Unit 2: Ecology interactions
Objectives:
4.1.A All populations living together within a community interact with one another and
with their environment in order to survive and maintain a balanced ecosystem.
4.1.B Living organisms have the capacity to produce populations of infinite size, but
environments and resources are finite.
4.1.D The diversity of species within an ecosystem is affected by changes in the
environment, which can be caused by other organisms or outside processes.
7.1 A Scientific inquiry includes the ability of students to formulate a testable question
and explanation, and to select appropriate investigative methods in order to obtain
evidence relevant to the explanation.
7.1 B Scientific inquiry relies upon gathering evidence from qualitative and quantitative
observations.
7.1 C Scientific inquiry includes evaluation of explanation (laws / principles, theories /
models) light of evidence (data) and scientific principle (understandings).
7.1 D The nature of science relies upon communication of results and justification of
explanations.
Resources:
Text: unit 2
Video:
National geo: jewel of the carribbean
Attenbough Living together
Worksheets:
Niche of cornus poppi
Crunching the numbers
Activities
Population count of cornus poppi
Oh Deer
Labs:
Virtual lab: Population biology
Virtual lab: maintaining an ecosystem
Sequence
Day 0
Read ch 2
Day 1
Ecosystem components
video analysis: abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem: jewel of the caribbean
Day 2
Topic: populations
Assmt: pop of cornus poppi
Day 3
Topic: niche:
Assmt: niche of cornus poppi
Day 4
Topic: carrying capacity
Activity: Oh deer
Day 5
Topic: symbiosis
Video: living together
Day 6
Topic: competition
Virtual lab: population biology of Paramecium
Day 7
Topic: predation
Worksheet: Crunching the numbers (dingo kangaroo populations)
Day 8
Topic: biodiversity
Virtual Lab: biodiversity index
Day 9
Topic: effects of human activity
Activity: case studies
Biology
Ecology interactions (chapter 2)
Outline
I.
Ecosystem components
A. Portions of an ecosystem that are non living are __________________.
Examples are:
Portions of an ecosystem that are living are ________________________.
Examples are:
When only the biotic interactions of an organism’s ecosystem are
considered it is referred to as ___________________________.
When both the abiotic and biotic conditions of an organism’s ecosystem is
considered it is referred to as _____________________.
B. Populations
1. ______________ are defined as the number of a particular
____________________ in a particular _____________. An
example is
Measuring populations can be accomplished several ways. For a
static population, ___________ are often used. For a motile
population __________________________ is often used.
2. What an organism does and where it lives is termed its
____________________. An example is:
3. The amount of a particular species that can thrive in a particular
area is called the ___________________ __________________.
a. Factors that limit the population and may decrease the
carrying capacity are called _______________
________________. Some examples are:
b. Some changes in habitat can increase carrying capacity.
Some examples are:
II.
Community Interactions
A. Symbiosis- is a relationship between two different species, this is called
____________________. In symbiosis, one species always
___________________.
1. If both organisms benefit, the symbiosis is
_______________________. An example is
2. If only one organism benefits, but the other is not effected, the
symbiosis is termed ___________________________. An
example is:
3. If one organism benefits, and the other is harmed,
________________________ is occurring. An example is:
B. Competition occurs between individuals of the same species
(____________________) and between different types of organisms
(____________________).
1. An example intraspecific competition is:
2. An example of interspecific competition is:
C. Predator / prey relationships are almost always between different species
and so are ___________________. An example is:
III.
Biodiversity is a measure of the amount of different types of
________________ and _____________ levels within a
____________________. Healthy ecosystems have _________________
biodiversity.
A. A biodiversity index is an assessment of the _____________________ in
an ecosystem. ____________________ and types of _______________
are included. _________________ or ______________species are
organisms that are very sensitive to environmental change and are not able
to survive in unhealthy environments. Therefore, their existence indicates
________________________. Some examples are:
B. Many situations can cause the biodiversity of an ecosystem to be reduced.
When the biodiversity is reduced, the health of the ecosystem is
_________________________.
1. _______________ ____________ is the main threat to
biodiversity. An example is:
2. Other threats
a. Habitat ________________ such as
b. Invasive or __________________ ___________________
such as __________________ or ___________________
c. Habitat ______________________ such as
_______________ or ______________________
d. Over ___________________ or _________________
3. long term effects
a. __________________ = reduction, such as:
b. __________________ = elimination such as:
c. Genetic _________________ = less variety
C. In order to maintain the balance of an ecosystem, there are several actions
that can be attempted.
1. ____________________ use
2. re ______________________