AP Biology Summer Assignment 2015

AP Biology Summer Assignment 2015

Verona High School

Instructor: Mr. Harris

Email:

Congratulations on registering for AP Biology! I look forward to having you next year in what will prove to be a challenging and rewarding class. Your summer assignment is designed to get you involved in scientific fieldwork and analysis, as well as to prepare you for an exam on the ecology unit of your textbook, Biology by Sylvia S. Mader. The exam will take place during the first week of school and cover the information in Part VIII: Behavior and Ecology (pages 818-939). There will be more information too come about this exam and your preparation for it.

To get a head start on the variety of topics covered by the AP exam, I suggest you explore some important resources over the summer. First, buy an AP Biology prep book. Princeton Review, Barron’s, 5 steps to a 5 and Kaplan are all very respected sources. You should also follow the “Bozemanbiology” youtube channel and start watching some of those short videos. These two steps are not part of your summer assignment grade, but they are strongly encouraged.

Your summer assignment is to perform an ecosystem analysis. This will be worth a quiz grade, so it is vital that you complete it to the very best of your ability. Keep in mind that this will be the very first work I see from you, and first impressions go a long way. Feel free to reach out to me via email with any questions or concerns you have over the course of the summer.

Ecosystem Analysis

Fieldwork: Conduct a series of observations in an ecosystem of your choice. Visit your chosen ecosystem at least four times. At each visit, record your observations in a field notebook.

Final products: You will turn in your field notes along with a typed report that responds to all ecosystem analysis questions. Both pieces of work are due on September 4th.

Choosing an ecosystem:

An ecosystem is a biological community plus the non-living environment it inhabits, and it can vary in size. The entire side of a mountain could be considered a single ecosystem, as could a rotting log in the woods. Think toward the smaller end of the scale when picking your site, as a large ecosystem would make the task more time consuming, but consider that choosing an area too small might make certain aspects of the assignment difficult. Think carefully about the analysis questions you will be answering before choosing a site. Your ecosystem can be in a park or forest, on or near a beach or pond, in your own backyard, or literally anywhere else. You could even pick an urban area, but again, think carefully about what you’re being asked to do before choosing a site.

Ecosystem visits:

You will perform a minimum of four 30-minute observations of your ecosystem between now and September 3th, so the area should be readily accessible to you. Ideally, the first observation will happen in June or early July, the second and third from mid-July to early August, and the fourth in the middle of August. This will allow you to gain perspective on any changes that take place at your site over the summer. Performing more than four visits is certainly encouraged, and can increase your grade, as demonstrating a curiosity and interest in what you’re working on is important. In fact, four visits may not provide you with all the data you will need. If summer travel plans conflict with my proposed observation schedule, contact me.

Keeping a field notebook

Each time you visit your site, record the date and time, and make notes about sounds, smells, and sights. Read through the analysis questions below carefully before beginning your work, as this notebook is essentially your place to take the notes you will later write up as your final report. In addition to collecting the notes for your ecosystem analysis, write about anything else that you find interesting. Describe the weather. How might the weather be affecting the ecosystem? Try to figure out how many different birdcalls you hear, and make a note if you hear none. Describe anything that has changed in your ecosystem from the last visit. Be creative and let your observations lead you to ideas of what to log in the notebook, but keep your writing based on observations, not on personal reflection.

There is no required length for each entry, but again, you will need to collect enough data to answer all the ecosystem analysis questions, so your entries cannot be sparse. Feel free to type up your ecosystem log if you prefer, but handwritten, journal-style notes are what is intended for this part of your summer assignment.

Ecosystem Analysis Questions - These are the questions that you will type up as your final report. Include a photo of your ecosystem in this word document.

A. Classify your ecosystem. State where your ecosystem is located (state and town at least) and identify it by name from the list given below, or suggest a different term based on your own research. Your site may likely be a combination of two or more names. Explain what factors led you to the pick the name/s that you did.

- Deciduous forest

- Coniferous forest

- Freshwater ecosystem: stream, river, pond, lake, marsh, swamp, bog, fen

- Shallow ocean

- Beach

- Tidal pool (could be challenging)

- Saltwater marsh

- Estuary

- Field

- Lawn/garden

- Urban

B. Describe the ecosystem. Why did you pick it? How large is the area? What are some of the main elements or features of it? Give a general impression of what plants and animals exist within the ecosystem. What are some of the main factors (natural or man made) you think might affect this ecosystem? Add anything else that you think will give an informative overview of the area you chose.

C. Throughout the summer, compile a list of every living species that inhabits, uses resources from, or simply passes through your ecosystem. I’ve listed several resources at the end of this info packet to assist you with flora and fauna identification.

-  When possible, list the common and scientific name of the species.

-  If applicable, list any non-native plants in your ecosystem. Perform some research to determine if this species is any sort of threat to the other native plants or animals around it.

-  If there are any organisms you fail to identify, describe them (if possible add a photo in the word document), and say who you think they might be related to and why.

D. Describe any evidence of animal presence that you see. This might include scat (droppings), tracks, burrows, markings, etc. See identification resources at the end of this info packet.

E. Describe the niche of three species from your ecosystem. An organism’s niche refers to the resources it uses and how it uses them. Descriptions of niche might include the organism’s range, the food it eats, what eats it, how/where it builds shelter, other organisms it interacts with, etc. While not technically a characteristic of niche, you should also describe behaviors of the organism here. It would be great to draw purely upon observation, but this task will most likely involve your own research about the organisms.

F. Create a realistic food web for your ecosystem, including at least 5-8 species from your ecosystem.

G. Describe any human threats to your ecosystem that are evident to you during your visits. Evaluate how this threat might be affecting plants and animals in your ecosystem. What pollutants, if any, does this threat potentially introduce into your ecosystem? Consider whether any roadways are nearby, which could increase salt levels in the soil, for example. Is there any evidence of an impact on the organisms in the area?

H. Develop a research question to answer with a natural experiment conducted at your ecosystem. A natural experiment is one where the data you collect comes simply from observing nature, rather than doing a controlled experiment in a lab where you carefully set up experimental and control groups.

Think about what type of research question would require an experiment simple enough to accomplish easily but still be interesting. Here are several ideas/examples:

-  Does the number of observable species change as the summer progresses?

-  Does temperature affect the number of insects observed per square meter?

-  Does precipitation affect what the dominant plant species is?

-  At what time of day can the most bird songs be heard?

-  At what time of day are ants most active?

-  Are the leaves of plants in the shade most of the day larger than the leaves of plants in the sun most of the day?

-  Does the phenotype (height, number of flowers, etc) of a plant change the closer it is to a water source?

-  Do more fish feed on insects in the morning or the afternoon?

Write a simple report of your experiment including a null hypothesis, an alternate hypothesis (your hypothesis) and a procedure that describes your methods. Design a data table to record the data you collect and write a conclusion stating whether your hypothesis was supported or refuted

A null hypothesis assumes that there is no difference between the groups you are comparing in your experiment. Lets say my experimental question is “Is the number of earthworms in the soil near the road in my ecosystem different from the number of earthworms in the soil far away from the road?” My hypothesis (sometimes called the alternate hypothesis) might be “The number of worms per square foot of soil increases with distance from the road”. On the other hand, the null hypothesis would state that there is no difference in the number of worms found in the soil in the two locations. In the fall, you will learn a ways to analyze the data you collect in this experiment so that you know whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis. If the null hypothesis is rejected, that means there is some variable that is, in fact, causing a difference between your experimental groups.

In order to be able to do a statistical test on your data in the fall, you will need to have data (duh). So just to be clear, you can keep your report simple over the summer – you do not need to do any statistical analysis – but you do need to have data that we can analyze together in the fall.

If doing a natural experiment proves difficult for you, I will potentially give you permission to do more of a controlled experiment instead (meaning setting up experimental and control groups in more of a lab setting).

Resources for flora and fauna identification (the list below is the tip of the iceberg. Feel free to use any online or print field guides that you find):

NJ Wild Plant information - http://www.njflora.org/

“What Tree Is That? “ Online: http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/whatTree.cfm?ItemID=E6A

Online field guides: http://www.enature.com/home/

Online dichotomous keys: http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Trees

Plant and animal ID: http://www.backyardnature.net/i-ident.htm

There might be some useful information here: http://www2.epa.gov/science-and-technology/ecosystems-science

Unsurprisingly, there are also a ton of smartphone apps that might help you with this project. Check out a long list of them at this url:

http://blog.nwf.org/2011/08/the-best-wildlife-and-nature-iphone-and-android-apps/

Books:

Scat and tracks identification

Scats and Tracks Guide to the Northeast Online: http://books.google.com/books?id=bkxqRjiTYykC&pg=PR35&dq=northeastern+scat+identification&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KXePU6rYJsGeqAbq3oLYDA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Internet center for Wildlife Damage Management (Scat and feces ID): http://icwdm.org/inspection/Scat.aspx

AP Biology Free Response Questions Index

See the complete questions and scoring rubrics here:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/biology/samp.html

3 – Exceeds standard (10pts) / 2 – Meets standard (8pts) / 1 – Below standard (6pts)
Field notebook / Contains more than four entries that show great attention to detail. Includes more than enough information to answer all analysis questions, including observations aligned with the student’s unique interests. / Contains four entries that show some attention to detail. Includes sufficient data to properly address all analysis questions. / Contains fewer than four entries, and/or the entries do not contain enough notes to properly answer all analysis questions.
Grammar and formatting / All analysis questions are answered and additional questions for further research are posed at the end of the report. Grammar is correct. Attached pictures help the reader understand the analysis. Work is properly cited. / All analysis questions are answered. No evidence of plagiarism is present. Grammar or punctuation mistakes are infrequent and aren’t distracting. Attached pictures help the reader understand the analysis. Work is properly cited. / Some answers are incomplete or contain evidence of plagiarism. Grammar and punctuation mistakes are occasionally distracting.
A. Ecosystem classification / The ecosystem is classified correctly and evidence is given for why the ecosystem type was chosen. / The ecosystem is classified correctly and evidence for why is given, but the term is too general. For example, “deciduous forest” instead of “temperate deciduous forest” / The ecosystem is classified correctly but no evidence is given as to why the ecosystem was classified in this way – or – the ecosystem is classified incorrectly.
B. Ecosystem description / The answer is descriptive and detailed. The writing gives a clear picture of the area and describes a range of biotic and abiotic factors. In addition to the question prompts given, the student describes or explains unique features of the chosen area. / The answer is detailed. The writing gives the reader a clear picture of the area and describes a range of biotic and abiotic factors. / The description lacks detail or doesn’t give the reader a good idea of what biotic and abiotic factors affect the ecosystem.
C. Species identification / Nearly all tree species are identified by scientific name. Over ¾ of animal speices are correctly identified. 1-2 examples of scat are identified and/or accounts of invasive species are given / Several tree species are identified by scientific name. Over ½ of the animals observed are correctly identified. / It is apparent that the student did not put forth sufficient effort to identify the species observed by scientific name – or – No plants are identified
E. Three niches / The niches of three organisms in the ecosystem are described in detail and are scientifically accurate. Details of the niche include all of the following: food sources, predators, sheltering behavior, range, climate preferences, and several unique behaviors or adaptations. Shows evidence of research and observation. / The niches of three organisms in the ecosystem are properly described and are scientifically accurate. Details of the niche include most of the following: food sources, predators, sheltering behavior, range, climate preferences, and some unique behaviors or adaptations. Shows evidence of research. / There are fewer than three niches described or the descriptions lack detail or contain scientific inaccuracies or shows no evidence of research.