3.4: Perform an Activity: Factors That Affect Biodiversity
pg. 90
Purpose: to analyze how biotic factors can affect biodiversity.
Procedure:
1. Table 1 contains data linking the number of lizard species in a desert
ecosystem to plant variability in the same ecosystem. Plant variability
includes differences among plants in terms of height and age. Plant
variability was measured on a scale of 0 to 1. As numbers get closer to
1, plant variability in the ecosystem increases.
2. Plot a graph of the data in Table 1.
Analyze and Evaluate
a) Describe the pattern on the graph. How does plant variability affect
diversity in lizard species in this ecosystem?
b) How do you think plant variability might affect the diversity of other
species in the ecosystem?
Apply and Extend
c) Suppose you want to conduct a similar study within a local ecosystem.
i) How would you measure plant variability in your ecosystem?
ii) For which species would you collect data?
Focus On: Math – Interpreting Circle Graphs
pg. 91
Graphs help us to visualize data that can sometimes be complicated or
difficult to understand in words or numbers alone. A circle graph is a circle
divided into sections. Each section represents one category of data. All circle
graphs compare parts of a whole.
Use Figure 1 to answer questions A to D.
A. Which section of the graph represents the largest part of the
whole?
B. Which section of the graph represents the smallest part of the
whole?
C. Which two sections of the graph could be added together to make
up more than half?
D. Can you tell from this graph how many birds were counted
altogether? Explain your thinking.
Figure 1: Birds counted in a forest
E. What type of area makes up the largest part of Ontario?
F. How much of Ontario is wetlands?
G. How much of Ontario is water?
Figure 2: Land and water areas in Ontario