Ecology Introduction and Vocabulary

As we begin our new unit on Ecology, here are some important links to get us started:

Link to Sciencesaurus Reading:

Click here to access

Link to Ecology Vocabulary
Click here to access
Make a copy, Replace "Copy of" with your last name, and move to your science folder.

This article links to the food chain that we completed today in class.  It also discusses the idea of invasive species and their impact to an ecosystem in Maine.

Tackling Maine's Pike Problem - Portland Press Herald

Click here to access the article

Videos on Food Chains

Food Chain Game

Click here to access

Further articles that have links to invasive species and food chains in the State of Maine.

Portland Press Herald

and

Bangor Daily News

Pike Portland Press Herald Article
Troubled Waters for Wild Brook Trout
Click here to access questions


Read and and pay close attention authors view points. 
Portland Press Herald Article.

Mayday Gulf of Maine in Distress

Click here to access

Trophic Cascades and the Wolves of Yellowstone

Introduction to Ecosystems

NGSS Standards:

MS-LS2.A.2 ( Middle School Life Sciences ): Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.

MS-LS2.A.3 ( Middle School Life Sciences ): In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction.

MS-LS2.B.1 ( Middle School Life Sciences ): Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. 

MS-LS2.C.1 ( Middle School Life Sciences ): Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.

How the Wolves Changed the Rivers

Link to Worksheet - Click here to access.

Another link to PBS Documentary on the Wolves of Yellowstone.

Ideas to consider:

1. What is a biotic factor vs an abiotic factor?

2. What is a trophic cascade?

3. How does one organism impact another?