Assignment 11 Ecosystems
Due November 8
Questions 1-3 refer to the information in the forest stratification image.
1. Multiple-choice (1 point)
In which layer of the forest would you find wild flowers and other small plants which
live just above the forest floor?
shrub layer
ground layer
sapling layer
herb layer
canopy
2. Multiple-choice (1 point)
Although large mammals such as deer walk on the ground, they browse on tall plants
that grow beneath small trees. Thus they are considered to live in the
shrub layer
subterranean layer
sapling layer
herb layer
canopy
3. Multiple-choice (1 point)
The forest canopy is home to
ants and many amphibian species
squirrels and many bird species
bacteria and many fungal species
lichens, moss, and ferns
small trees such as dogwood
4. File upload (5 points)
Fill in the following table using the plants and animals that you find in the forest
panorama and in the night scene at the Michigan State site. Be sure to place each
organism in its appropriate layer within the forest. You must list 25 organisms with at
least two for each level. Capture an image of your completed table and submit it to
WebAssign in jpg or png format.
Table of Plants and Animals in Schenck Forest
Forest layer (stratum)
Organisms found
Canopy
Sapling layer
(includes tree hole)
Shrub layer
Herb layer
Ground layer
(includes logs & leaf litter)
Subterranean layer
(soil)
5. File upload (5 points)
Fill in the pyramid of production below by placing each organism in your table into the
appropriate trophic level of the pyramid. A few of your organisms can occupy more than
one trophic level, so place them in two or more levels if necessary. (Remember that
there is no relationship between the forest layer in which an organism lives and its
trophic level.) Capture an image of your completed pyramid and submit it to Webassign
in jpg or png format.
Pyramid of Production
Top carnivores
Tertiary consumers
Secondary consumers
Primary consumers
Producers
Deciduous trees
6. File upload (2 points)
Fill out the following table based on the Extinction game:
Species chosen at beginning of the game:
Profile before mutation
Predator type
Environmental
tolerance
Optimal habitats
Profile after mutation
Reproduction rate
Mobility
Capture an image of your table and submit it to WebAssign in jpg or png format.
7. Essay (4 points)
Write a short essay that answers the following questions:
Based on the profile of your species, what animal might it have been at the beginning of
the game? What animal might it have mutated into after 4 rounds? Was each animal a
k-selected or r-selected species? Explain your answers.
8. Essay (3 points)
Write a short essay that answers the following questions:
After mutation, did your species do better or worse? What new characteristic had the
most effect, negative or positive, on its success during the last 3 rounds? Explain your
answer.
9. File upload (2 points)
Capture an image of the right half of your game screen at the end of the game (or after
at least 7 rounds). Be sure that the certificate number at the bottom of the log is visible.
Submit the image as a jpg or png file.
10. Essay (4 points)
Write a short essay that answers the following questions:
Think about how your species performed during the game. If you won the game, what
strategy worked best to increase the numbers of your species? If you lost, what went
wrong? What aspects of the game do you think are the most realistic and most
unrealistic compared to real ecosystems?