Lab Assignment
 Construct
4 different food chains and 2
food webs

Once each is completed…I will check
 Draw
chains/webs as data
 Write
up lab report
Lab write up (4chains/2 webs)
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
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Introduction---what are we doing?
Materials---list
Procedure---What did we do?
Results/data---drawings of food chains/webs
Conclusion---Why are food chains/webs
important?
What happens if you take one animal or plant out
of the chain?
What happens when there are more organisms in
a food web?
Should we protect animals/plants from extinction?
Biodiversity
Biodiversity
 Biodiversity
is the variety and number of
species in a specific area.

Biodiversity increases closer to the equator and in
mountainous areas
Importance of Biodiversity
 Plants
and algae produce oxygen and
remove CO2
 Humans depend on other organisms for
food
 Drugs in health are often formed from
organic compounds
Exotic Species
 An
exotic species is a species that is not
native to a particular region

Can threaten native species Native species
don’t have defenses against exotic species
Value Of Biodiversity

If a species is removed from an ecosystem it can
have a drastic effect on the entire ecosystem
 Species is removed from food chain  All other
species suffer
Extinction

Extinction is the
disappearance of a species
 Earth loses 1 species per
year per million species
due to human activity

40% of all prescription drugs
are made from some sort of
living thing  Humans will be
affected if they go extinct
Ethical Reasons
 Many
people believe that
humans should be
responsible for preserving
biodiversity for ethical
reasons
 Species and ecosystems
have a right to exist and
are valuable to nature
 If we lose biodiversity
then we lose fascination
and a reason to study
the environment
Human Mitigation


1973-U.S. Endangered
Species Act
The US has established
natural preserves and
parks
 Yellow Stone National
Park
 Big Cypress National
Preserve
 Crater Lake National
Park