Ecology

= = == = = = Vocabulary =

abiotic- non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment. example=Soil, Water, Sunlight biotic- related to, produced by, or caused by living things. example=Tree, Plants, Animals

habitat- A place where a species live in their adapted habitat ecology- The interaction between living things and their physical environment. When working in the stream, we examined the different species of insects. The different chemicals - such as water, nitrogen, oxygen, and chloride - in the stream determined whether certain insects could survive in the stream environment.

ecosystem - A system created between organisms and their physical environment (wind, water, temp, soil, light, etc)

** carbon cycle ** - celllular respiration, photosynthesis, combustion, burning fossil fuels, food chain (cyclic - cycle) ** nitrogen cycle ** - bacteria in soil helps to make the nitrogen usable for plants (cyclic - cycle) ** water cycle **- photosynthesis, transpiration, condensation, evaporation, precipitation (cyclic - cycle)

**producer-** An organism that captures energy and stores it in food as chemical energy. (Plants) primary consumer- eats the plants and is the food source for the secondary consumer secondary consumer - eats the primary consumer and is the food source for the tertiary consumer ** tertiary consumer **- top of the food chain and doesn't have many natural pretadors

omnivore- Eats Both and can be a hunter or a scaveger or a passive animal carnivore- Eat Meat and normaly is a predator or scavenger herbivore- Eat Veggies and is never a predator

** decomposers **- Organisms that break down dea ﻿ d plant matter into simpler compounds. (mushrooms) decomposers help to recycle matter (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, etc in the ecosystem)

food chain - A chain of the food web that starts with a tertiary consumer and works its way down. It is only 2-4 animals/mammals long. ** food web - ** A model of the feeding relationships between many different consumers and producers in an ecosystem. (more complex) this model is a great example of domino causality and shows the carbon cycle in action in the environment. ** food pyramid- **A model that shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level of an ecosystem.

**domino causality (energy) **- doesn't go back- a one time transfer caused by actions, like a deer being killed by a wolf, it isn't a cycle. the food chain is a great example, since the energy at the top of the food chain never returns back to the sun. **cyclic causality (matter)- ** does go back (Cycle)- like the water cycle, i always keeps going, no beginning or end. Matter, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen is constantly recycled in the environment by decomposers like bacteria, worms, and fungi.

** biomes ** - A large area being characterized by different animals. An example of a biome is: Rainforest, desert, grasslands. Certain weather conditions (sun, soil, temp - abiotic) will determine what plants will live in a region. Certain plant life (biotic) will then determine what animals can live in the same region. ** conservation ** - To keep/restore animals in a safe condition and conserve them so that they stay safe. **endangered species** - A certain type of species (Loggerhead Turtle) that is close to extinction. ** decision making ** ( bear hunt) - When you make a decision you have to be sure that it is the best one. Like in the bear hunt it said choose between killing the bears and not. Many of our classes groups were pro bear hunt. While only 1 was con bear hunt. ** Hawk Mountain Trip ** - for thousands of years, hawks have been migrating along the Appalachian flyway. A chemical used in pesticides, called DDT affected the hawk populations when it entered the food web. Eggs from birds of prey (especially those that eat only fish) became brittle and less babies were born. As a result the populations of osprey, bald eagle, peregrine falcons, and golden eagles began to drop dramatically. Efforts to eliminate the pesticide and educating the public about the importance of birds of prey in the food web helped to increase these migrating populations over the last 30 years. ﻿ 
 * Stream Study - ** We ended the year testing the health of the Mill Creek in Lower Merion Township. Both the macro invertebrate study and the chemical tests revealed the stream was healthy. We combined our knowledge of ecology, botany, insects, conservation, and chemistry to assess the health of the stream. The local trip reinforces the important ecological issues that exist in our own community.

= Questions  =

1. Name at least five important abiotic factors that affect the health of our gardens on campus.


 * 1) Fertilizers
 * 2) Weather
 * 3) Sunlight
 * 4) Soil
 * 5) Rain

2. What organisism (living thing) is responsible for breaking down the nitrogen in the soil and returning it to the plants? many different organisms break down matter and they are under the category of decomposer. The most important decomposer in the soil for the plants is **BACTERIA** which break down the **NITROGEN** and and making it usable for the plants.

** Question #3 A Big Food Web Question **

Look at the statements below. They describe feeding relationships that may exist between certain desert organisms. Use these statements to create a desert food web. ** scorpions and horned lizards feed on ants ** ** snakes feed on kangaroo rats and horned lizards ** ** both ants and kangaroo rats feed on cacti and creosote bushes ** ** Owls feed on kangaroo rats, horned lizards, and snakes **

1) Use the food web to answer the following questions below: List the producer (s) found in this web _  ** Cati, Creosote Bushes, thron acacias, annual flowers, rabbit bush, ocotillo, sage brush **

** List the primary consumer(s) ** ** insect, lizards, kangaroo rats **

List the secondary consumer(s) ** Scorpions, Lizards, Snakes, and Tarantulas **

list the tertiary consumer(s) ** ﻿OWLs, Hawks, and Snakes **

2) Use the Desert Food Web to create one complete food chain below

** Cacti ->.Kangaroo Rats-->Snakes--->Owl **

3) Use the Desert Food web to create a pyramid [|biomes of the world] 4) Where would Decomposers fit into the food web? ** On the outside because when all living things die, decomposers break down all the matter. ** 5) If the snake population decreased, what would happen to the different organisms in the food web? (increase, decrease, or stay the same)  ** Insects, lizards, rodents would go up. Owl and fox would go down. **  a) population of owls - Decrease ** secondary will increase, primary will decrease, then producers will increase ** b) population of horned-lizards - Increase ** primary consumers will then decrease, producers will increase **  c) population of cacti and creosote bushes – Decrease ** Everything would decrease ** 6) Explain how is the CARBON CYLCE represented in the food web, food chain, and food pyramid Plants-primary-secondary-tertiary []

====Question #4 ==== ** The water cycle was most important in the growth of our garden. Describe all the steps made as water travels from the sky in the form of rain and enters the plant. Trace the path of the water molecule from the soil to the leaves and explain how water escapes back to the atmosphere in the process of transpiration. Mention all the important structures involved in a plant. A diagram can be used to help illustrate the process. **

The main parts are called Evaporation (transpiration), Condensation, Precipitation, and collection.

**Evaporatio****n/Transpiration** : When heat gets into the water and turns it into vapor and steam. The steam/vapor rises into the skies and thats the evaporation part. You can also think of evaporation like being in a sauna. The steam usually travels upwards until it bounces of the ceiling. Transpiration is a way of water to evaporate "through a plant" The more plants you have to take up water, the less water runoff that will land into the stream.

**Condensation**: When the water vapor or steam is in the air traveling, the weather up there is really cold so it turns back into water which then forms clouds.

**Precipitatio****n**: This is when water travels for so long that the clouds and sky can't hold it anymore because it is to heavy so it falls back to Earth in the form of: Rain, Hail, Sleet, or Snow.

**Collection**: When water comes down it can land in lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, etc. It can also land on the land which in that case it could fall and soak up the soil or it can run over the land and land in a lake, river, sea, ocean, etc.

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Question # 5 ** The Carbon Cycle plays an important role in the maintenance of all the plants and animals in our garden. Name at least two compounds that contain carbon. How do they travel through the plants and animals of our garden?**



** Carbon Dioxide is taken in by the plant in PHOTOSYNTHESIS. Through a chemical reaction with light, the carbon dioxide and water turn into SUGAR and OXYGEN.**

** Sugar (which is made of Carbon in the form of a Carboydrate) is then eaten by an animal, such as a rabbit. Another animal may eat that animal (like the lynx) and the Carbon is transfered in a cycle as shown above. **

Carbon Dioxide and Sugar can be found in our garden in the process of photosynthesis that all the plants undergo to grow and function properly.

Question # 6 ** The Nitrogen Cycle helps to maintain the health of our garden. We made sure to rake and aerate the soil to help the bacteria in the garden. How does the Nitrogen move around in our school gardens? **

Through decomposers in the soil they break it down and move it to other places in the garden.

__**BACTERIA**__ in the soil is the main LINK that allows the nitrogen to be broken down into usable compounds that the plants can use to grow and function. Other decomposers, such as worms, insects, and fungi also down the nitrogen compounds in the soil.



Question # 7

** The Definition of Ecology is below: **

**// Any area of nature including living organisms and nonliving substances interacting so that materials are exchanged between living and nonliving parts //** **// (__Discover Nature in the Garden__ by Jim Conrad) //**

** List at least 10 examples of things we have experienced in the field, learned in the garden, or studied in class: ** these are some examples below. Think of some more in the GARDEN, at Hawk Mountain, in the Stream, at Haverford College -be creative <span style="color: #5207a2; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">It is bad to shake up a wasp once you catch it. <span style="color: #5207a2; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Every thing has to be very precise in the lab and outdoor s.
 * 1) <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Plants depend on the right amount of water
 * 2) <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The bulbs begin to bloom when the temperature is warm and there is plenty of water available.

Question #8 What did the Bear Hunt Role Play and Endangered Species Project teach you about decision making? You have to listen to everybody's idea and combine them to get the best outcome.

That you should think of what you are doing before you act it out, for instance killing a snow leopard for money. That's a bad thing and we don't want all of the animals to go extinct.

Question #9 Energy that travels through an ecosystem is an example of Domino Causality. Explain in detail using words and diagrams how energy flows in this way.

For example there is the tertiary, secondary, primary, producer, and decomposer in a rainforest. Lets say a secondary consumer eats one of the primary consumers. The energy from the primary consumer goes to the secondary consumer. Then a tertiary consumer eats that secondary consumer. ALL of the energy that the secondary consumer got from the primary consumer + the energy that the secondary consumer already had goes to the tertiary consumer. Then when that Tertiary consumer dies the decomposers decompose the tertiary consumer and put it in the soil and into other animals. HOW is this Domino Causality? What is not being recycled? What can never go back to the sun?

Question #10 Matter that travels through an ecosystem is an example of Cyclic Causality. Explain what this means in detail using words and diagrams of how matter flows in this way.

Matter gets passed around from one thing to another all around the biome until it comes back to the place it started. Then it does it all over again. It's almost like telling someone your life story until you get to the moment where you started telling someone about your life story which in that case you would start over and it would continue like that. ** Matter that would be cycled would include many of the important elements being recycled in the garden - CARBON, NITROGEN, WATER **

Question # 11 Using your Data Stream DATA Sheet, answer the questions below

These Qualitative tests and Quantitative tests were made at MillCreek Location A Date: Tuesday, April 27 Air Temperature : 60 ° F Water Temperature: 49 ° F  After a 3 day rain Partly Sunny, windy Dissolved Oxygen = 14 ppm Chloride = 80 mg/L Nitrate = 2 mg/L pH = 7.5 evidence of overflow : some pools of water on the side of the bank contained a lot of algae. evidence of erosion: on the top of the bank, you could see the flood wall and several downed trees. The greatest concern in this suburban/riparian environment is the high amount of water runoff during heavy rains. Macroinvertebrates seen:

** Sensitive ** **Somewhat Sensitive** **tolerant** Mayfly Nymph crane fly larvae blackfly larvae Water penny crayfish mosquito larvae Caddisfly Larvae scud aquatic worms Biotic Index: 17 – 22 Good Health of the Stream

A) At this same location in February, there was a Chloride count of 200 mg/L. What may have been happening at this time? In February, it's Winter. So they probably put salt on the roads to remove the ice and the rain put it into the creek or sewer.

B) Another stream in Haverford Township had a measurement of 12 mg/L for Nitrates. What may have been causing the increase of nitrates in the water? Near farms. Fertilizer,manure, and sewage. or GOLF COURSES or WELL KEPT LAWNS

C) Write a list of the possible macroinvertebrates you would find in stream with a high nitrate level. Ephemeroptera (mayfly) Trichoptera (Caddisfly) Diptera (True Flies) Odonata (damselfly and dragonfly)

D) In the summer months, the oxygen levels have decrease as the temperatures increase. What effect does this have on the ecosystem? It makes the water a non suitable place for living for the animals and insects to live in because there is not as much oxygen.

E) What can be done to prevent damage and erosion from water runoff? What can be done to decrease the amount of chemicals that flow into our streams? Less roads and more land. Stop pollution! Don't lead sewage into streams and lakes.

F) What is a watershed? In what watershed would you find the Mill Creek? <span style="font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Where the water drains off to. Mill Creek's is the Schuylkill. The Schuylkill is in the Delaware River WATERSHED.