Ecosystems Webquest
Task
"Ecosystems are dynamic interactions between plants, animals, and
microorganisms and their environment working together as a functional unit.
Ecosystems will fail if they do not remain in balance. No community can carry
more organisms than its food, water, and shelter can accommodate. Food and
territory are often balanced by natural phenomena such as fire, disease, and the
number of predators. Each organism has its own niche, or role, to play."*
* From http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/ecosystems.htm
Your task will be to research an ecosystem of the world and develop a
presentation describing its inhabitants, subsystems, cycles and the
balances between them. You are also charged with explaining the
importance of your particular ecosystem in the world system.
Procedure
Step 1:Each student will choose an ecosystem from the following list:
Pond
Desert
Woodland Forest
Oceans
Marsh Wetlands
Rainforest (Grasslands, Tundra, and Taiga are optional- see * sources)
Step 2 Choose 4 plants and 4 animals within your ecosystem and describe
their adaptations and Niches.
Step 3 Use the following websites to find a description of your ecosystem
and to find where this ecosystem is found throughout the world.
Resources
Benders-Hyde, Elisabeth M. “Grasslands.” 14 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/grasslands.htm>
Benders-Hyde, Elisabeth M. “Taiga.” 14 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga.htm>
Benders-Hyde, Elisabeth M. “Tundra.” 14 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra.htm>
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Desert” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/desert/index.htm>
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Grasslands.” 14 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/grasslnd/index.htm >
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Ponds And Lakes” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/lakes/index.htm>
Missouri Botanical lGarden. “Rainforest” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/rforest/index.htm>
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Taiga.” 14 Nov. 2007. http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/taiga/index.htm
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Temperate Deciduous Forests,” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/temp/index.htm>
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Temperate Oceans.” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/salt/oceans/index.htm
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Tundra.” 14 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/tundra/index.htm>
Missouri Botanical Garden. “Wetlands.” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/wetlands/index.htm>
Windows to the Universe. “Oceans and Seas.” 08 Nov. 2007.
<
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Water/ocean.html&edu=elem>.
Windows to the Universe. “Temperate Forest Ecosystem.” 08 Nov. 2007.<
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/forest_eco.html&edu=elem>
Windows to the Universe. “The Desert Ecosystem.” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/desert_eco.html&edu=elem>
Windows to the Universe. “The Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem” 8 Nov.
2007.<http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/rainforest.html&edu=elem>.
Step 4 Food Webs and Food Chains: Use the following websites and/or
printed material to create both a food web and 2 food chains that can be
found within your ecosystem.
FOOD CHAIN WEBSITES
Meng, Alan and Hui. “Food Chains and Webs.” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm>
Science Bob. “Food Web and Food Chain.” 08 Nov. 2007.
<
http://www.sciencebob.com/lab/q-web-chain.html>
Viau, Elizabeth Anne. “A Food Web in the Deciduous Forest Biome.” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/lessons/less/biomes/
deciduous/de
cweb.html>
Viau, Elizabeth Anne. “Desert Food Web.” 08 Nov. 2007
<
http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/lessons/less/
biomes/desert/hot-desertchain.html>
Viau, Elizabeth Anne. “Rain Forest Food Web” 08 Nov. 2007
<
http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/lessons/less/biomes/
rainforest/temp_rain/te
mpweb.html>
Ward, Paul. “Whales and Food Webs.” 08 Nov.
2007.
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/whales/
food%20we
b.htm
Waterwatch Adelaide. “Wetland Food Web.” 08 Nov.
2007.
http://www.cwmb.sa.gov.au/KWC/section5/5-05.htm
Step 5 Use the following websites and printed material to compare the life
cycle of an animal and a plant within your ecosystem using a Venn
Diagram.
Enchanted Learning, “Growing and Changing.” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/books/general/growingchanging/>
Enchanted Learning. “Life Cycles.” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/lifecycles.shtml>
Fossweb. “Structures of Life.” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.fossweb.com/modules3-6/StructuresofLife/index.html>
Growing Minds. “What is the Life Cycle of a Plant?” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://arboretum.fullerton.edu/grow/primer/cycle.asp>
Kids Konnect. “Life Cycles.” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/87/27/>
MacKenzie, Paul. “Life Cycles.” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://elephant.elehost.com/About_Elephants/Life_Cycles/life_
cycles.html>
Teams Educational Resources. “Cycles of Life.” 08 Nov. 2007.
<http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/judi/life/activities/cycles/life_cycles.html>
Utah Education Network. “Life Cycles of Animals.” 08 Nov.
2007.
<http://www.uen.org/themepark/cycles/animal.shtml>
Enchanted Learning. "Deserts." 13 Nov. 2007.
<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/desert/desert.shtml>
Yarra Valley Water. “Life in a Pond.” 15 Nov. 2007. <http://www.yvw.com.au/waterschool/juniors.html>
Step 6 – You will create a PowerPoint presentation to include all of the
following:
Adaptations and Niches
Ecosystem Description and Cycles
Comparison of life cycles of plants and animals Food
Webs and Food Chains
Your PowerPoint must include:
 A minimum of 6 slides.
 One slide must include why this ecosystem is important to us and
the world's inhabitants.
 Pictures on all slides
 Automatic slide transitions
 Bibliography slide
 Use of SmartArt Graphics on at least one slide
 Background colors