Day 9- Design an Ecosystem
DESIGNING YOUR OWN ECOSYSTEM
In this project you and your group will be creating a unique ecosystem that shows the biotic factors and abiotic factors that interact to form the ecosystem. You will show the feeding relationships between organisms in the ecosystem by making a food web. In addition, you will also specifically describe an organism at each trophic level that lives in your ecosystem. You will have class time to work on the project as a group, but you will need to use some out of class time also. You will give an oral presentation of your ecosystem to the class on Day 11.Your grade will consist of a group grade (ecosystem info, food web info, & choosing 4 organisms from different trophic levels = 35 pts) and an individual grade (presentation of your organism = 20 pts).
ECOSYSTEM REQUIREMETNS:
FOOD WEB REQUIREMENTS
CHOOSE ONE ORGANISM FROM EACH TROPHIC LEVEL & DESCRIBE:--EACH STUDENT SHOULD HAVE ONE ORGANISM
FINAL END PRODUCT OF THE PROJECT
In this project you and your group will be creating a unique ecosystem that shows the biotic factors and abiotic factors that interact to form the ecosystem. You will show the feeding relationships between organisms in the ecosystem by making a food web. In addition, you will also specifically describe an organism at each trophic level that lives in your ecosystem. You will have class time to work on the project as a group, but you will need to use some out of class time also. You will give an oral presentation of your ecosystem to the class on Day 11.Your grade will consist of a group grade (ecosystem info, food web info, & choosing 4 organisms from different trophic levels = 35 pts) and an individual grade (presentation of your organism = 20 pts).
ECOSYSTEM REQUIREMETNS:
- Location – where is it located? (underwater, on a mountain, in the jungle, in a desert, on another planet, etc.)
- Living Community – create imaginary (organisms must be imaginary) organisms to inhabit your ecosystem. Must have organisms from each of the following trophic levels (give population size of each level): please don’t forget your information about the energy pyramid
- Producers
- Primary Consumers
- Secondary & Higher Consumers
- Decomposers
- Abiotic Factors – (non-living factors) describe climate (temperature, precipitation, seasons, amount of sunlight, etc) and surface conditions (soil texture, amount of water, vegetation, atmosphere, etc)
FOOD WEB REQUIREMENTS
- Create a food web for your community of organisms that shows the interactions between the producers, primary consumers, secondary & higher consumers, and decomposers.
CHOOSE ONE ORGANISM FROM EACH TROPHIC LEVEL & DESCRIBE:--EACH STUDENT SHOULD HAVE ONE ORGANISM
- Trophic level (give trophic level & tell what it eats in the ecosystem)
- Name of organism
- Population size of the species
- Niche and Habitat (what does it do & where exactly does it live – how does it fit into your ecosystem – how does it interact with others)
- How is it suited to its environment? (adaptations it has for the physical conditions of the environment)
- Reproduction – sexual or asexual reproduction. Does it require a special nesting site or is there another organism that helps to pollinate it or spread seeds, etc.
- ** You will make a drawing of your organism OR make a 3D model of your organism OR create your organism using the computer.
FINAL END PRODUCT OF THE PROJECT
- Oral Presentation of your ecosystem: be prepared to describe your ecosystem, explain your food web, and describe the four specific organisms.
- Poster showing a drawing of your ecosystem ---or presentation using the computer
- Poster of your food web
- Each student should be turning in a short 2 paragraph narrative describing their organism including trophic level, name, population size, niche & habitat, suited to environment, and type of reproduction.