Name:
Ecosystem Organization
Biological Organization:
1. What is the most basic living level that makes up all of life?
2. Review Question! What are the 7 major characteristics of life?
3. Using Model 1 and 2, label the levels of organization that make up an organism.
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4. Why does Model 1 look the way it does?
5. Why does Model 2 look the way it does?
6. Which levels on Model 1 and 2 are not living?
7. Review Question! What are the 4 different kinds of biological molecules?
8. Give an example of different types of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems that make up you.
9. What are biotic factors that can affect a community?
10. What are abiotic factors? Give examples of abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
11. What is the difference between an ecosystem and biome?
12. What are the different levels of the biosphere?
Biomes:
MODEL 1 - Biomes of North America: Average Precipitation and Temperature
1. According to model 1, which two biomes have the same amount of rainfall?
2. Which biome in Model 1 has the most rainfall?
3. Which biome has the highest average temperature?
4. Which two biomes have nearly the same average temperature?
5. What are the three of forests shown in Model 1.
6. What is another name for the coniferous forest?
7. What characteristic differentiates the tundra and the desert?
8. Why might the tundra be known as the “frozen desert”?
9. What might be the major reason for why grasslands have grass rather than trees as their dominant plant species?
10. Describe the relationship between temperature, rainfall, and the type of forest.
MODEL 2 - Plant and Animal Species in North American Biomes
The six bars in Model 2 represent the six North American biomes introduced in Model 1, and include a list of some plants and animals typically found in each biome.
11. What information is represented by the x-axis in Model 2?
12. What information is represented by the y-axis in Model 2?
13. How might the y-axis information in Model 2 be related to one of the data axes in Model 1?
14. Identify each of the six biomes found in North America on the map below. Average rainfall data is given to help you choose between biomes in the same latitude region.
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15. What biome do you currently reside in?
16. Use information from Model 1 and the map in Question 10 to label the six biomes in the chart in Model 2.
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17. Using Model 2, which latitude region contains the fewest number of species?
18. Using Model 2, list the biome(s) found in this latitudinal region.
19. Using Model 2, which latitudinal region contains the largest number of species?
20. Using Model 2, list the biome(s) found in this latitudinal region.
21. Biodiversity is a term used to describe the variety of plant and animal species in a given biome. An ecosystem or biome that supports a large variety of species is very biodiverse. What biome in North America has the highest biodiversity?
22. What characteristics of the biome above enables it to support such high levels of biodiversity?
23. What biome in North America has the lowers biodiversity?
24. What characteristics of this biome make it difficult for a high level of biodiversity to develop?
25. What is the general trend of biodiversity in biomes as the latitude moves from the arctic region towards the equator?
26. The grasslands biome is considered the “breadbasket” of our country because it is a hub of agricultural activities, particularly grain farming (wheat, corn, rye, oats, etc.). Much of the U.S. animal farming and meat production also occurs here, since the animals are often grain-fed. Recent climate change models suggest that as the planet warms, rainfall in this region will drop and temperatures will rise.
What characteristics of the grasslands biome make it a critical source of food for the U.S. and other countries?
27. If rainfall in the grasslands biome does decrease as the climate change model suggests, to what type of biome would the grasslands biome convert?
28. Assume that the climate change model accurately predicts the change to this biome over the next 50 years. What results would this have on our country’s ability to support its people?
29. One of today’s most serious environmental problems is the dramatic loss of the tropical rainforest through deforestation. Explain, using the information from this activity and outside sources, how deforestation is resulting in devastating consequences for our environment.
Pyramid of Energy:
Using the information from Model Ecosystems Virtual Lab, answer the following questions.
MODEL 1 - Pyramid of Energy
1. What ecosystem did you construct for the Model Ecosystems Virtual Lab?
2. What is the source of all energy in the pyramid?
3. Each level in the pyramid in Model 1 is a trophic level. The word “trophic” refers to feeding or nutrition. Label the trophic levels in Model 1 with the following: primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers. Next to each include an organism from the virtual lab that matches the first label.
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4. After successfully building the pyramid in the virtual lab, you will be able to click on the “Pyramid of Numbers” and “Pyramid of Energy” button. Please record the data to match where the pyramid in Model 1.
Pyramid of Numbers
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Pyramid of Energy
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5. Add up the total number of energy from the pyramid in the virtual lab.
6. Which level contains the highest level of energy?
7. Review Question! By what process do these organisms harness this energy? Write the equation that goes along with this process.
8. Describe how consumers in one level of the pyramid obtain energy from the organisms at the previous level of the pyramid.
9. As energy is transferred from producer to primary consumer, how much energy is passed on?
10. What percentage of energy absorbed by the producers is not passed on to the primary consumers?
11. What percentage of energy is passed on from primary consumer to secondary consumer?
12. What percentage of energy is passed on from secondary consumer to tertiary consumer?
13. Where does the energy that does not get passed on to the next level go to?
14. Explain why an energy pyramid in any ecosystem is limited to four or five levels only.
15. Propose an explanation for why populations of top carnivores are always smaller than the populations of herbivores.