Download TV Script - Into The Outdoors

“Becoming A Wetlands Ecologist”
To study wetlands ecology, scientists explore the relationship of all the non-living factors
(abiotic) and the living parts (biotic) of an ecosystem.
By studying these relationships and how they affect each other, scientists can gain a
better understanding of how all the parts of a wetland function.
For you to discover firsthand how a wetland functions, let’s put you into the role of a
wetland ecologist. It’s a fun way to learn about wetlands.
First, you’ll need a wetland to study. Find one close to where you live and get the
permission of your parents and landowners to visit and study it.
To make your job easy and to create a clear method of study, begin by drawing an
ecological pyramid similar to the one shown here. Use a large piece of poster board that
will give you plenty of room to add items to the different levels.
The lowest level will contain the “abiotic factors”. The next level up will contain the
“producers”. And the upper four levels will contain the “consumers”. But don’t fill in any
of the levels yet.
Now it’s time to go explore and begin recording what you discover. Again, let your
parents know where you’re going and why. Leave your poster at home.
Take a journal to write in and go to your wetland. As you walk around the edge of the
wetland, record everything that you think belongs in the bottom “abiotic factors” level.
These are the non-living parts of the ecosystem that help support life in the levels above
it. If you get wet feet or warm from the sun, you already have two big clues.
The abiotic parts of the ecosystem on your list support life in the level above it. Now it’s
time to get your feet wet. Wade around the edge of the wetland and record the
“producers” that you see.
A cell phone or digital camera might help you record and identify species with some
Internet research. You should be able to see a variety of plant species.
There are also lots of “producers” that you can’t see without the help of a microscope.
Take a water sample near the bottom then look at what’s in it using a microscope. Draw
images or use the Internet to identify the species that you see.
Also write in your journal what they are, what they do, and what eats them in the food
web?
This might be a good time to return home and enter your data in your journal and on you
poster of your wetlands pyramid.
List the things in your first two levels, and paste on pictures of species copied from the
Internet.
Study what you’ve compiled, then write a brief description of how the different things in
these two levels affect each other.
Now you’re ready for some serious fun by returning to the wetlands to study the
“consumers”.
Use a small dipping net and your observation skills to record all the creatures that you
find or see. Be careful not to harm the living things you encounter.
Also use your ears and binoculars to help detect things such as frogs and birds. Early
morning or late afternoon visits will also help you discover a greater diversity of species.
Any guesses why? Enter that in your journal too.
After several explorations in your wetland, you should compile a growing list of
consumers. It may be so large that might consider breaking it down into:
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Insects
Mammals
Amphibians
Birds
Reptiles
Making these lists will help you in learning about and placing the different species in the
right level of consumers.
For instance, where does a leopard frog go relative to an insect or herons? Do some
species share different levels and why?
As you add more species and consider their relationship to species in different levels,
you’ll begin to understand the bigger picture of wetlands ecology.
Once you’ve completed your wetland ecological pyramid, present your findings in class,
or compare what you discovered with friends who did their own study of a different
wetland.
Finally, enter in your journal how changes to the environment might affect the different
levels of your pyramid. Include a list of possible changes that could happen in nature,
plus changes as a result of human activities.
Congratulations on becoming a wetlands ecologist and helping understand and protect
these valuable ecosystems.