals, it can be plants and any living things.

Producer - (which is the same as Autotroph) LauraLynn

"(1) An autotrophic organism capable of producing complex organic compounds from simple inorganic molecules through the process of photosynthesis (using light energy) or through chemosynthesis (using chemical energy).

(2) The first trophic level in a food chain in which it serves as a food source for consumers or for higher trophic levels."

Producer. Web. <[]>. Tynjälä, Päivi, and Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos. Producer. 2007. Web. <[]>.

Consumer - (which is the same as Heterotroph) Tianna - consumers are organisms (including us humans) that get their energy from producers, regarding the flow of energy through an ecosystem. For example, producers, (such as plants), make their own food by the process of photosynthesis. If we were to say, an organism ate this plant, than it would be a primary consumer. The animal that eats this animal is known as the second order consumer. And so on and so forth. Scientifically, all consumers are either herbivores, carnivores, omnivores or detrivores (decomposers and other organism that break down organic matter).

...It is useful to remember that all consumers and producers belong in food chains...

consumers are the one that depend on producers to survive. then, the energy is now transfered to the consumers.



Herbivore - Tim - A herbivore is an animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants. Can also eat parts of plants, but generally only the fruits and vegetables produced by fruit-bearing plants. Many herbivores have special digestive systems that let them digest all kinds of plants, including grasses.

Herbivores need a lot of energy to stay alive. Many of them, like cows and sheep, eat all day long. There should be a lot of plants in your ecosystem to support your herbivores. If you put carnivores or some omnivores in your ecosystem, they'll eat your herbivores, so make sure you have enough herbivores to support them. "What is an Herbivore?" []. Northwestern University, Web. 16 Sep 2009. Carnivore - Alex K "A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an animal that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of vertebrate and or invertebrate animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging. Animals that depend solely on animal flesh for their nutrient requirements are considered obligate carnivores while those that also consume non-animal food". []

Omnivore - Rob - Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively.Crows are a example of an omnivore that many people see every day. Humans are omnivores as well. "Omnivore." Wikipedia. 9/14/2009. Web. 16 Sep 2009. .

References

¹"Ecosystem - definition of ecosystem." The Free Dictionary by Farlex. 2008. Farlex, Inc. 15 Sep 2008 .

²Harms Tamara,. "ASU-Ask A Biologist - Ecosystems." Ask a Biologist. 2009. Arizona State University, Web. 14 Sep 2009. .

³"Star Trek - Picard and Riker blow up an aliean." YouTube. Online video clip. youtube.com Accessed on 14 Sep 2009. .

⁴"Parasite definition - Medical Dictionary." MedicineNet.com. 7/17/2000. WebMD, Web. 14 Sep 2009. .