“Who Fits Mystery Game” Split ($10.00)
This desert is just right for two: Working with a partner pick five ecosystems from the ones listed below, research about your ecosystems and learn about some of the characteristics of the organisms that live there, including adaptations of these plants and animals that enable them to survive in that environment. Ecosystems: Desert, Tundra, Estuary, Rainforest, Tiaga, Deep Ocean vent, Coral Reef, Decidious Forest, Savannah
Take a piece of poster board and divide it into five sections. Use each section to illustrate the characteristic vegetation, terrain, and other key characteristics of this ecosystem. Make sure your illustrations are neat.
You should then pick five organisms from each ecosystem, and put a description of the animal's adaptations to its environment on one side of the card, and a key code on that other side (so the players can identify the right animal later). Cards should describe adaptions that enable the animals to survive in the ecosystem.
An Example: “Hunts at night for warm rodents and sleeping birds; can climb loose, sloping sand by through loops of its body like coils.” (Side winder rattler)
These 25 cards will be shuffled, and your gamers will need to match the correct card with the correct ecosystem.
“Gator Aid”
Read through “The Big Cypress Swamp”. Create a food web for a swamp, as described in the reading. Make sure you draw each of the components of the food web, and indicate the flow of energy through the ecosystem.
Then complete the pages “Gator Hole Graphics”. First graph the data provided, then answer the questions.
The Big Cypress Swamp
Water is probably the first word that comes to mind when you think about wetlands. But in some swamps, water periodically becomes as hard to find as it is in some deserts. In this activity you will see how animals adapt to the seasonal lack of water in Florida's Big Cypress Swamp.
The Big Cypress Swamp covers an area of about 2000 square miles (5200 km²) in southern Florida on the western edge of the Everglades. The area supports a large variety of life. Swamps are wetlands that are dominated by shrubs or trees. They are usually saturated with water during the growing season, but may dry out later in the year. Swamps can have anywhere from a few inches to a foot or more of water. In the southern swamps, the forests are made up of such trees as water oak, tupelo, and bald cypress. You will also find water willow, pussy willow, leather leaf, inkberry and button bush growing in the mucky soil.
Covering more than 2,400 square miles of South Florida, the name Big Cypress refers to the vastness of the area, not the size of trees found there. Much like in the river of grass, almost 60 inches of wet-season rains fall from May to October, filling the sloughs and flooding the surface of Big Cypress.
The main drainage ways in Big Cypress are the big sloughs that hold the deepest water. With names like Fakahatchee and Gator Hook, these densely forested strands once held giant cypress trees that were cut during the 1930s and 1940s to build stadium seats and pickle barrels.
The dark, humid environment of the bigger and deeper sloughs is perfect for the growth of rare orchids, like the ghost orchid (Polyradicion lindleyii). The frog-shaped flower of the ghost orchid is pollinated by the giant sphinx moth (Cocytius antaeus medor). The larvae of the giant sphinx moth in turn feed exclusively on the leaves of pond apple trees. And so it goes.
In the dry season, after most of the water has drained off the land, the wildlife gathers at the remaining pools. White-tailed deer, wild turkey (Meleagris gallopano), bears, wild hogs, Everglades mink (Mustela vison), and otters have to move closer together. Gars, largemouth bass, bream, bluegill, and snapping turtles gather beneath herons and ibis perched in the trees above.
Even the water is alive with a world of miniature aquatic creatures. Copepods, waterfleas, grass shrimp, and mosquito larvae are part of a busy food web that will eventually feed larger fish and birds. Here mosquito larvae is eaten by the gambusia minnow, which is eaten by various sunfish, which are eaten by great blue herons, Anhingas, and snapping turtles.
Other parts of the web are more restrictive, such as the endangered snail kite, which feeds its chicks only the meat of the freshwater apple snail. The formula is simple: no water, no snails; no snails, no snail kites.
The Big Cypress Swamp also houses the southernmost colony of red-cockaded woodpeckers. These cavity-nesters require mature pine trees in which to drill their homes.
Rare Florida panthers are also known to roam Big Cypress, but are seldom seen. Bobcats are much more common and are more commonly seen. Even black bears are far more common than panthers, but seeing one in the daytime is unusual.
The evening bat (Nycticeius hymeralis) has also been spotted in Big Cypress. Look for it in flight around sunset. Several species of venomous snakes, including the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, dusky pigmy rattlesnake, cottonmouth moccasin and coral snake, reside in the preserve, along with numerous other less dangerous species.
In the late 1960's, a scientist names Dr Jim Kushlan decided to study how the changing seasons in the Big Cypress affected the animals that lived there. Below are a list of things he observed:
l There is usually a six-month period each year when the average monthly rainfall is very low. During this dry season, the shallow sheet of water that usually covers the swamp disappears, leaving only isolated ponds and a few large bodies of water.
l Many speicies of fish, bireds, reptiles and mammals rely on the larger and deeper bodies of water, such as lakes and canals, to survive the dry season.
l Ponds scattered throught the swamp also attract large numbers of wildlife. These ponds are called alligator ponds, or 'Gator holes', because each is usually occupied by an adult female alligator. Many of these ponds are created when an alligator digs a den in the swamp ground. And in times of severe drought, when even the water in the gator holes has dried up, alligators sometimes dig deeper into the ground to reach the water below the surface.
l Gator holes have few water plants growing in them. By dragging their heavy bodies through the ponds, gators enlarge the ponds and keep the water vegetation from growing.
l Gator holes are great habitats for fish. And fish provide food for wading birds, reptiles, and mammals. Gators do not purposefully create and maintain these holes to keep other animals alive. Due to their normal habits, gators create this open-water habitat that helps other kinds of animals survive the dry season.
The data below is a brief summary of what Dr. Kushlan learned in his research. Create a series of graphs that will help you answer the attached questions.
Month / Average Rainfall (inches) / Water Depth in Gator Holes (in) Level of swamp bottom = 31 feet / Number of fish in Gator holes / Number of gators in gator holes / Number of fish species in gator holesJanuary / 1.5 / 44 / 25,000 / 1 / 4
February / 2 / 40 / 50,000 / 1 / 4
March / 2.25 / 34 / 75,000 / 3 / 6
April / 2.5 / 29 / 190,000 / 15 / 10
May / 5.5 / 36 / 25,000 / 1 / 6
June / 9.5 / 38 / 25,000 / 1 / 4
July / 7.5 / 40 / 25,000 / 1 / 4
August / 7 / 44 / 25,000 / 1 / 4
September / 7.5 / 48 / 25,000 / 1 / 4
October / 5 / 50 / 25,000 / 1 / 4
November / 1.75 / 52 / 40,000 / 1 / 4
December / 1 / 48 / 40,000 / 1 / 4
Questions (answer on a separate piece of paper):
1. Which months had the highest average rain fall? In which month(s) does the dry season occur?
2. During Which month did the water in the gator hole become lower than the surrounding ground?
3. In which month was the number of fish in the gator hole highest?
4. Did the greatest number of fish species occur in the gator hole during the wet or dry season?
5. Between which two month did the fish population decrease the most?
6. According o the graphs, the greatest number of alligators lived in the gator hole when the water depth reached 50 inches.
7. The fish population in the gator hole reached a peak when the ater depth in the pond was at what level?
8. Raccoons, river otters, and many kinds of wading birds eat fish. Would you expect the numbers of these animals around the gator hole to increase or decrease during the dry season?
9. The wood stork, a fish=eating bird that lives in the Big Cypress Swamp, will not lay eggs in the years with very heavy rainfall. Why might this happen? Use the following information to form your answer:
l Wood storks nest high about the ground in the branches of the bald cypress trees
l Wood storks do not catch fish by looking for them – they feel for them. With their long beaks halfway open, the birds grope in the water for fish. When they tough their prey, their beaks instantly nap shut.
l To feed their young the parents take turns flying to ponds, where they catch and swallow a large amounts of fish. then the adult flies back and regurgitates the partly digested fish into the nest for they young to eat. Until the babies are old enough to defend themselves, one parent always remains at the nest.
10. If the least rain fell in December, why was the level of water in the gator hole lowest in April?
“Kids Discover: Ecology” Mini-bites
Choose One of the following:
1. Read through “Kids Discover: Ecology”. Make a biome map of North America (see Mrs Brackett for a copy of the map). On a large piece of paper or on your computer create a display that illustrates the following characteristics for each biome: Temperature (high/low and average), Rainfall (high/low and average), seasonal changes, Longitude and latitude (range), where else in the world this biome is located, and characteristic vegetation .
2. Read through “Kids Discover: Ecology”. Create a shape poem that illustrates the food web/ trophic levels for a land ecosystem and an aquatic ecosystem from the following: Aquatic: pond, coral reef, thermal vent (deep ocean), wetland. Land: tundra, deciduous forest, desert, savanah. Use http://www.mbgnet.net/ to provide additional information.
3. Read through “Kids Discover: Ecology”. Research 10 species that have become extinct within the last 100 years or are endangered today. Using a graphic organizer, explain the similarities between all these species. (Why did they go extinct? What are the threats against them? What is or has been done to save them?)
Invasive Tidbits
Read one of the following sections in “The Natural Inquirer” and answer the questions in the green boxes as you read.
1. Knocked out by Trout (pg 26 – 34). This is an article about the impact of introducing a non-native species to an ecosystem. As you read, answer the questions in the green boxes. Be sure to throughly explain your thinking. When you are done the reading, answer the question: Should trout continue to be stocked in the fishless lakes of the Sierra Nevadas? Make sure you use the evidence in the article to support your decision.
2. Goll-ly! Don't Take the Knapweed! (pg 58 – 67). This article addresses unintended changes in the behavior of the deer mouse. Answer the questions in the green box as you read, then complete the activity on page 66: Factivity.
Food Web Chili
Task:
Review: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/organisms_behaviour_health/food_chains/activity.shtml
1. Design a poster/ glogster showing all components of a food web. Use different organisms than the ones in the activity
2. Label each organism with it’s name, it’s classification of diet, and it’s classification of how it gets energy.
3. On one side of the poster make a chart showing how all organisms would be affected if each of the links in the food web disappeared.
4. Now research: Why did the American Bald eagle become endangered? Draw a food web that explains how the eagles became so scarce. With the current problems of mosquitoes carrying West Nile, EEE, and other diseases, and the infestation of bedbugs in many cities, DDT is once again being mentioned as a way to control insects. Using what you know about food webs, make a decision about whether we should return to using a broad based pesticide like DDT. Support your decision with evidence.
FOOD WEB: 30%
Poster is well designed (title, labels, chart)
All organisms have 3 labels
Drawings are well drawn
Drawings are colored
Finished on time
CHART 30%
Chart is well designed to give needed information
Chart addresses the loss of each and every organism in the chain
Chart is done neatly and easy to read
RESEARCH: 40%
l Food web provides needed information
l Food web is neat and clear
l Explains the problem with DDT and eagles
l Reasoning to support position on DDT is clearly reasoned.
Adaptation Ambrosia
Problem
Design and build a new organism and it’s habitat, explain it’s habitat, adaptations it has to live in this environment and it’s niche (job).
2. Pick an ecosystem. What are the challenges that organisms who live there face? Think about climate, precipitation seasonal variations, etc.
l Find out about some organisms that live there now. Draw a food web for this ecosystem, being sure to include specific organism.