Ecology is the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and the non- living environment. It involves trying to figu re out why species look a nd act like they do, and live where they do. What patterns do we see in n ature? Most of the concepts are ve ry easy to understand and apply. Many of them you are probably already familiar with. This packet will be your assignment for this unit, and only one packet will be completed perpair. Choose your partner CAREFUL LY, because there will only be one grade for the finished product. You can work alone, although it will tak e more time. This packet will require in vestigative, indepen dent learning. The answers to the questi ons will not always be easy to fi nd, and often, there is not just one correct answer. Completing this assignment is going to require you to educate yourself about some topics, find your own resources, figure out how to in terpret data, and come to yo ur own conclusions. In essence, you will have to use some of the exact skills required b y ecologists! Your main resources are your book, power poin t notes, and your teach er. However, at times, you wi ll have to use the library and the internet as well. Explore, and have fun! Packet Due Wed February 14th
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Ecology is the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and the non-
living environment. It involves trying to figure out why species look and act like they do, and
live where they do. What patterns do we see in nature? Most of the concepts are very easy tounderstand and apply. Many of them you are probably already familiar with.
This packet will be your assignment for this unit, and only one packet will be completed per
pair. Choose your partner CAREFULLY, because there will only be one grade for the
finished product. You can work alone, although it will take more time.
This packet will require investigative, independent learning. The answers to the questions will
not always be easy to find, and often, there is not just one correct answer. Completing this
assignment is going to require you to educate yourself about some topics, find your own
resources, figure out how to interpret data, and come to your own conclusions. In essence,
you will have to use some of the exact skills required by ecologists! Your main resources are
your book, power point notes, and your teacher. However, at times, you will have to use the
Species are not randomly distributed across the globe. Instead, the characteristics of species are often set by
the climate of the region. As a result, the same (or similar) species tend to appear together over and over again anywhere that climate is found. Scientists have identified seven (sometimes more) distinct biomes,
which are identified by specific species and climatological characteristics. Each biome is found in various
regions across the globe, where these conditions exist. See the map below.
Fill out the table below summarizing the important features of biomes. Average temperature is not included
in the table, because you are probably already familiar with this information.
Biome Location
example
Average
Rainfall
Characteristic
Animals
Characteristic
Plants
Other significan
Characteristics
Tundra
Taiga
Deciduous Forest
Grassland/savanna
Chaparral
Desert
Tropical Rain
forest
In what way are deserts and tundra similar______________________________?
Which biome is most important to preserve, and why?
In the deserts and chaparral of the southwest, there are many species of mice and rats that are primarily seed
eaters. There are five listed below. These species all live in the same habitat, and compete for the same
resources. These mammals are different sizes, and therefore have the ability to eat slightly different sizedfood. The maximum ranges of seed sizes are given, i.e. these are the possible seed sizes they can eat.
Species name Common name Body length (not
inc.tail)
Possible Seed
Range (mm)
Actual seed sizes
consumedDipodomys merriami Merriams kangaroo rat 16cm 0.5 – 10.0
Dipodomys deserti Desert kangaroo rat 20cm 2.0 – 20.0
Peromyscus pallidus Pale pocket mouse 11cm 0.3 – 3.0
Your job is to figure out how these species are going to divide up the food resources in the environment so
that each species gets enough to eat. Once you have figured this out, fill out the last column in the table. Oneway to work this out is to place each species on the range of seed size. In this way, you can look for overlap,
and minimize it. First place the species possible ranges on the first line (below). Then modify these ranges
on the second line to determined actual sizes consumed.
Possible seed size (fundamental niches)
Dipodomys merriamiDipodomys deserti
Peromyscus pallidusPeromyscus maniculatus
Perognathus spinatus
0cm 20cm
Actual seed size (realized niches)
Dipodomys merriamiDipodomys deserti
Peromyscus pallidus
Peromyscus maniculatus
Perognathus spinatus
0cm 20cm
If you have completed this exercise properly, then you will have demonstrated an example of resource
If two species of mice were unable to share the seeds, and both tried to eat the exact same seeds at the same
time (fill the same niche), then what did Gauss suggest would happen?
There are several different predators of these mice. In order to figure out what they are, you will have to learn
something about these mice.
Report your relevant findings below:
Now you should be able to identify at least two predators of these mice.
1. 2.
Dissect an OWL PELLET (Lab 36), and try to identify the prey species inside. Once the lab is completed,
attach it to this packet before turning it in.
Prey species (all types, not just mice) have many different ways that they can avoid predation. List some of
them below. Don’t forget to think about plants as well, because they have to defend themselves against predation too! Also, put an asterisk next to the ones that these mice species might use.
•
•
•
•
•
•
You should now have some idea of the species living in the ecosystem of the mice, and can begin to puttogether a food web. At this point, you should complete the lab on food webs, Lab 38. Before you do this,
make sure that you have a solid understanding of ecological roles (producer, consumer, decomposer) and
trophic levels. When you have finished the lab, attach it to this packet before turning it in.
In the process of completing this lab, you should have learned something about how energy makes its way
through food chains. Ultimately, the amount of organisms that can be supported in an ecosystem, and thenumber of levels possible in a food chain is set by the amount of energy that enters the ecosystem from the
bottom. This leads us to Net Primary Productivity.
For clarification, define NPP below in your own words.
There are several different reasons that you might have found this trend. For example, it might depend upon
several abiotic factors such as average temperature, yearly temperature range (max-min), average amount of precipitation, or the depth and quality of the soil. Below you will find data relating to each of these factors.
You need to use this information to decide which of the following factors seem to be significant in predicting
Which factors are likely to affect NPP?______________________________________
The climate of a given location is determined by the amount of solar radiation that hits that area of the earth.
This, in turn affects temperature and rainfall. If either of these factors is responsible for the trend in NPP, then
you must first be able to explain how these factors vary over latitude (as you have shown NPP does). Showhow SOLAR RADIATION changes over LATITUDE, and use a DIAGRAM of the earth to explain your
point.
Diagram: Explanation:
Now you must explain how solar radiation affects NPP. Carefully describe the connection in a paragraph
below.
In Southern California, we have the incredibly high biodiversity. This is due in large part to the fact that we
have a wide variety of microclimates present in a relatively small geographic area. To understand this, it isnecessary to take a look at the topography of Southern California. The 34o N latitude line transects Southern
California from the ocean to the state border. Draw the topography of Southern California as this imaginary
Now, using this diagram, draw in a warm, moist body of water traveling inland from the ocean. On your diagram, draw in what happens to this body of air as it moves inland. You should be able to predict where the
land will be wet, and where it will be dry. This is called the rain shadow effect.
So, as a rule, you should expect to find ___________areas on the windward side of coastal mountains, and ____________ areas on the leeward side of coastal mountains.
Although there are many forces that change the landscape in Southern California (not the least of which is
human building), one of the most important is fire. Fires are frequent here, and in fact, many species arespecifically adapted to deal well with fire. Before you begin the next project, review the concept of
succession, which is the process by which a community recovers after a disturbance.
Will a fire in chaparral lead to primary or secondary succession? What is the difference between the two?
In order to understand how this ecosystem will respond to a fire, you must understand both succession and the
chaparral biome. Make sure that you are comfortable with both before proceeding.
Make a list of the characteristics of pioneer species (not the a list of the species) you would expect early insuccession after a fire. You should demonstrate both your knowledge of pioneer species (in general) and of
chaparral species (specifically). Think about things like life span, reproductive rate, niche breadth, ranges of
tolerance, etc.
•
•
•
•
•
Now make a list of the characteristics of the climax species you would expect to find 25 years after a fire.
•
•
•
•
•
One of the things that will change over succession is the amount of nutrient cycling taking place. There are 5
important cycles: N, H2O, C, P, S. For each of the five cycles, pick one organism, and one non-living
substance where the nutrient can be found. 1) For the living organism, state how the nutrient is used in theorganism. 2) Discuss how the nutrient transfers from the living organism to the non-living object, or visa