DESCRIPTION
Groups had to choose a species or environment and find how humans impact it. They then had to create an action plan that would allow that species or ecosystem to thrive in the future and present it to the class. Human contribution had to be shown and an environmental issue had to be included.
My group began by brainstorming different species before looking into why they were endangered. After narrowing down our options, we had to research ways to help save them. My group made a website to create awareness of the snow leopard and why it is endangered. Our site is savethesnowleopardsplease.weebly.com.
My group's slideshow on snow leopards can be found below.
Groups had to choose a species or environment and find how humans impact it. They then had to create an action plan that would allow that species or ecosystem to thrive in the future and present it to the class. Human contribution had to be shown and an environmental issue had to be included.
My group began by brainstorming different species before looking into why they were endangered. After narrowing down our options, we had to research ways to help save them. My group made a website to create awareness of the snow leopard and why it is endangered. Our site is savethesnowleopardsplease.weebly.com.
My group's slideshow on snow leopards can be found below.
CONTENT
Abiotic- not living, not able to have ever lived
Biotic- organism that is living, or has once lived
Biodiversity- the variety of life in a particular ecosystem
Autotrophs- can make own food
Heterotrophs- need to eat to get energy
10% rule- only 10% of energy moves up from each trophic level
Ecological pyramid- diagram to show the different trophic levels and show numbers, energy, biomass, etc.
Food web- multiple food chains together to describe ecosystem
Biome- large, naturally occurring community of flora/fauna in a major habitat
Carrying capacity- the number of living organisms a region support without environmental degradation
Carbon cycle- the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels
Population- all inhabitants of an area
Trophic levels- each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy
Cellular respiration- set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste products
Photosynthesis- the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water
Energy cycle- energy transfer between trophic levels
Source- releases CO2 into atmosphere
Sink- takes CO2 from atmosphere
Biosphere- regions occupied by living organisms
Density- compactness in an area
Niche- comfortable/suitable position in life
Habitat- natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism
Symbiosis- organisms living in close proximity
Competition- 2 individuals needing same resource
Parasitism/consumption- 1 organism uses or feeds off another
Commensalism- 1 organism benefits and the other isn't affected
Mutualism- both organisms benefit
Density independent- affects population regardless of its density
Density dependent- only affects is population reaches a certain density
Primary ecological succession- when soil does not exist
Secondary- when soil exists
Climate- long term average of weather conditions in an area
Weather- the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards to heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
REFLECTION
After brainstorming, my group quickly decided on an endangered species we'd wanted to research. We had set our minds on that species and did not consider any else until we collected our research. We'd found limited information and found that the species was too difficult to continue researching and to find a solution for. We'd had to change our species midway through the project, teaching us to be open to new ideas and reinforcing that communication was essential to progress in the group. We had lost time in choosing a new subject, but managed to finished the project on time. While we hadn't done a good job of splitting up tasks evenly, we used our time wisely and completed the project even though we had started late. We could have spent more time reviewing information and did not have arguments within the group.
I worked on this project with Owen Ondricek, Shane Taylor, and Adam Rosenbaum.
Abiotic- not living, not able to have ever lived
Biotic- organism that is living, or has once lived
Biodiversity- the variety of life in a particular ecosystem
Autotrophs- can make own food
Heterotrophs- need to eat to get energy
10% rule- only 10% of energy moves up from each trophic level
Ecological pyramid- diagram to show the different trophic levels and show numbers, energy, biomass, etc.
Food web- multiple food chains together to describe ecosystem
Biome- large, naturally occurring community of flora/fauna in a major habitat
Carrying capacity- the number of living organisms a region support without environmental degradation
Carbon cycle- the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels
Population- all inhabitants of an area
Trophic levels- each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy
Cellular respiration- set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste products
Photosynthesis- the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water
Energy cycle- energy transfer between trophic levels
Source- releases CO2 into atmosphere
Sink- takes CO2 from atmosphere
Biosphere- regions occupied by living organisms
Density- compactness in an area
Niche- comfortable/suitable position in life
Habitat- natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism
Symbiosis- organisms living in close proximity
Competition- 2 individuals needing same resource
Parasitism/consumption- 1 organism uses or feeds off another
Commensalism- 1 organism benefits and the other isn't affected
Mutualism- both organisms benefit
Density independent- affects population regardless of its density
Density dependent- only affects is population reaches a certain density
Primary ecological succession- when soil does not exist
Secondary- when soil exists
Climate- long term average of weather conditions in an area
Weather- the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards to heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
REFLECTION
After brainstorming, my group quickly decided on an endangered species we'd wanted to research. We had set our minds on that species and did not consider any else until we collected our research. We'd found limited information and found that the species was too difficult to continue researching and to find a solution for. We'd had to change our species midway through the project, teaching us to be open to new ideas and reinforcing that communication was essential to progress in the group. We had lost time in choosing a new subject, but managed to finished the project on time. While we hadn't done a good job of splitting up tasks evenly, we used our time wisely and completed the project even though we had started late. We could have spent more time reviewing information and did not have arguments within the group.
I worked on this project with Owen Ondricek, Shane Taylor, and Adam Rosenbaum.