Standard S7L4:
Students will examine the dependence of organisms on one another and their environments.
Element A:
Demonstrate in a food web that matter is transferred from one organism to another and can recycle between organisms and their environments.
Element B:
Explain in a food web that sunlight is the source of energy and that this energy moves from organism to organism.
Element C:
Recognize that changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of both individuals and entire species.
Element D:
Categorize relationships between organisms that are competitive or mutually beneficial.
Element E:
Describe the characteristics of Earths major terrestial biomes.
Students will examine the dependence of organisms on one another and their environments.
Element A:
Demonstrate in a food web that matter is transferred from one organism to another and can recycle between organisms and their environments.
Element B:
Explain in a food web that sunlight is the source of energy and that this energy moves from organism to organism.
Element C:
Recognize that changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of both individuals and entire species.
Element D:
Categorize relationships between organisms that are competitive or mutually beneficial.
Element E:
Describe the characteristics of Earths major terrestial biomes.
Definition of Ecology- The branch of biology
that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical
surroundings.
Ecology is and was the 1st unit/standard I learned in my 7th grade science class. And i have to say it was pretty much the biggest one when you think about it. We learned about the biomes, food webs, symbiosis, and ecological footprints. Now i know what your thinking if you never studied ecology, WHAT IS THIS!?!? Well i will break it down for you right NOW.
Biomes- Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as contiguous areas with similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. There are 7 major biomes in the world, and those biomes are temperate deciduous forest, savanna, grassland, taiga, tropical rain forest, desert, tundra, and rain forest. These biomes can also be classified by temperature, vegetation, and rainfall (precipitation) So those 3 things determine what biome your in. For example, if the temperature was like -100 degrees Fahrenheit then obviously the biome would be tundra or taiga or something very cold. Or if it was like 100,000 degrees then it would probably be a desert or something VERY hot. Even though that the temperature would never be that, it was just an example to show that those 3 things determine what biome it is. And its not only those 3 things, there are many more!!!
Food Webs- A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological
community and hence is also referred to as a consumer-resource system. They
basically just display/tell you which organism eats what in an ecosystem. (So
you can't make a food web with a dolphin a whale and then a fox,
that wouldn't be right!) In the food web, there are producers such as
plants and algae. The producer basically makes the food for the ecosystem, only
producers can make their own food! Its just like in a classroom, there is the
smart kid and the not smart kid. The ecosystem is represented by the classroom,
and the smart kid (producer) is producing the answers for himself and for his
classmates do they can all get A's on the test. (Pretty simple) Then there are
1st consumers and 2nd consumers and 3rd and so on and so on. The 1st consumer
eats the producer to get the food and the energy and the 2nd consumer eats the
1st consumer, and the 3rd consumer eats the 2nd consumer. So its basically just
like cheating on a test, the producer gets cheated off of by the 1st consumer,
then the 2nd consumer cheats off of the 1st consumer, and so on and so on! And
that's just the basics of food webs. (Also another note: Some 2nd consumers can
also eat producers and if that is the base it will be easily shown on the food
web. And also, 1st consumers are most likely bigger than producers and so
on and so on 99% of the time) Also there is also something called a 10% rule
its really easy. The producer makes the food and energy, so it gets 100% of it.
Then the 1st consumer only gets 10% of the 100% the producer got. Then the 2nd
consumer gets 10% of what the 1st consumer got. These numbers get lower and
lower very quickly! Its not a lot, but it's still live-able. And that's
the 10% rule! Hope it wasn't too much!
Ecology is and was the 1st unit/standard I learned in my 7th grade science class. And i have to say it was pretty much the biggest one when you think about it. We learned about the biomes, food webs, symbiosis, and ecological footprints. Now i know what your thinking if you never studied ecology, WHAT IS THIS!?!? Well i will break it down for you right NOW.
Biomes- Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as contiguous areas with similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. There are 7 major biomes in the world, and those biomes are temperate deciduous forest, savanna, grassland, taiga, tropical rain forest, desert, tundra, and rain forest. These biomes can also be classified by temperature, vegetation, and rainfall (precipitation) So those 3 things determine what biome your in. For example, if the temperature was like -100 degrees Fahrenheit then obviously the biome would be tundra or taiga or something very cold. Or if it was like 100,000 degrees then it would probably be a desert or something VERY hot. Even though that the temperature would never be that, it was just an example to show that those 3 things determine what biome it is. And its not only those 3 things, there are many more!!!
Food Webs- A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological
community and hence is also referred to as a consumer-resource system. They
basically just display/tell you which organism eats what in an ecosystem. (So
you can't make a food web with a dolphin a whale and then a fox,
that wouldn't be right!) In the food web, there are producers such as
plants and algae. The producer basically makes the food for the ecosystem, only
producers can make their own food! Its just like in a classroom, there is the
smart kid and the not smart kid. The ecosystem is represented by the classroom,
and the smart kid (producer) is producing the answers for himself and for his
classmates do they can all get A's on the test. (Pretty simple) Then there are
1st consumers and 2nd consumers and 3rd and so on and so on. The 1st consumer
eats the producer to get the food and the energy and the 2nd consumer eats the
1st consumer, and the 3rd consumer eats the 2nd consumer. So its basically just
like cheating on a test, the producer gets cheated off of by the 1st consumer,
then the 2nd consumer cheats off of the 1st consumer, and so on and so on! And
that's just the basics of food webs. (Also another note: Some 2nd consumers can
also eat producers and if that is the base it will be easily shown on the food
web. And also, 1st consumers are most likely bigger than producers and so
on and so on 99% of the time) Also there is also something called a 10% rule
its really easy. The producer makes the food and energy, so it gets 100% of it.
Then the 1st consumer only gets 10% of the 100% the producer got. Then the 2nd
consumer gets 10% of what the 1st consumer got. These numbers get lower and
lower very quickly! Its not a lot, but it's still live-able. And that's
the 10% rule! Hope it wasn't too much!
Use the link to play a food web game!
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
Symbiosis- Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between two or more different biological species. So its basically a relationship that occurs between 2 animals. There are basically 3 types of relationships, The three types are: Parasitism, one organism is harmed wile the other is benefited. Mutualism, both benefit. Commensalism, one is benefited the other is not harmed or benefited. That's basically what they are. And now I will show you some examples.
Mutualism:
- The oxpecker (a kind of bird) and the rhinoceros or zebra.
- A bee and a flower
- Spider Crab and Algae
Parasitism:- Tapeworms and cows pigs, and humans
- Fleas and dogs
- Barnacles and whales
Commensalism:
- Tigers and golden jackals
- Barnacles and whales
- cattle egrets and livestock
(There is a dispute whether barnacles and whales should be put under commensalism or parasitism on the Internet, so i just put them on both.)
Ecological Footprint: The ecological footprint is a measure of human
demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for
natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to
regenerate, and its also the impact of a person or community on the
environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of
natural resources. Some people ecological footprint is HUGE and that's not very
good, that's why we recycle and do lots of other thing to keep this only 1
Earth healthy and livable!!!
Here is a game to decide what your ecological footprint is!
http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
Symbiosis- Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between two or more different biological species. So its basically a relationship that occurs between 2 animals. There are basically 3 types of relationships, The three types are: Parasitism, one organism is harmed wile the other is benefited. Mutualism, both benefit. Commensalism, one is benefited the other is not harmed or benefited. That's basically what they are. And now I will show you some examples.
Mutualism:
- The oxpecker (a kind of bird) and the rhinoceros or zebra.
- A bee and a flower
- Spider Crab and Algae
Parasitism:- Tapeworms and cows pigs, and humans
- Fleas and dogs
- Barnacles and whales
Commensalism:
- Tigers and golden jackals
- Barnacles and whales
- cattle egrets and livestock
(There is a dispute whether barnacles and whales should be put under commensalism or parasitism on the Internet, so i just put them on both.)
Ecological Footprint: The ecological footprint is a measure of human
demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for
natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to
regenerate, and its also the impact of a person or community on the
environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of
natural resources. Some people ecological footprint is HUGE and that's not very
good, that's why we recycle and do lots of other thing to keep this only 1
Earth healthy and livable!!!Here is a game to decide what your ecological footprint is!
http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
And that's basically it guys for the review of standard
S7L4! Hope you enjoyed it and i hope you learned lots and be sure to check out
the pictures and videos!!!
(Give it a second for the videos to load)
Copyrights: I got the pictures from google images, and the video from YouTube.com
-Andy Iyabor
Copyrights: I got the pictures from google images, and the video from YouTube.com
-Andy Iyabor
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