Vocabulary
Reading Models
Ecosystem Stability
Better Together
100
The amount of different living things in an area
Biodiversity
100
Describe what is being shown in this graph tracking Wildebeest population
They reach their carrying capacity by 1980
100
Name three different factors that an organism requires in order to be successful in its ecosystem
Food, space, water, mates, etc. There can be more answers.
100
What is a benefit of herding behavior in animals?
It gives better success for survival when hunting or surviving an attack from a predator.
200
The maximum amount of organisms that can be supported by the ecosystem
Carrying Capacity
200
At what month in the year would you expect to find the most Wildebeest in this location? Why?
April, there is more rainfall so there will be more grass for the Wildebeest
200
What is a disturbance that can impact the stability of an ecosystem in a negative way?
Disease, wildfires, floods, drought, disasters etc. There can be other answers.
200
Tigers do not hunt with a pack, they choose to hunt alone. What would be a trade off of hunting on their own? (pro and con)
They can be more stealthy when hunting, but they may have a harder time taking down a large prey animal.
300
Limiting Factor
A living or non-living thing in the ecosystem that can prevent a population from growing past a certain point
300
This graph shows the change in Thomson Gazelle over a number of years. In 2003, what would we expect to see happen to the population of the African Wild Dog, one of their predators?
Their population will decrease, they will not have enough food to grow the population.
300
A student reads an article that describes how Zebra Mussels are not from the United States, but can be found in the waters all around Long Island. According to the article, the mussels made it to New York in water found in cargo ships that was dumped along the coast.
What is one way humans can change their behavior to limit the amount of Zebra Mussels making it to New York?
Dump water further out to sea, build new ships that do not require us to dump water, etc.
300
How does a small group of Hyena (3) manage to take down Wildebeest in a massive herd (100,000)?
They target the smallest, weakest, oldest or sickest Wildebeest.
400
Ecosystem
The living and non living aspects of an environment and how the all work together with one another
400
In this model related to an animal found in the Serengeti, what are the arrows representing?
The arrows are the migration of the Wildebeest over time
400
Within the US there is a national park called Yellowstone. It is protected space where a lot of research on organisms are done. Researchers following the population data on Coyotes in the park start to notice that over the past few years the population has been decreasing.
What is a human impact within the park that could be decreasing the Coyote population?
Littering in the park could lower the rabbit population which would lower the Coyote population. There can be poaching of coyotes. Locals may be hunting or killing a food source of the Coyote for their own food.
500
Keystone species, for example the Wildebeest in the Serengeti
An important species in an area that has connections to many different parts of the ecosystem. Changes to this population can change the entire ecosystem.
500
If we wanted to add a predator to this model, how would we represent lions. (Draw this model and add to it to show the lions)
Lions do not travel with the Wildebeest herd, there should be set locations on the map where the prides live.
500
A student reading data on the amount of deer on Long Island makes a claim that car accidents with deer is a limiting factor for their population. What data would you need as evidence to prove this is true or false?
Total population numbers of deer over the past few years along with the number of deer killed by cars.
500
What is a benefit of social behavior (communities) in humans?
Answers will vary, but can include: being able to share goods and services, specializing in certain topics or subjects, or allowing for people to spread to different environments in different parts of the planet and still be successful.