Your group will be assigned one of the biomes below and you will conduct research:

1. Desert

2. Tropical Rainforest

3. Grassland/ Savannah

4. Tundra

5. Taiga

6. Deciduous Forest

7. Marine- Ocean

8. Freshwater- Lake/River

What do you need to research?

1. Where is your biome located in the world?

2. What is the climate?

3. What is the annual rainfall?

4. What kind of plants are in the biome?

5. What animals live in the biome?

6. How do humans survive in this biome?

7. Any dangerous elements to the biome?

Resources

Biomes - Missouri Botanical Gardens
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/

The World's Biomes
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/

Biomes of the World
http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/biomes/biomes.html

Introduction to Biomes
http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.html

Biomes in Life

http://www.eniscuola.net/en/materie/ecosystems/

Ecosystem and All Ecology Review

http://eschooltoday.com/ecosystems/what-is-an-ecosystem.html

National Geographic Videos for Each Biome

Part 2- Levels of Organization

You learned about the levels of organization in class. Give an example of the levels in relation to your biome.

Resource:

http://eschooltoday.com/ecosystems/levels-of-organisation-in-an-ecosystem.html

Food Chains (5)

List the organisms for each topic:

Producers=

Carnivores=

Herbivores=

Omnivores=

Detrivores(Scavengers)=

Decomposers=

1. You will create 5 food chains that use plants, animals, fungi, protists, or bacteria that are included in your assigned biome.

2. Food chains must contain 3-4 trophic levels.

3. All organisms must be labels producer or level of consumer and what type of consumer(herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, or decomposer)

Food Web (1)

You must create a food web using the food chains you created and make sure to label them the same way you labeled your food chains.

Energy Pyramids (4)

1. You will create 4 energy pyramids using the 4 of the food chains you created.

2. They must be labeled and include arrows and percentages showing energy transferred from one level to the next.

Resources:

Energy Transfer Notes

http://www.mmscrusaders.com/newscirocks/ecology/ecoenrg.htm

Interactive lab simulation for Energy Transfer

http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/interactives/ecology/

Energy Video

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-guide-to-the-energy-of-the-earth-joshua-m-sneideman

Research and explain an example of each relationship in your biome. Include pictures.

1. Parasitism- parasite and host

2. Commensalism

3. Mutualism

4. Predation- predator/prey

Resources

Symbiosis Explanation

http://w3.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/symbiosis.htm

Mutualism Video

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-bees-help-plants-have-sex-fernanda-s-valdovinos

Symbiosis Video

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/symbiosis-a-surprising-tale-of-species-cooperation

Symbiosis in Desert

http://desertbiomepro.weebly.com/symbioticcompetitive-relationships.html

Symbiosis Taiga

http://whatisthetaigabiome.weebly.com/symbiotic-relationships.html

Symbiosis Tundra

http://whatisthetaigabiome.weebly.com/symbiotic-relationships.html

Symbiosis in grasslands

http://zaneandjackproject.weebly.com/symbiotic-relationships.html

Symbiosis in Freshwater Biome

http://thefreshwaterbiome.weebly.com/symbiosis-for-freshwater-biomes.html

You will relate what we learned about population ecology to your assigned biome.

Include the following information:

1. Abiotic Factors

2. Biotic Factors

3. Examples of r-strategists- small organisms that have short lives and make many offspring

4. Examples of k-strategists- large organisms that have long lives and small amount of young

Resources:

Population Ecology Overview- Click on links at bottom to learn

http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/population-ecology-13228167

Interactive Game

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/population-ecology.html

Population ecology reading

https://www.skitsap.wednet.edu/cms/lib/WA01000495/Centricity/Domain/1230/4.1%20Reading%20Essentials.pdf

You will relate what we learned about primary and secondary succession to your assigned biome.

1. Give an example with pictures of how primary or secondary succession has occurred in your biome and explain.

Resources:

Succession Video

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-wildfires-are-necessary-jim-schulz

Succession Website

http://www.eniscuola.net/en/argomento/what-is-an-ecosystem/terrestrial-biomes/the-ecological-succession/

Tundra Succession

http://tundrabiomeexplaination.weebly.com/soil-profile-and-succession.html

Succession Examples

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/biomes/succession.html

Succession and Biomes

http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/biol106h/L33/L33_success.html

Succession Marine Biome

http://marineandthedolphins.weebly.com/succession.html

You need to research how your biome is affected naturally or by human intervention negatively. What is the ecological disruption?

1. Research and explain how your biome has been affected by environmental change or environmental disruptions. This is an event that has occurred or is currently happening that affected your environment negatively.

Examples that can relate to your biome:

Resources:

Ecological Footprint

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/alex-steffen-sees-a-sustainable-future

Beauty of Forests Video

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-networked-beauty-of-forests-suzanne-simard

Ecological Disruptions

http://www.biology-online.org/articles/environmental_social_influences_emerging/6_ecological_disruptions.html

AP Biology

Ecological Restoration Plan of Action

What can we do to help your Biome and create a plan that people across the world can do to help make a difference?

Click here for example on where to start

You will create a product to present to the class on April 12-13 about your biome and the different sections you created.

What can you create?

1. Poster board

2. Power Point

3. Brochure and I can make a copy for the whole class- Microsoft Publisher

4. Newsletter- www.smore.com

5. Prezi- www.prezi.com

6. Video

7. Create a weebly webpage - www.weebly.com

8. If you can think of an alternate, I need to approve it.

Access to library databases: username-sisd password- library

http://galesites.com/portal/sisd/j071909001

Use-

Student Resources - very broad yet easy to use database.

Science in Context - Very specific and at a higher level of terminology

Greenr - which is about going green

Britannica - go to World Atlas and this has an icon that you click on the little man on the bottom right hand corner. You can drop him and have a visual of that region.

Read - Biomes and Ecosystems - http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/ecosystems.html Book online with 3 reading levels

Earth Floor: Biomes - http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html

NASA - Mission Biomes - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/

BluePlanet Biomes - http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm

CyberZoo Biome Resources - http://lsb.syr.edu/projects/cyberzoo/biome.html

The World's Biomes - http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php

Earth Observatory - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/Biome/

NatureWorks - Habitats http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep5.htm

Introduction to Biomes - https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/

Biomes - http://ths.sps.lane.edu/biomes/index1.html

Build-A-Prairie http://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/games/prairie/build/

The Digital Desert - http://ddl.nmsu.edu/kids/

Biomes of the World -http://www.mbgnet.net/

Habitats and Ecosystems http://www.fi.edu/tfi/units/life/habitat/habitat.html

World Biomes - http://www.worldbiomes.com/default.htm

Kids Do Eology - http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/

Eduscapes - http://eduscapes.com/nature/index.htm

World Biomes - http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/biomes/index.html

Email: cavila@sisd.net
Twitter: @CAvila_SHS