Student Sheet
Name: ______Period: ______
How Different Scientists Research the Same Ecosystem
Procedures:
- Review what an ecosystem is and its parts by answering questions 1 and 2 of the data.
- Use the reading provided to define what each scientist studies.
- Work with a partner or two to brainstorm two other scientists from this same list that could use their research within the same ecosystem. For example, a botanist could use a mineralologist’s research to determine what plants can grow in the soil of a given ecosystem based on the mineral composition.
Data:
- What is an ecosystem?
- What are the different parts of an ecosystem (there are 2)?
- Fill out the chart below using the provided reading.
Types of Scientists / What do these Scientists study? / List two other scientists from this list that could use this scientist’s research in the same ecosystem to help with their own research.
Chemist
Biochemist
Botanist
Mammalogist
Entomologist
Ornithologist
Herpetologist
Ichthyologist
Mineralogist
Volcanologist
Seismologist
Ecologist
Hydrologist
Meteorologist
Analysis:
Pick three of your scientist pairings and describe in detail why you feel that they use each other’s research to further their own within the same ecosystem.
Pairing 1:
Pairing 2:
Pairing 3:
- Why is important to have so many different scientists studying an ecosystem?
- How do these scientists help each other?
- How would each of these scientists study the same ecosystem in similar ways?
- If you could be any scientists what type of scientist would you be and why?
Ecosystem Study Definitions
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms.[1]
Botany, also called plant science(s) or plant biology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology.
Mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermicmetabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous systems.
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and gymnophiona) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras).
Entomology (from Greekἔντομος, entomos, "that which is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented", hence "insect"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology.
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds.
Ichthyology (from Greek: ἰχθύς, ikhthus, "fish"; and λόγος, logos, "study"), also known as Fish Science, is the branch of biology devoted to the study of fishes.
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals.
Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma, and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena.
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere.
Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house"; -λογία, "study of"[A]) is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment, such as the interactions organisms have with each other and with their abiotic environment.
Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability.
Seismology (/saɪzˈmɒlədʒi/; from Greek σεισμός "earthquake" and -λογία "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies.
Chemistry is a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter.