YOUR AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS

1. TOTAL OF 300 POINTS FOR THIS LAB

2. 200 POINTS ACQUIRED TODAY WITH YOUR PICTURES, 3 TYPED PAGES, FIRST OBSERVATIONS.

3. FINAL 100 POINTS ACQUIRED WITH YOUR REMAINING 9 OBSERVATIONS OF EACH ECOSYSTEM OVER THE NEXT 2 WEEKS.

EcologyThe term comes

from the Greek word “oikos” which means study. Ecology is the study of the interactions of organisms with one another and their physical environment.

ECOLOGY QUIZ

1. Why do organisms interact with each other?

2. What is Ecology?

3. Ecology comes from what Greek word?

4. What is an ecosystem?

5. What does abiotic mean?

6. What are 2 different types of ecosystems?

EcosystemsA community of organisms and their abiotic environment.

CommunityThe organisms

that live in a particular place.

HabitatThe specific physical

location of a community.

ALBERT EINSTEIN SAID THAT MAN CAN EXIST ONLY FOR ABOUT 4 YEARS WITHOUT BEES ON OUR PLANET. NO BEES – NO POLINATION – NO PLANTS – NO PEOPLE.

GUESS WHAT IS DISSAPEARING? NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHY – POSSIBLY PESTICIDES? GENETIC ENGINEERING? GLOBAL WARMING?

SCIENTISTS HAVE DISCOVERED THAT BEES DON’T LIKE TO FLY NEAR CELL PHONES – THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNALS THROW OFF THEIR NAVIGATION….HMMMMMMMM

LAB TOMORROW1. GET HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.2. GET STARTED IMMEDIATELY3. GET IN TEAMS OF 4.4. PREPARE YOUR 2 BOTTLES

A. CUT AN AIR HOLE IN THE BOTTOM BOTTLEB. CUT THE TOP BOTTLE ABOUT HALF WAY

5. WINDOW TABLES START WITH FISH ECOSYSTEM

6. WALL TABLES START WITH DIRT ECOSYSTEM

7. FISH – GRAVEL, ELODEA PLANT ANCHORED IN GRAVEL, FISH, WATER

DIRT – 2 INCHES OF DIRT, ONE SEED, 1 WORM, 1 MORE INCH OF DIRT, WATER

Diversity

• The measure of the number of species living in a particular ecosystem.

Coral reefs are among the world's most diverse ecosystems, long admired for their vibrant beauty. Home to millions of plant and animal species, these reefs are also a natural wonder, vital economical asset, coastal barrier and integral part of the world's oceans. These aspects have both raised awareness of their delicate ecosystems and yielded new and unique medicines.

CORAL REEF WEBSITE

Producers

• Organisms that take energy from their surroundings and store it in complex molecules. Almost all are photosynthetic. Examples are plants, bacteria, and algae.

Consumers

• The rest of the organisms that depend on the producers to obtain their energy.

Decomposers

• Organisms that obtain their energy by consuming organic waste and dead bodies.

Trophic Level

• The level assign by ecologists to each organism according to the energy transferring steps that they are away from the sun.

Autotrophs

• Organisms that make their own food such as plants, some bacteria, and algae.

Herbivores

• Organisms in the second trophic level that eat plants.

Carnivores

• Organisms on the third trophic level and above that are flesh eaters.

Omnivores

• Organisms that eat both plants and flesh.

Heterotrophs

• Those organisms beyond the first trophic level that cannot make their own food.

Nitrogen Fixation

• The change of nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into ammonia products which plants can use to produce their proteins.

Greenhouse Effect

• The ability of gases, such as carbon dioxide, to trap the sun’s heat and in doing so warm up the atmosphere.

Plankton

• Microscopic organisms that live near the surface of bodies of water, who have photosynthetic organisms that are the base of aquatic food webs.

Biomes

• Major biological communities that occur over wide areas of land.

Tropical Rain Forest

• Has a warm and moist climate with little variation in either rainfall (100”/yr) or temperature.

Savannas

• Have a hot climate with alternating wet and dry seasons. Annual precipitation fluctuates between 36” – 60”/year.

Deserts

• Very dry and often hot climate with annual precipitation of 8”/year.

Temperate Grassland

• Have a very dry & hot summer with cold winter. Its annual precipitation fluctuates between 4” and 24”/year.

Temperate Desciduous Forest

• Have a climate that is warm during the summer and cool to cold winters. Its annual precipitation is between 30” – 100”.

Coniferous Forests

• Have a cool short summer and long winters with annual precipitation between 8” – 24”.

Tundra

• Its climate is cold with long winters, short summers and an annual precipitation of 10”.

OPEN NOTE QUIZ – DEFINE ALL THE BELOW LISTED TERMS AS

THEY RELATE TO AN ECOSYSTEM.

1. DIVERSITY.2. PRODUCERS.3. CONSUMERS.4. DECOMPERS.5. TROPHIC LEVEL.6. AUTOTROPHS.7. HERBIVORES.

8. CARNIVORES

9. OMNIVORES

10. HETEROTROPHS

11. NITROGEN FIXATION

12. GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

13. PLANKTON.

14. BIOMES.