WORLD ECOTOUCH PROJECT
BY:
Alex Bayon
Oliver Betz
Indian Shanman
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1. Cover page
2 table of contents
3-8 flow charts
a. Arizona Sonoran desert / Hydrothermal vents - Alex Bayon
b. Alaskan Tundra / Mediterranean Sea - Oliver Betz
c. Eastern Australian Temperate Rain Forest / Belize Barrier Reef - Indy Shanman
9- 20. Biome lessons
a. Interactions of plants and animas
1. Australian Temperate Forest
2. Hydrothermal Vents
b. Climate change
1. Alaskan Tundra
c. Populations
1. Arizona Sonoran Desert
d. Biome disturbances by humans
1. Mediterranean Sea
2. Belize Barrier Reef
21-26 Plants and Animals
a. Arizona Sonoran desert / Hydrothermal vents
b. Alaskan Tundra / Mediterranean sea
c. Eastern Australian Temperate Rain Forest / Belize Barrier Reef
27-32 Food Webs
a. Arizona Sonoran desert / Hydrothermal vents
b. Alaskan Tundra / Mediterranean sea
c. Eastern Australian Temperate Rain Forest / Belize Barrier Reef
33-38 Seasonal Variation and Temperature Charts
a. Arizona Sonoran desert / Hydrothermal vents
b. Alaskan Tundra / Mediterranean sea
c. Eastern Australian Temperate Rain Forest / Belize Barrier Reef
39-44 Glossary
45-46 Reference pages
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FLOW CHARTS
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ECOTOUCH LESSON PLANS
Arizona Desert
Opening: First we shall ride into the Sonoran desert camels except my team shall be riding on
an African elephant. Due to the high temperature, it is highly recommended to be wearing light
and cool clothes also you must of have over 600 ml water in your backpack. You should drink
every 25 to 35 minutes to hydrate yourself to prevent dehydration or an unfortunate chance
of heat stroke. Our group will be camping and sleeping in tents while the equipment is in the
jeep unless we are working at night. The Sonoran desert is one of the largest deserts in North
America however we will be in the Arizonan region of the desert. This area is home to a large
numbers of plants, birds, rodents, and reptiles. There are 52 species of snakes but only
18species are actually venomous and can harm humans. I must stress you will not touch any
organism unless we are researching them at a given time. When the time does come to
examine organisms we will first be researching the first community we come across.
Objectives: The students will understand how the different species interact with the harsh, arid
weather conditions. Also they shall learn how the sun and rocks play as abiotic factors and the
effects on how population of multiple species of reptiles.
Materials:
Map of Arizona, Compass, Radios, Measuring tape, Tents, Sleeping bags, Water bottles, Water,
Food, Wood, matches and traveling music with player
Background skills: All those who are going to participate should know basic camping skills.
Procedure:
1. Learn how to efficiently and properly care for the transportation animals.
2. Legally acquire African elephant and camels.
3. Travel into the Sonoran desert to find the most ideal community to observe specimens and
area to camp.
Classroom management: All participants must sign a contract that entails punishment. If they
do step out of line they will be punished by sleeping outside of their tent. When they improperly
handle animals and the animal injures them they deserve it and a 5 bites from the snake that we
currently have.
Assessment: Understand how all the populations have interactions within a species and
others.
Homework: During and after the trip the students will write about how the interaction of different
animals in the food web with the rises and dips of a predator-prey population.
Closure: To clarify what the students have learned they will take a questionnaire about all the
experiments they've performed.
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Hydro Thermal Vents
Opening: To begin this deep sea expedition we will be sailing away on an open course in the
pacific to find a hot spot. Since our journey will be in the Galapagos region it will be warm due to
being near the equator. Due to the lack of climate in the aphotic zone and being in
submersibles there is no preferred season. Our trip to the desired vents will take a few days but
luckily our eco-friendly ship has pleasant accommodations. The vessel is large enough so that
three submersibles can be stowed on it. The submersibles can be operated with passengers
however, due to safety reasons it will be operated remotely. The vehicles will stand to the
pressure where the vents lie. In that area 7000 feet below the surface where the benthos vent
community is in the. At these vents bacteria and plankton are autotrophs however
they perform chemosynthesis to gain nutrients. These vents are a renewable resource due
to being underwater “mini” volcanoes. You shall observe from the vehicle to figure out the
trophic levels of the food chain.
Objectives: Your goal is try to understand how the organisms interact with each other, how the
populations of each species differ due their positions of the food web and lastly how they have
extreme tolerance levels.
Materials: Radios, Clock, the submersibles will have most of the required equipment already
built inside.
Background skills: Students shall be trained to drive submersibles, photograph organisms,
and record data.
Procedure: 1. Students will learn how to operate the submersible they will be driving and how
to collect the data.
2. After learning the first step they will have driving experience in shallow waters.
3. Once they know have to drive a team of three will dive into the deep part of the ocean and
then will have to locate a hydrothermal vent community.
Classroom management: Any student who steps out of line will be excluded on the expedition
and will be constantly thrown overboard even in their sleep. If they do that while on the actual
expedition the entire team with the individual all of them will have their communications shut
down and the submersible will self-destruct if they do not disarm the sequence. That feature will
either explode and will release them into the ocean (talk about pressure).
Assessment: Students should understand how life could have grown in the hydrothermal vent
area and have such tolerance of the conditions.
Homework: Students will have to write about how to operate a submersible and how the
population of the community can thrive.
Closure: Students will answer a survey on what the thought of the expedition.
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Alaskan Tundra
Opening: The Alaskan tundra is a beautiful and freezing landscape home to many interesting
animals. The tundra is a polar zone and as such is incredibly cold, it will be necessary for students
to wear specialized gear in order to combat the weather. The group will be dropped off outside of the
chosen site, and make our observations after the snow thaws in early spring. This timing will
allow us to see the early effects of climate change on habitats our focus will be concentrated on
how climate change has affected the animals in the area. Our goal will be to study everything
from the population numbers to the individual habitats of the animals and see how close there
are to idea habitats (though we will rely heavily on data already gained by other sources as
well). The arctic tundra is one of the ideal places to study climate change's effects because of
how the climate affects the very ground of the tundra, which is permafrost. As such the melting
of the ground will give us an insight in to how it affects animals
Objectives: to study animals and the environment around them. Once they have gained their
information they will compare their observations to previous observations to previous
information gained in the area. They will try to figure out how climate change affects the
ecology of the surrounding area.
Materials: artic camping gear, emergency supplies, food and water, multiple sets of high
powered binoculars, photography/video equipment, portable weather monitoring station, writing
utensils and note/log books, and data about the weather and animals in previous years
Background Skills: the students will be given training in basic survival, first aid, and operation
of the equipment. Students will also be given briefings about the area and animals within and
how to deal with them. Previous experience with artic backpacking is helpful but not needed
Procedure/ Instructions
1. All of the training needed will be given and students will be tested on their aptitude in those
areas. If the students are not able to pass said tests they will not be allowed to go on the trip.
2. Students and supervisors will be driven out to the site using approved vehicles. Once there
they will begin setting up a base camps
3. For 2 weeks students will be assigned to specific animals and their habitats, they will we
record and report their findings
4. The students will then compare and contrast their observation with previous observations
5. With the information gained from the comparing and contrasting students can make
statements about how the climate change is affecting the tundra
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Classroom Management: if a kid misbehaves or does not follow instructions (i.e. damaging the
biome) once then they have cleanup duty after dinner, 3 offenses times and they get tied to a
tree
Assessment: full study of what they observed and what they noticed when they compared and
contrasted
Homework: to find other examples of the impact of climate change in other biomes
Closure: have the students what they learned about the animals and the environment from their
observations.
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Mediterranean Sea
Opening: the Mediterranean Sea is incredibly famous; known for its oddly blue and salty water.
Many different countries are bordered by this body of water. Similarly the sea is also home to
many diverse types of biomes and marine life, some native and some nonnative. The sea is also
home to many fish farms, fish farms are aquatic farms usually placed in the photic layer which are
used to farm fish. If these farms are not properly maintained they can have a devastating impact
on the local wildlife. Not only is it possible for nonnative plants to escape from these farms,
chemicals, bacteria, and waste can escape into the natural habitat. This can be very damaging
to the ecosystem of the area around the farms. Our class's objective will to be to test the waters
around the farms. The group will also study the populations around the farms to see how their
communities compare to other communities. Finally we will catch and test individual organisms
that are at the same level or above on the ecological pyramid. The point of these to see if there they
have contracted any disease or genetic mutations from consuming or breeding with the escaped
farmed fish.
Objectives: to study the impacts of fish farms and the various byproducts and escaped fish on
the local environment and ecosystem,
Materials: scuba gear, several down east cruisers, water test kits, first aid/emergency supply kits,
food, water, water proof paper and pens.
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Background Skills: students will be taught how to scuba dive, various safety measures, and
how to test the water/ animals.
Procedure/instructions:
1. Students will be trained in the operation of equipment, they will then be tested on all of these to
make sure that they know everything. If they do not pass said test then they cannot come on these trips
2. Students will have supervisors drive them to an ecosystem close to a fish farm. The students will then
proceed to preform tests on the area and its inhabitants
3. After these tests are preformed students will travel to a similar ecosystem away from the farms and
preform the same tests
4. Students will then compare and contrast the data and infer what the farms are doing to the
environment
Classroom management: if any kid misbehaves or causes undue harm to the animals or the
environment then they have to do pushups that doubles with each offense, (5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160,
ECT...)
Assessment: be able list some of the differences between the ecosystems, and the impact that
humans have on the one close to the fish farms. The students will consider how the farms may
affect the food webs in the area.
Homework: do more in-depth research on how fish farms affect local ecosystems
Closure: to have the students talk in a group about what the learned and what they gained from
the experience
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Eastern Australian Temperate Rainforests (or Gondwana rainforests)
Opening: The Eastern Australian Temperate Rainforests are a prime example of Ecosystem
Diversity originating from a piece of the supercontinent Pangea, named Gondwana. The same
plants and animals that exist today in these Temperate Rainforests have Evolved over millions
of years from the Cretaceous period and even earlier. The Eastern Australian Temperate
Rainforests consist of the Border Ranges region; known for Antarctic Beech tree evolving from
over 100 million years ago (the middle of the cretaceous period), the Blue Mountains region
named after the Australian Blue gum which is known for a fog with a blue hue given off therefore
resulting in the Ecosystem’s/Ecoregion’s name, The Great Sandy Region which inhabits many
Endangered species such as the Regent honeyeater who have suffered severe Habitat
Fragmentation and are so threatened, populations in 2010 are said to only be a total of 350400 mature individuals. To travel to the rainforests we will board a fleet of Solar Impulse’s and
land at the Brisbane airport, then we will begin our expedition.
Objectives: We want students to further understand the interactions of the various species of
animals and plants within Australia and how they all affect each other. Students must also learn
about how Habitat Fragmentation affects the Grand Lyrebird. Using a hands on approach we
want students to be able to analyze what we observe including Biotic and Abiotic factors and
use what they to draw conclusions that are accurate or relevant.
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Materials: visas, worksheets, rental cars, a fleet of Solar Impulses, writing utensils, cell phones,
Map or electronic equivalent, food, water, Koala costume (For punishment if needed).
Background Skills: Students must have previously passed Biology with a C-, students must be
able to conduct themselves responsibly in a wild environment, students must also be capable of
following instructions correctly and effectively,
Procedure/Instructions:
1: Once we have arrived in our fleet of Solar Impulses and have spent the night in a
hotel. We will begin the procedure by securing a day to meet with the University of Tasmania
and make sure it’s possible to go to watch and learn how they’re doing fieldwork on the Grand
Lyrebird in the Tasmanian Forests.
2: Once date is secured we establish a form of transportation, make worksheets asking
questions concerning things we will go over such as; the amount of soil a Lyre bird turns per
hectare a year (63,000 Kilograms) and also questions about thoughts with how the Lyrebirds
activities could affect other plants and animals. Then we must advise students of the up and
coming trip.
3: Now that the day has arrived we shall meet up with the project leader Sarah Tassel.
4: To start out the day we will allow Sarah Tassel to explain what her project is; the impact of
the Superb Lyrebird on Tasmanian forest ecosystems. Once the presentation is over we will
allow students to ask Sarah any questions and then we shall move on.
5: Next we will observe the people participating in UTAS’s project and ask those questions and
help fill out observations about the interactions of the Superb Lyrebird with other plants and
animals.
6: Next we will have the students try some of their own calculations keeping in mind that the
Superb Lyrebird turns 63,000 kilograms of soil per hectare (10,000 sq. meters) a year. We will
ask them how much soil a Lyrebird would turn in a month et cetera. We will also ask how other
plants and animals may be affected if the Lyrebird were to decrease in population (which it is).
7: Once students have completed their questions and we have learned enough about the
Lyrebird we will head back to the hotel for more expeditions.
Classroom Management: Students must be aware of their surroundings and are prohibited
from littering. Students must also remain respectful to their instructors and to UTAS supervisors
and students. Students must also stay with the group and Eco Touch will not be held
responsible for any runaways. If students disobey any of these rules they will be subjected to
living a Koala’s life for 2 years and will most likely die from the poisonous leaves of the
Eucalyptus tree.
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Assessment: Students will be graded for understanding on the worksheets, they will also be
graded on participation and how/if they conduct themselves respectfully.
Homework: Students will need to create and conduct their own project on the interactions of
plants and animals within their own house, yard, or town. The project must have quantitative
and qualitative observations, including tables or graphs. An example is the interaction of dogs
with the surrounding yard, his own food and the owner.
Closure: We will ask students various questions about the Lyrebird and how it affects other
plants and animals. We will also go over the worksheets together and compare results and our
hypotheses. We will also ask students what they enjoyed about the trip and what they disliked
about it, and how they can apply the knowledge they learned on the trip to daily life.
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Belize Barrier Reef
Opening: We will begin our expedition to the Belize Barrier Reef (which is the largest Coral Reef in the
Northern hemisphere), on a Tûranor PlanetSolar powered with the Sun’s rays. When we arrive at Belize
we will learn about and perform activities which are focused on; how humans disturb the Biome. Which
include the Monocultural farming of coconuts, Population Density and Population Distribution of the
Laughing Gulls, we will also cover calcification within the reef and how it is affected by Global warming,
and we will observe siltation and the causes of it and how it affects the reef.
Objectives: We want students to become or stay more involved in their education with a hands on
approach. The main objective may be educating students about the Biome disturbances by humans in
the Belize Barrier reef; but students will also also be able to further their knowledge of Biology, while
also learning new concepts and applying them during the expedition. We want students to use this
experience as preparation for a future within science or other fields with the tools they can gain from
this expedition.
Materials: Vials: As many as needed depending on size of group (for collecting water samples
Tûranor PlanetSolar boat, Silt Density Index apparatus (sdi), various worksheets, writing utensils, Money,
rental cars, binoculars, and a map or an electronic equivalent, cell phones, food, water.
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Background Skills: Students must have passed biology previously with a grade above a C. Students must
also know how to use a lifejacket in case of an emergency at sea, students must be able to follow
instructions succinctly. And must also have previous experience using critical thinking skills.
Procedure/instructions:
Procedure 1: Laughing Gull population activity
1: We will traverse in the Tûranor PlanetSolar yacht to the Laughing bird caye.
2: Once there we will hand out a worksheet with detailed pictures of the Laughing Gull
and various questions
3: Students will then form groups and record the amount of laughing gulls they observe within a
hundred foot radius, they will also be informed of the area of the caye, so they are able to record the
population density of the Laughing Gull on the caye.
3: Soon students will realize that Laughing gulls have Emigrated from one of their natural Habitats;
Laughing bird Caye, due to the Immigration of humans.
4: Next students will be asked if this is an example of Immigration or Emigration
5: They will also be asked why they believe the Laughing Gull has emigrated from Laughing Gull Caye
Procedure 2: Siltation
1: Next we will travel in the Tûranor PlanetSolar yacht to sections of the Belize Barrier Reef near the
Coast of Belize.
2: As a group we will use vials to collect water samples under water above the Coral Reef
3: Then we will use our water that we collected and use a silt density index apparatus to measure the
density of the Siltation within the water.
4: Then we will ask the students how the silt density index may affect the Populations of the Coral while
also telling them to keep in mind that Coral Reefs rely on photosynthetic bacteria to grow and survive.
5: In conclusion of this procedure we will ask students why we picked an area near the coast of Belize
and how being in this area could affect the concentration of sediment within the water.
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Procedure 3: Coconut farming
1: During this procedure we will visit multiple cayes via the Tûranor PlanetSolar yacht, one caye we visit
will be a caye that is undisturbed by humans, and the other will be a caye that is used for coconut
farming.
2: Within the first caye which is undisturbed by humans we will observe and record the various plants
and gulls we see using a labeled placard with pictures
3: Then at the second caye we will do the same
4: We will then analyze as a group how coconut farming affects the ecosystem of the caye
Classroom Management:
1: Students must leave each ecosystem or habitat undisturbed and free of litter.
2: Students may not leave the group and if the student does, according to the forms signed by
the parents we are not responsible for any injuries that could occur or diseases caught.
Punishments may include: public hazing by Belizeans, and a literal trial by fire.
Assessment:
Students will be graded on what is written on their worksheets and also how they participate orally. For
the oral portion of the students grade students will not be marked down if they were to answer a
question incorrectly, the oral portion is graded according to understanding once corrected if incorrect,
and the amount students participate intellectually, in the oral form.
Homework:
Students will divide into separate groups each covering components of each procedure and present it to
classmates who weren’t able to take the trip or for students in another science class.
Closure: We will form a group on our way back home on the yacht and ask questions concerning the
worksheets filled out. Students will also be asked more in depth questions concerning human effects on
the biome such as, Hotels, sand farming, fruit agriculture, and many other topics that are relevant to the
latter.
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PLANTS AND ANIMALS
Hydrothermal vents
Animals:
1. Giant white clam (Calyptogena magnifica)
2. Mussel (Bathymodiolus thermophilus)
3. Hydrothermal Vent Crab (Bythograea thermydron)
4. Hydrothermal Vent Scale Worm (Polychaeta Polynoidae)
5. Pompeii Worm (Alvinella Pompejana)
6. Hydrothermal Vent Shrimp (Rimicaris exoculata)
7. Zoarcid Fish
8. Hydrothermal Vent "Dandelion"
9. Deepsea Vent Octopus (Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis)
10. Hydrothermal vent squat lobster(Cervimunida princeps)
11. Polychaete worms (Alvinella pompejana)
12. Scaly-foot gastropod (Crysomallon squamiferum)
13. Ciliate (Ciliata folliculina sp)
14. Common limpet (Gastropoda)
15. Sulphide copepod (Dirivultidae)
Chemosynthetic organism:
Hydrothermal Vent Worm (Riftia pachyptila)
Bacteria:
1. Episymbiotic bacteria (R. exoculata)
2. Thermophilic bacterium (Deferribacter desulfuricans)
3. Sulphate bacteria (Deltaproteobacteria)
4. D. desulfuricans
5. Beggiatoa alba
6. Beggiatoa
7. Rimicaris exoculata
8. Epsilonproteobacteria
9. Bacteroidetes
10 .Deltaproteobacteria
11. Gammaproteobacteria
12 . Alphaproteobacteria
13. Betaproteobacteria
14. Thermodesulfobacteria
15. Thermotogae
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Arizonan desert
Plants:
1. White ball acacia (Acacia Angustissima)
2. Palmer's century plant (Agave Palmeri)
3. Triangle bursage (Ambrosia Deltoidea)
4. Arizona madrone (Arbutus Arizonica)
5. Pointleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos Pungens)
6. Prickly poppy (Argemone Pleiacantha)
7. Desert broom (Baccharis Sarothroides)
8. Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea Gigantea)
9. Desert hackberry (Celtis pallida)
10. Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis)
11. Pink flower hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus Fendleri var.fasciculatus)
12. Golden hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus Nicholii)
13. Blue paloverde (Parkinsonia florida)
14. Alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana)
15. Arizona caltrop (Kallstroemia grandiflora)
Animals:
1. Lesser Long-Nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae)
2. Black-Tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
3. Rock Squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus)
4. Coyote (Canis latrans)
5. Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
6. Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus)
7. Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
8. Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
9. Bobcat (Felis rufus)
10. Mountain Lion (Felis concolor)
11. Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
12. Arizona Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides ventralis)
13. Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
14. Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii)
15. Desert Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus utahensis)
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TUNDRA
15 animals
1. Tundra shrew Sorex tundrensis
2. Tundra hare Lepus othus
3. Wolverine Gulo gulo
4. Caribou Rangifer tarandus
5. Reindeer R. tarandus
6. Tundra vole Microtus oeconomus
7. Grizzly bear U. arctos
8. Black bear Ursus americanus
9. Artic fox vulpes lagopus
10. Snowy owl Bubo scandiacus
11. Peregrine falcon
12. Snow bunting
13. White-crowned sparrow
14. Marsh hawk
15. Gyrfalcon
15 plants
1. Arctic moss
2. Arctic willow
3. Diamond-leaf Willow
4. Tufted Saxifrage
5. Caribou Moss
6. Bearberry
7. Pasuqe flower
8. Lichen
9. Arctic poppy
10. Purple saxifrage
11. Cotton grass
12. Orange lichen
13. Vicia Cracca
14. Pines
15. Hay
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Animals:
1. Monrovia doctorfish
2. Adriatic sturgeon
3. Gulper shark
4. Swordsnout
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5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Slender finless eel
Scaldback
Royal flagfin
Solenette
Great white shark
Oceanic whitetip shark
Rainbow runner
Pilotfish
Haffara seabream
Nanoplankton
Zooplankton
Phytoplankton
Blue crabs
Plants:
1. Neptune Grass
2. Sea grass
3. Caulerpa taxifolia
4. Halymenia floresia
5. Coralline elongata
6. Peyssonnelia squamaria
7. Sargassum
8. Cystoseria
9. Colpomenia sinuosa
10. Forkweed
11. Padina pavonia
12. Halimeda tuna
13. Codium bursa
14. Caulerpa prolifera
Eastern Australian temperate forests
Animals:
1: Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)
2: Pouched frog (Assa darlingtoni)
3: Black-breated buttonquail (Turnix melanogaster VU)
4: The broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides VU)
5: Regent honeyeater (Xanthomyza phrygia EN)
6: Dingo (Canis lupus dingo)
7: Brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata VU)
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8: Hastings River mouse (Pseudomys oralis EN)
9: Stuttering frog (Mixophyes balbus VU)
10: Red goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus VU)
11: Albert's lyrebird (Menura alberti EN)
12: Eastern bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus EN)
13: Echnida (Tachyglossidae)
14: Koala (Phasolarctos cinereus)
15: Golden-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus)
Plants:
1. Tallowwod (E. microcorys)
2. Blackbutt (E. pilularis)
3. Brush box (Lophostemon confertus)
4. Flooded gum (E. grandis)
5. Gympie messmate (E. cloeziana)
6. Black booyong (A. actinophyllum)
7. Figs (Ficus spp.)
8. Yellow carrabeen (Sloanea woollsi)
9. Coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum)
10.Sassafras (Doryphora sassafras)
11.Lillypilly (Acmena smithii)
12.Thin-leaved stringybark (E. eugenioides)
13.Ironbark (E. paniculata)
14.Paper-Barked Teas-Tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
15.Sassafras (Doryphora sassafras)
Belize Barrier Reef
Animals:
1. Loggerhead Sea Turtle Caretta caretta (E)
2. Green Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas (EN)
3. Hawksbill Sea Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata (E)
4. American crocodile Crocodylus acutus (V)
5. West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus
6. Red-footed booby Sula sula
7. Four eye Butterfly fish Chaetodon capistratus
8. Stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride
9. Blue chromis fish Chromis cyanea
10.Bar jack Carangoides ruber
11.Bluestriped grunt Haemulon sciurus
12.Threespot damselfish Stegastes planifrons
13.Graysby Cephalopholis cruentata
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14.Ocean surgeonfish Acanthurus bahianus
15.Fairy basslet Grammatidae
Plants:
1. Zooanthellae algae Symbiodinium
2. Thalassia testudinum
3. Syringodium filiforme
4. Red Mangroves Rhizophora mangle
5. Black Mangroves Avicennia germinans
6. White Mangroves laguncularia racemosa
7. Buttonwood Conocarpus erectus
8. Turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum)
9. Manatee seagrass (Syringodium filiforme)
10.Duckweed (Halodule wrightii)
11.Halodule filiforme
12.Halophila englemanii
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FOODWEBS
ARIZONA DESERT
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HYDROTHERMAL VENTS
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Mediterranean sea
SUN& CO2
tundra shrew)
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(
A
Mediterranean sea
SUN & CO2
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SEASONAL VARIATIONS
Arizona Sonoran desert
In Arizona, during the summer months the temperature reaches a maximum of 40 degrees
Celsius in the day and minimum of 28 degrees Celsius at night. In winter the temperature the
reaches a maximum of 22 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 6 degrees Celsius. The maximum
amount of precipitation in Arizona reaches roughly 20 mm during the winter season. In late
spring and early summer it precipitates less than 10 mm. Since most of Arizona is an arid, rocky
desert The temperature range is a result of its arid desert climate and how the desert is
influenced by the heat from the sun. The very little amount of precipitation influences of what
organisms live there and the adaptations, behavior, size, and diet
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Hydrothermal vents
In the hydrothermal vents all the temperatures all the same to the vents in a certain region and
the amount of chemicals that spew out. However since there is a collection of these vents the
water near is affected as well the organisms that reside there. The amount of sulfide that
is released into the water is dependent on the size of the vent and which region the vent
community is. Certain bacteria flow out or stay close to the vent to intake the sulfide to gain
energy.
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Alaskan Tundra
The Alaskan Tundra is known for its incredibly cold temperatures, with nine months where the
temperature is below freezing. The few summer months there are barely able to rate the name
with temperatures rarely going above 10 degrees Celsius. The lack of precipitation is caused by
the low absolute humidity caused by the cold weather. The cold weather is caused by its
distance from the equator, and its relatively stable temperature range is caused by its nearness
to the ocean.
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Mediterranean sea
The temperature of the Mediterranean Sea varies, yet even during its coldest season it will
rarely drop below 12 degrees Celsius. During the warmest season its highest level never rises
above 30 degrees Celsius. This warm and hospitably blue water (which is largely due to the
small population of plankton) has a fair few days of rain, though the actual amount of rainfall is
nothing to write home about. the sea actually loses more water due to evaporation than it gains
because of rain, and with the in-pour of water from Atlantic ocean.
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BELIZE BARRIER REEF
The Belize Barrier Reef, close to the hot equator maintains a warm ocean temperature, while
also receiving lots of rainfall and thunderstorms. Since ocean water is not as easily changed in
temperature as land is, the temperature over a whole year may only vary within a range of 26.130.4 degrees Celsius (only a difference of 4.3 degrees). The year starts out strong with a
whopping 13 hour rain but overall is less wet than later months, below water the temperature
takes an immediate drop then starts an increase. Besides some major storms rainfall isn’t very
steady until between May and October, during this time sea temperature fluctuates but overall it
increases. Around November and December the rainfall isn’t as steady and the Sea
temperature continues to decrease to around a warm 28 degrees Celsius.
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AUSTRALIAN TEMPERATE RAINFOREST
Even though the climate varies greatly within the multiple microclimates of the Australian
temperate Rainforest, overall the different ecosystems average out to a pattern that is very
straightforward. Throughout the early months of the year The temperature is at it’s highest, but
the rainfall begins with a slow start. As we continue through May the temperature starts a steady
decrease while the precipitation maintains at a steady rate. This temperature decrease
continues until July, when the temperature begins a steady increase while the precipitation
takes a blow. In August and forward, the precipitation continues to stay at a steady rate about
half as many inches as the previous month while the temperature continues a steady increase,
taking a slight hit in October and November though the rain still is increasing at an even rate.
Once we reach December the temperature increases at a slightly slower rate than in previous
months but the rainfall in inches has a one and a half increase in inches from the last month.
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Glossary:
Abiotic Factor: Physical or nonliving factor that shapes an ecosystem.
Acid Rain: Rain containing nitric and sulfuric acids
Adaptation: Heritable trait that increases organism's fitness.
Age structure: Structure describing the relative number of organisms of each age within a
population
Age-structure Diagram: graph of the number of males and females within different age
Agricultural: The practice of farming
Algal Bloom: An immediate increase in the amount of algae and other products that results
from a large input of a limiting nutrient.
Aphotic Zone: permanently dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone.
Aquaculture: Raising of aquatic animals for human consumption.
Artificial Selection: Process of selection conducted under human direction.
Autotroph: Plants, algae, and certain bacteria that can capture energy from sunlight or
chemicals and use that energy to produce food.
Benthos: Organisms that live attached to or near the ocean floor.
Biodiversity: Biological diversity; the sum total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere.
Biogeochemical cycles: Process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of
matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another.
Biological Magnification: increasing concentration of a harmful substance in organisms at
higher trophic levels in a food chain or web
Biomass: The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level.
Biome: A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities.
Biosphere: Contains the combined portions of the planet in which in which all life exists,
including land, water, and air or atmosphere.
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Biotic Factor: Biological influences on organisms within an ecosystem.
Biotic Potential: Maximum ability to produce offspring in ideal conditions.
Canopy: Leafy tops of tall trees extending from 50-80 meters above the forest floor forming a
dense covering.
Carnivore: Organisms that obtain energy by eating only animals
Carrying Capacity: Largest number of individuals of a population that a given environment can
support.
Cellular Respiration: Process in which organisms use oxygen to release chemical energy with
sugars.
Chemosynthesis: Process by which some organisms, such as certain bacteria, which use
chemical energy to produce carbohydrates.
Climate: Average year-after-year condition of temperature and precipitation in a particular
region.
Coastal Ocean: Marine zone that extends from the low-tide mark to the end of the continental
shelf.
Coevolution: Process in which two species evolve in response to changes in each other.
Commensalism: One member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor
harmed.
Communities: assemblages of different populations that live together in a defined area.
Competitive exclusion principal: No two species can occupy the same niche in the same
habitat at the same time.
Coniferous: Trees that produce seed-bearing cones and most have leaves shaped like
needles.
Conservation: Wise management of natural resources, including the preservation of habitats
and wildlife.
Consumer: Organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply (also
known as a heterotroph)
Coral Reef: Diverse and productive environment named for the coral animals that make up its
primary structure.
Deciduous: Tree that sheds its leaves during a particular time of the year
Decomposers: Organisms that break down organic matter.
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Deforestation: Loss of forests
Demographic transition: Change in population from high birth and death rates to low birth and
death rates.
Demography: Scientific study of human populations
Denitrification: The process of soil bacteria that converts nitrates into nitrogen gas.
Density-dependent limiting factor: Limiting factor that depends on population size.
Density-independent limiting factor: Limiting factor that affects all populations in similar ways,
regardless of population size.
Desertification: A combination of farming, overgrazing and drought that turns once productive
areas into deserts.
Detritivores: feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter. (Type of decomposer)
Detritus: Particles of organic material that provide food for organisms at the base of estuary’s
food web.
Ecological pyramid: a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained
within each trophic level in a food chain or food web.
Ecological succession: Series of predictable changes that occurs in a community over time.
Ecology: Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
environment.
Ecosystem Diversity: Variety of habitats, living communities, and ecological processes in the
living world.
Ecosystem: Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
environment or surroundings.
Emigration: Movement of individuals out of an area.
Endangered species: Species whose population size is rapidly, declining and will become
extinct if the trend continues.
Estuary: Wetlands formed where rivers meet the ocean.
Evaporation: Process by which water changes from a liquid into an atmospheric gas.
Evolution: To change over time.
Exponential growth: Growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a
constant rate.
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Extinction: Disappearance of a species from all parts of its geographical range.
Fitness: How reproductively successful an oranism is within its environment
Food Chain: A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and by being
eaten.
Food Web: Feeding relationship among the various organisms in an ecosystem that form a
network of complex relations.
Gene: Sequence of DNA that codes for a particular trait
Genetic Diversity: Sum total of all the different forms of genetic information carried by all
organisms living on earth today.
Genetic Drift: Evolution that occurs by chance
Global Warming: Increase in the average temperatures on earth.
Green Revolution: The development of highly productive crop strains and the use of modern
agricultural techniques to increase yields of food crops.
Greenhouse Effect: Natural situation in which heat is retained by a layer of greenhouse
gasses.
Habitat: Specific environment in which an organism lives in
Habitat Fragmentation: Splitting of ecosystems into small fragments
Herbivore: Organisms that rely on plants for a source of energy
Heterotroph: Organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply.
Humus: A material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter that makes soil fertile
Immigration: movement of individuals into an area occupied by an existing population.
Invasive Species: Plants and animals that have migrated to places where they are not native
and will take over and become “invasive”
Kelp Forest: Coastal ocean community named for its dominant organism- kelp, a giant brown
algae
Keystone Species: Species that has a strong or wide reaching impact on a community.
Limiting Factor: A factor that causes the growth of a population to decrease.
Limiting Nutrient: Is a single nutrient that either is scarce or cycles very slowly, limiting the
growth of organisms in an ecosystem.
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Logistic Growth: Growth pattern in which a population’s growth rate slows or stops following a
period of exponential growth.
Mangrove Swamp: Coastal wetland dominated by mangroves, salt-tolerant woody plants.
Microclimate: the climate in a small area that differs from the climate around it.
Migration: Seasonal movement into and out of an area.
Monocultural: farming strategy in which large fields are planted with a single crop, year after
year.
Mutualism: A relationship in which both species benefit.
Mutation: Changes in DNA
Natural Selection: Evolution that brings in traits that improve an organisms survival
Niche: Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way
in which the organism uses these conditions.
Nitrogen Fixation: When bacteria that live in the soil and on the roots of plants called legumes
which convert nitrogen gas into ammonia.
Nonrenewable Resource: Resource that cannot be replenished by natural processes.
Nutrients: All the chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life.
Omnivore: Organisms that obtain energy from both plants and animals.
Ozone Layer: Atmospheric layer in which ozone gas is relatively concentrated.
Parasitism: One organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it.
Permafrost: A layer of permanently frozen subsoil.
Photic zone: Well-lit upper layer of the oceans.
Photosynthesis: Process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to
convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high energy carbohydrates such as sugars
and starches.
Phytoplankton: Population of algae and other small, photosynthetic organisms found near the
surface of the ocean and forming part of plankton.
Pioneer species: The first species to populate an area.
Plankton: General term for the tiny, free floating organisms that live in both freshwater and
saltwater environments.
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Polar Zone: Cold areas where the sun’s rays strike earth at a very low angle.
Pollutant: Harmful material that can enter the biosphere through the land, air or water.
Population Density: Number of individuals per unit of area.
Population Distribution: How organisms are arranged within an area.
Population size: Number of individual organisms present in a given population at a given time
Populations: Groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area.
Predation: Interaction in which organisms capture and feed on another organism
Predator-Prey Relationship: Mechanism of population control in which a population is
regulated by predators.
Primary Productivity: The rate at which organic matter is created by producers
Primary Producers: Autotrophs
Primary succession: Succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists.
Producers: Organisms that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to
produce food from inorganic compounds.
Renewable resource: Resource that can regenerate quickly and that is replaceable.
Resource: Any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food or space.
Resource Partition: Way in which competing species partition resources with each other so
they can both live sustainably
Salt Marsh: Temperate-zone estuary dominated by salt-tolerant grasses above the low-tide line
and by sea grasses underwater.
Secondary Succession: When the disturbance is over, community interactions tend to restore
the ecosystem to its original condition
Sex ratio: Proportion of males to females within a population
Smog: A mixture of chemicals that occur as a grey-brown haze in the atmosphere.
Soil erosion: The wearing away of surface soil by water and wind.
Speciation: Process in which new species are created.
Species Diversity: Number of different species in the biosphere.
Species: A group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile
offspring.
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Succession: When a community experiences a somewhat predictable series of changes.
Survivorship Curves: Graph showing the likelihood of death for organisms
Sustainable Development: A way of using natural resources without deleting them and
providing for human needs without causing long-term environmental harm.
Symbiosis: Any relationship in which the two species live closely together.
Taiga: Biome that is along the northern edge of the temperate zone and has dense evergreen
forests of coniferous trees.
Temperate zones: Sit between polar zones and the tropics.
Tolerance: Ability to survive and reproduce under changing environmental conditions.
Transpiration: The process of water evaporating from the leaves of plants into the atmosphere.
Tropical Zone: Near the equator between 23.5 degrees North and 23.5 degrees South.
Trophic level: Each step in a food chain.
Understory: Second layer of shorter trees and vines.
Weather: Day to day condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place
Wetland: Ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface of
the soil for at least part of the year.
Zonation: Prominent horizontal banding of organisms that live in a particular habitat.
Zooplankton: Tiny animals that form part of the plankton.
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