Ecology in My Community
The “Ecology in My Community”
project is designed to encourage you to
collect and share biological
observations in your local community.
This active exploration of biology and
technology allows you to become
citizen scientists where they interact
with a global scientific community
seeking to better understand and
document biodiversity.
Task: Your task is to go out into your environment, make observations, collect
samples, take pictures, and present your information to the class about your
environment.
Ecology Mission Team: Meteorologist, Botanist, Zoologist
Procedure:
1. Use your resources to become familiar with the standard ecology terminology.
(attached)
2. Collect at least one sample of an insect or plant. Pin the insect and press your
plant for display. (every team member needs to have a sample of each)
3. Research all about your environment:
a. What biome is your environment in?
b. List the different ecosystems that exist in your environment.
c. What are the representative animals that live in the ecosystems?
d. What are the representative plants that live in the ecosystems?
e. What are the abiotic factors that affect the ecosystems?
f. What are the biotic factors that affect the ecosystems?
g. Create a food web for your insect or plant that you collected.
g. What human interactions are affecting the ecosystems?
4. Make observations. Take pictures and or video of your ecosystem.
5. Create a presentation about your ecosystem.
Rubric:
Category
Specimen
Characteristics


Ecology concepts
demonstrated within
presentation
Presentation
insect pinned appropriately and
correctly scientifically classified
plant, pressed appropriately and
scientifically classified
* a. What biome is your environment in?
b. List the different ecosystems that
exist in your environment.
c. What are the representative animals
that live in the ecosystems?
d. What are the representative plants
that live in the ecosystems?
e. What are the abiotic factors that
affect the ecosystems?
f. What are the biotic factors that affect
the ecosystems?
g. Create a food web for your insect or
plant that you collected.
h. What human interactions are
affecting the ecosystems?
i. used appropriate vocabulary
*Worked cooperatively within the group
*Shared ideas with the group
*completed the job completely and on time
*Organized in logical format
*All members contributed their part of the
presentation
*Used appropriate ecology vocabulary
*Spoke clearly and understandably
*Professional
Point
values
Ecology Vocabulary:
1.
2.
abiotic
Adaptation
3.
biome
4.
biosphere
5.
biotic
carrying
capacity
climate
6.
8.
9.
10.
climax
community
community
12.
conservation
consumer
14.
decomposer
16.
ecology
17.
ecosystem
18.
19.
endangered
species
energy pyramid
20.
environment
23.
food chain
24.
food web
25.
habitat
ingestion
interact
11.
27.
28.
non-living
trait of a living thing that helps it live in
its environment
large region of the earth with particular
plant and animal communities
thin zone of the earth that supports all
life
living
largest amount of a population that can
be supported by an area
overall weather in an area over a long
period of time
last community in a succession
all populations that live in a certain
place
wise use of natural resources
organisms that obtain food by eating
other organisms
organism that breaks down the wastes
or remains of other organisms
the study of living things and their
environments
living and nonliving things in an
environment, together with their
interactions
kinds of living things that are in danger
of dying out
way of showing how energy moves
through a food chain
Everything that surrounds a living
thing
a chain of organisms in which each link
feeds on the one ahead and is eaten by
the one behind
way of showing how food chains are
related
place where an organism lives
process of taking in food
to act upon each other
29.
limiting factors
30.
34.
natural
resource
niche
nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
nonrenewable
resource
organism
35.
pollution
36.
population
37.
predator
38.
prey
producer
range
31.
32.
33.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
renewable
resource
respiration
response
scavenger
succession
conditions in the environment that put
limits on where an organism can live
materials found in nature that are used
by living things
organism's role, or job, in its habitat
bacteria that can use nitrogen in soil to
make nitrogen compounds
materials found in nature that
CANNOT be renewed or replaced
any living thing
release of harmful materials into the
environment
group of the same kind of organism
living in a certain place
animal that hunts and eats other
animals
animal hunted or caught for food
organism that makes its own food
area where a type of animal or plant
population is found
natural resouces that CAN be renewed
or replaced
process of getting energy from food
reaction to a change
animal that eats only dead organisms
gradual change in organisms that
occurs when the environment changes