Challenge Requirements:

• Photograph of organism from our outdoor learning space

• Scientific name

• Range of their habitat - where are they found? Are they local or invasive?

• Role in the environment - is it a producer or consumer? How does it relate to other organisms in the environment?

• Life cycle - how does this organism reproduce?

• Interesting fact - does this organism migrate? Is it only found in NC? Was it brought from somewhere else?

• Adaptations - how is this organism adapted to its environment?

NC Bio Standards

Bio.2.1.1 Analyze the flow of energy and cycling of matter (water, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen) through ecosystems relating the significance of each to maintaining the health and sustainability of an ecosystem.

Bio.2.1.2 Analyze the survival and reproductive success of organisms in terms of behavioral, structural, and reproductive adaptations

Bio.2.1.3 Explain various ways organisms interact with each other (including predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism) and with their environments resulting in stability within ecosystems.

Bio.2.1.4 Explain why ecosystems can be relatively stable over hundreds or thousands of years, even though populations may fluctuate (emphasizing availability of food, availability of shelter, number of predators and disease).