Biomes, Food Webs, & Interactions- Oh, MY!ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION PROJECT- 50 POINTS!!

Part One• Create & design a food web with 8-10

organisms.• What way do the arrows go???

• Label organisms with genus & species name and common name.

Example: Capra aegagrusCommon Name: Goat

• Identify & label the producers, consumers, & decomposers… what are these?

Energy in an Ecosystem

Food web: diagram that shows what each organism eats and how much ENERGY flows through an ecosystem.

Energy…?

Arrows…??

Producer: An organism that makes organic food molecules from CO2, H20, and other inorganic raw materials: a plant, alga, or autotrophic bacterium.

Consumer: An organism that obtains its food by eating plants or by eating animals that have eaten plants.

Decomposer: An organism that lives on decaying organic material.

Ways of obtaining energy

Autotroph: Makes own food (producer)

Heterotroph: Must obtain food from another source (consumer)

4 types of consumers

Omnivore: Eats both plants & animals

Herbivore: Eats only plants

Carnivore: Eats only meat

Detrivore: Feeds on dead decaying matter (decomposer)

Levels of Consumers

*Primary: An organism that eats only autotrophs; a herbivore

*Secondary: An organism that eats primary consumers

*Tertiary: An organism that eats secondary consumers.

Trophic Structure -

The feeding relationships among the various species

Determines the passage of energy & nutrients from producers to herbivores & finally to carnivores.

Energy Pyramid

A pyramid has a large base and gets smaller as you move toward the top. This represents the energy available at each level in a food web. The most energy is contained in the producer population. As you move up, there is less energy available.

The Law of 10%

The Law of 10% states that only about 10% of energy is passed along to the next trophic level.

Where does the rest of the energy go!?

Used as energy to do life processes (breathe, move, etc)

Some is lost as heat to the environment.

10,000 calories

1000 calories

100 calories

10 calories

The Law of 10%

Relationships in Ecosystems? (Part2)

Symbiosis - relationship between 2 or more species that live together in direct

contact

Mutualism

Both organism benefit from the relationship

Ex. Bacteria in your stomach receive nutrients and help

you digest your food

Mutualism

Mutualism

Parasitism

Organism benefits, while the other organism is affected by the

relationship

Ex. Fleas feed on the blood of a dog, causing itching and

potentially transmitting disease.

Parasitism

Parasitism

Commensalism

One organism benefits, while the other organism is not

affected by the relationship

Ex. Birds nest in a hole in a tree

Commensalism

Commensalism

Commensalism

Part Three• Part of your research is to find these

terms… • Invasive• Threatened• Endangered

Part Four• Biotic vs. Abiotic- you should already

know these from Activity 3- Biomes! • Limiting Factor- is a factor that controls

a population's growth, such as organism growth or species population, size, or distribution.

• Example: Food, space, water availability

Part Five

• Water Cycle: describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.

• Carbon Cycle: the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.

WATER CYCLE EXAMPLE

CARBON CYCLE EXAMPLE

Part Five• Research a specific example of each

cycle within your biome. Explain & label how human activities impact each cycle.

• Explain/illustrate how the impact will impact your food web.

• Example: deforestation - cutting down trees releases carbon into the atmosphere & removing trees near water increases soil erosion into the water. Less trees, equal less places to live & polluted water harms aquatic life.

Part Six• Adaptation- The change through natural

selection (what’s this?) of a population’s physical, biochemical, or behavioral traits that better suits the population’s environment.

• HINT: Think back to Activity 3: Biomes & how you categorized your purple organism cards…

• HOW did those organisms “fit” into a particular biome? What is it about the organism that allows them to live in that biome?

Part Seven• Human Impact on Ecosystems

• HINT: Think back to Activity 2: Human Activities & Biodiversity…

• What are the different types of impact human activities can have on an ecosystem?

• Don’t forget to think about the three levels of biodiversity on Earth & how humans can have an impact on them!

8) Bibliography- yes you have to have one!

9) Technology- yes you have to use it!• You have a list to decide from!• You must check with your teacher if

you’d like to use something not on the list!

10) Peer Edit- yes this is part of your grade; no, “looks good” doesn’t count!

11) Creativity- use yours & make it fun!

Use your instructions & rubric to guide you!

Project Introduction Day:

1. You will need to decide on your project group…you will work in a group of 2-3 people.

2. Assign biomes.

3. As a group, you will need to choose a presentation format. (See the list of choices on the project information sheet!)

4. Exchange contact information with your group…email and/or phone #.

5. Decide on a time & place that you can get together as group if you need to complete work outside of class.

Day 1:

1. Define terms mutualism, parasitism & commensalism.

2. Define terms invasive, threatened, & endangered.

3. Create & label a food web for your biome with 8-10 organisms looking for examples within your food web for each of the symbiotic relationships.

4. Look for examples within your food web of invasive, threatened & endangered species.

Day 2:

1. Add yesterday’s information to presentation.

2. Describe each of the symbiotic relationships you identified yesterday.

3. Explain how humans have impacted each example of an invasive species, endangered species & threatened species.

4. List specific examples of 3 biotic & 3 abiotic factors within your biome.

Day 3:

1. Add yesterday’s information to your presentation.

2. Identify a limiting factor for a group of organisms within your biome & explain why it is a limiting factor.

3. Find an example of how humans have impacted the water cycle and the carbon cycle within your biome. How will each affect your food web?

4. Choose an organism within your biome and describe 2 ways it is adapted to live in the biome.

Day 4:

1. Choose another specific example of human impact on your biome and… Describe the human impact in 5-10 sentences Identify a trade-off of the human impact Discuss 1 short-term effect & 1 long-term effect on your

food web & population of organisms involved Is the human impact reversible? Explain.

2. Get all of the information you have collected into your technological resource of choice.