Download HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM? (2 Hours)

HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
(2 Hours)
Addresses NGSS
Level of Difficulty: 3
Grade Range: 3-5
OVERVIEW
In this activity, students will learn about the importance of balance in an ecosystem. They will simulate
population changes over time. Then they will evaluate a local ecosystem and create a report that describes
the ecosystem’s health.
Topic: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Real-World Science Topics
• An exploration of the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem.
• An analysis of how environmental changes can affect an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce.
• An evaluation of the health of a local ecosystem.
Objective
After completing this activity, students should be able to explain how populations in an ecosystem are
sustained and kept in check by the availability of resources such as water, food, and shelter, and by
predation and disease. Students in Grade 6 should be able to describe how invasive species can impact
the biodiversity of a system.
NGSS Three-Dimensions
1
Science and Engineering
Practices
Disciplinary
Core Ideas
Crosscutting
Concepts
Analyzing and
Interpreting Data
• Represent data in tables
and/or various graphical
displays (bar graphs,
pictographs and/or pie
charts) to reveal patterns
that indicate relationships.
• Compare and contrast data
collected by different groups
in order to discuss similarities
and differences in their
findings.
LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics,
Functioning, and Resilience
• When the environment
changes in ways that affect a
place’s physical characteristics,
temperature, or availability
of resources, some organisms
survive and reproduce,
others move to new locations,
yet others move into the
transformed environment,
and some die. (secondary
to 3-LS4-4)
• Biodiversity describes the
variety of species found in
Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic
ecosystems. The completeness
or integrity of an ecosystem’s
biodiversity is often used as
a measure of its health.
(MS-LS2-5)
Stability and Change
• Change may occur at different
rates. Students learn some
systems appear stable, but
over long periods of time
they will eventually change.
• Stability and change in natural
or designed systems can
be explained by examining
changes over time, and
considering forces at different
scales, including the atomic
scale. Changes in one part of
a system might cause large
changes in another part, systems
in dynamic equilibrium are
stable due to a balance of
feedback mechanisms, and
stability might be disturbed
by either sudden events
or gradual changes that
accumulate over time.
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
Background Information
How do organisms interact with each other and their physical environment?
Organisms grow, reproduce, and maintain their species by obtaining necessary resources through
interdependent relationships with other organisms and the environment.
How can changing environmental factors affect organisms?
Changes in environmental factors such as weather patterns, availability of resources, human impact,
and disease can result in the growth or disappearance of populations.
What are the characteristics of a healthy ecosystem?
Ecosystems are complex, interactive systems that include both living and non-living components.
A healthy ecosystem is stable and maintains balance between resources and those that consume them.
Key Vocabulary
Carnivore– an animal that feeds on the flesh of other animals
Consumer– an organism that feeds on other organisms in a food chain
Ecosystem– a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their habitat
Food chain– transfer of food energy from one organism to another in an ecological community
Food web– a group of interrelated food chains in a particular ecological community
Herbivore– an animal that feeds on plants
Interdependence– when two or more living things are dependent on each other
Invasive species– non-native plants and animals that steal nutrients and resources from native organisms
Limiting factor– a factor that controls an organism’s population, size, or distribution
Omnivore– an organism that eats both plants and animals
Producer– an organism that serves as a food source for other animals in a food chain
Materials Needed for Activity
• 12 plastic chips per student (divide class into thirds and give one-third of the students red chips,
one-third blue chips, and one-third green chips) May substitute three types of dry beans
• “Forest Food Web handout” - one per student
• 1 plastic bag per student
• “Ecosystem Evaluation Report “ – one per student
• 1 plastic cup per group
• 1 red marker per group
• 1 food, shelter, and water card set per student
• 1 green marker per group
• “Simulation Game Directions” –one per group
• 1 blue marker per group
• Class set of calculators
• 3 red crayons/pencils per group
• 3 dry erase boards and markers
• 3 green crayons/pencils per group
• Chart paper
• 3 blue crayons/pencils per group
• Marker for chart paper
• 1 Class Data Chart posted
• “ Population Simulation” handout – one per student
Teacher Preparation
• Prepare the materials for the simulation game. You will need five chips in a plastic bag and one food,
shelter, and water card set per student. Put extra red, blue and green chips in separate cups.
• Copy the Population Simulation, Forest Food Web, and Ecosystem Evaluation Report handouts
for each student.
• Copy the Simulation Game Directions handout for each group.
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STEPS FOR
HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
1.
Warm-up Activity: Assign each table group one of the following terms to discuss and define:
producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore. Circulate to provide support, as needed. Call
students up to act out the definitions. For example, you might have two students act out the roles of a
shark and a seal to demonstrate the term carnivore. After students have had a chance to demonstrate
their understanding of the terms, post the definitions and have student groups compare their definitions
to the ones provided.
2.
Tell students that today they are going to conduct a simulation. Explain that a simulation is the imitation
of a real-world system or process overtime. The purpose of this simulation is to help students predict
and describe how the availability of resources can impact an ecosystem.
3.
Follow the steps below to facilitate the simulation.
• Pass out 5 red chips to one-third of your students, 5 blue chips to one-third of your students, and
5 green chips to the remaining third. Explain that each red chip represents 10 white-tailed deer, each
green chip represents 10 white-footed mice, and each green chip represents 10 eastern cotton tailed
rabbits. Distribute the extra red, green, or blue chips in cups to each organism group (e.g., deer
group receives a cup of red chips). Distribute one food, shelter, and water card set to each student.
• Ask students to identify the producers and consumers (producers: plants; consumers: deer, mice,
rabbits). Then have them explain if these organisms are herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores. Direct
the students’ attention to their cards and ask, “Why do you think food, shelter, and water are important
resources for these organisms?” Clarify that these resources meet the organisms’ basic needs. Teacher
Note: Animals also need space, but for the purpose of this simulation the focus will be on food,
shelter, and water.
• Provide a copy of the Population Simulation handout to each student. Have students fill in the name
of their organism at the top of the page. Tell students that, during the simulation, they will record their
number of organisms in the data table after each round. Explain that they will then work with their
group to calculate their organism’s total population size and that the group’s data will be entered
into the class data chart. Tell students that each round of the game represents a month.
• Post and review the directions for the game.
4.
After the first twelve rounds of the simulation, have students reflect in their journals. Have them explain
how their population changed over time and describe why they think the changes occurred. Prompt
them to think about what happened when the resources their organism needed were and were not
available. After they have reflected, explain that some fluctuation in population is normal and that many
populations in nature show growth in the spring when there are many births, then continually decrease
until the end of winter. Summarize that one of the factors related to population size is the availability
of resources.
5.
Conduct a modified second version of the simulation. Tell students that disease has eliminated all of
the mice and three-fourths rabbits. Collect the chips that represent these organisms. To represent an
increase in the availability of resources, flip over two cards from the class set of food, shelter, and water
cards at the beginning of each round. Regroup students into two groups representing the two remaining
organisms, making sure that each group has a dry erase board and students with chips have calculators.
Complete twelve rounds. At the end of each round, have students work together to count the chips
and to calculate the total population size for their assigned organism. Use a red, green, and blue marker
to add the population totals for all three organisms during months 13-24 to the class graph. At the end
of the game, ask students to identify patterns in the data. The idea is for students to determine if the
steady supply of resources caused change. At the conclusion of the second simulation, ask students to
predict what might happen to the deer and rabbit populations if there continued to be a steady supply
of resources. Allow students to share.
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STEPS FOR
HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
6.
Provide copies of the Forest Food Web handout. Explain that a food web is an interrelated group of
food chains. Work together to identify the producers and consumers. Cover different species and ask
students to explain what might happen if various species were eliminated. Make sure that students
understand that the components of an ecosystem are interdependent and there needs to be a balance
for an ecosystem to remain stable and healthy.
7.
Have students select and evaluate the health of a local ecosystem. Distribute and review the
Ecosystem Evaluation Report handout. Provide access to resources students can use to collect data
needed
(biodiversity of the system, human impact, weather patterns) to determine the general health of a local
ecosystem. Once students have collected their data allow time for them to create a report that
communicates their findings.
Extension Activity
Develop a plan to improve the health of a local ecosystem.
Sources
http://ecosystems.psu.edu/youth/sftrc/environ-series
http://ecosystems.psu.edu/youth/sftrc/deer
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
FOOD, SHELTER AND WATER CARD SETS
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Food
Shelter
Water
Food
Shelter
Water
Food
Shelter
Water
Food
Shelter
Water
Food
Shelter
Water
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
SIMULATION GAME DIRECTIONS
1.
Place your food, water, and shelter cards on your desk face down.
2.
At the beginning of each round, flip up one of your resource cards. Once you flip a card, it needs
to stay up for the entire round.
3.
After each of you has flipped a card, I will flip a resource card from the class deck.
4.
Compare your card to the class deck card. If your card matches the class deck card, you will take
another chip from the cup. If your card does not match, you will return a chip to the cup. Remember,
each chip represents ten organisms.
5.
We will play twelve rounds; each round represents one month of the year.
6.
At the end of each round, record your individual data on your data chart. Then use the calculator and
work with your group to determine and record the total population size/number of deer, mice, or rabbits
in the ecosystem. Have one group member write the total on the whiteboard and hold it up until the
teacher has recorded the data on the class data chart.
7.
At the end of the game, take time to label your graph. Refer to the posted class data chart and graph
your organism’s population totals for each month. Draw a solid line to connect the data points. Look
for patterns related to how your organism’s population changed.
8.
Be prepared to describe how your organism’s population changed overtime.
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
Name:
Date:
Population Simulation
Organism: __________________________________________________________
Directions: Record your individual and your group’s data in the table below.
Month
My Total
(Add up your chips)
Total Number of Organism
(Add up your group’s chips)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
Name:
Date:
Population Totals Over Time
Population Size
Directions: Graph your group’s data. Connect your data points with the appropriate color line.
Month
Key
White-tailed Deer - Red
White-footed Mouse - Green
Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit - Blue
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
How did your organism’s population change over time?
Look at the class data chart. Graph the population data for the other two organisms in the ecosystem.
Use the appropriate colored pencil to connect your data points.
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
Forest Food Web
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
Class Data Chart
Population Totals
Month
White-tailed Deer
White-footed Mouse
Eastern Cotton-tailed
Rabbit
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
Population Size
Class Graph: Population Totals
Month
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
Name:
Date:
Ecosystem Evaluation Report
YOUR CHARGE
Today, you will conduct research to help you evaluate stability and health of a local ecosystem.
GENERAL INFORMATION
LOCATION:
County:__________________________________
City:_____________________________________
State:____________________________________
Longitude:____________Latitude:_____________
BIODIVERSITY
A food web reflects the living part of an ecosystem
and diagrams the transfer of energy as living things
eat each other. Draw or paste your ecosystem’s food
web below. Label the producers and consumers.
Be sure to include the Sun in your drawing and
use arrows to show the flow of energy.
SIZE:
Approximate acreage:_______________________
LANDUSE: urban, rural, agricultural, industrial,
residential, recreational, undisturbed
All:
Mostly:
Some:
Some:
Label the producers and consumers. Which
organisms compete for food in your ecosystem?
SIZE:
Approximate acreage:_______________________
ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FEATURES:
Artificial
Natural
Do all of the organisms in your ecosystem have
adequate food and water? Explain.
Living
TYPE OF HABITAT:
Terrestrial Habitat
wooded
open field
prairie/plains
savannah
other:______________
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Non-living
Once Was Living
Aquatic Habitat
lake
stream
wetland
ocean
other:_______________
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HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
STUDENT HANDOUT
POTENTIAL/EXISTING PROBLEMS
Have any organisms disappeared (relocation, extinction)? Explain.
Identify any threatened or endangered species. Explain their conflict.
Have any predators been introduced or eliminated? If so, how is it impacting the system?
Have there been any sudden changes in the availability of resources?
Are weather patterns a threat? (forest fires, hurricanes, etc.)
Are there any problems with pollution or disease?
HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ECOSYSTEM?
A healthy ecosystem is made up of native plant and animal populations living in balance with each other
and the non-living things.
______Not at all
______Somewhat
______Very
Explain why your ranked your ecosystem as not, somewhat, or very healthy. Be sure to support your
argument with evidence from your research.
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