Space Eco-Voyage Log Instructions: As you design your ship’s ecosystem, take notes on your design and your rationale for the choices you make. You may need these notes to help you think through and revise your design to complete your mission. Do the following questions BEFORE going to space in the game! What are Biotic Factors? Biodiversity 1. Explain biodiversity and the rationale for your choice in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. Biodiversity is defined as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” A rationale is simply your justification of the topic you chose. It explains why the research was performed in the first place. It is the very reason why you conducted the research. Trophic Levels 2. Explain trophic levels and the rationale for your choices in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. Trophic Levels—each step in a food chain or food web Waste 3. Explain the rationale for your choices in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. A rationale is simply your justification of the topic you chose. It explains why the research was performed in the first place. It is the very reason why you conducted the research. Symbiosis 4. Explain symbiosis and the rationale for your choices in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. Symbiosis—any relationship in which two What are Abiotic Factors? Temperature species live closely together 5. Explain how temperature is important in ecosystems and the rationale for your choice in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. Temperature affects the physiology of living things as well as the density and state of water. It exerts an important influence on living organisms because few can survive at temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) due to metabolic constraints. ... Temperature can limit the distribution of living things. Light 6. Explain how light is important in ecosystems and the rationale for your choice in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. The two most important climatic factors for ecosystems are sunlight and water. Sunlight is necessary for plants to grow, and to provide energy to warm the earth's atmosphere. Light intensity controls plant growth. Light duration affects plant flowering and animal/insect habits. Atmosphere 7. Explain how the atmosphere is important in ecosystems and the rationale for your choice in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. The atmosphere also helps to sustain life of Earth. It provides oxygen for humans and animals to breathe, and carbon dioxide for plants. Through the hydrological (precipitation) cycle, plants and animals receive the water they need to survive. The atmosphere can also affect us in negative ways. Mineral Nutrients 8. Explain how mineral nutrients are important in ecosystems and the rationale for your choices in this section. Write down relevant notes regarding your design. Nutrients are chemical substances found in every living thing on Earth. They are necessary to the lives of people, plants, animals, and all other organisms. Nutrients help break down food to give organisms energy. ... The human body can also synthesize some nutrients, such as amino acids.
