Biodiversity and the Gulf of Maine
Focus Questions:
-What populations are changing in the Gulf of Maine? -Why are some populations changing?
-What are the causes and effects of these changes? -What is being done? What can we do?
REVIEW , VOCABULARY, and INTERACTIVE SITES
VOCABULARY DEFINITIONS
PART 1: UNIT DEFINITIONS (words in red need vocab boxes)
BIODIVERSITY- Biological diversity. The variety of living things.
ECOSYSTEM- A specific area where a community of living (biotic) organisms interact with their nonliving (abiotic) surroundings.
BIOTIC- Living things.
ABIOTIC- Nonliving things.
ORGANISM- A living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to function independently.
POPULATION- A group of the SAME KIND of organisms living in the same area.
COMMUNITY- ALL LIVING THINGS in a specific area.
HABITAT- The place or environment where an organism naturally or normally lives and grows.
NICHE- An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or "how it makes its living".
SPECIES- A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.
SCIENTIFIC NAME- The two-part, scientifically recognized name given to an organism, consisting of its genus and species.
Lesson 1: BIODIVERSITY
LEARNING TARGET: I can identify examples of biodiversity and give at least two reasons as to why it is important.
LESSON
Card and String Activity with a reflection on JOURNAL PAGE 1.
Review of the presentation on the right and took notes on JOURNAL PAGE 2.
RESOURCES
Video that shows what we did in the activity: https://youtu.be/Fivc08jK2OE
Website that explains the activity: https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/biodiversity/web-of-life/activity-instructions
2021 biodiversity_presentation pdf.pdf
Lesson 2: BIODIVERSITY and ECOSYSTEMS
LEARNING TARGET: I can describe the biodiversity in an ecosystem.
LESSON
Watch BIODIVERSITY with BN.
ADD NOTES on biodiversity and ecosystems on PAGE 2 of your science journal.
Go to ECOSYSTEMS- NATURE WORKS to see what you can find out about ecosystems. We will do the following activity:
ECOSYSTEM ARTICLE ACTIVITY: Students are broken into small groups. Each group/pair:
Is assigned a part of the article.
Is responsible for picking out the major points in the article and sharing those points with the rest of the class on a shared slideshow linked in CLASSWORK.
Will find a picture online that helps to support their information.
Class members add notes to their ECOSYSTEM section of their page.
CLASSWORK
BILL NYE BIODIVERSITY SHEET
Class shared presentation
Lesson 3: ECOSYSTEM PARTS
LEARNING TARGETS:
Ecosystems are created by the INTERACTIONS of the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) factors (things)!!
An organism interacts with both the LIVING and NONLIVING parts of an ecosystem.
LESSON
ECOSYSTEM PARTS- 15 minutes
Learn about populations and communities.
Watch the Ecology Intro Video
POPULATIONS- All the same kinds of species in a certain area. For example: All of the oak trees around FMS. All of the milkweed by the FMS pond.
COMMUNITY- All of the living things in a certain area.
JOURNAL PAGE 3 INPUT- 30 minutes
SIMPLE ECOSYSTEM: Choose a simple ecosystem in which to focus. (Forest, pond, stream, other.)
DRAW: On the top part of the page: Draw that ecosystem with at least three populations in that ecosystem.
LABEL: Label what type of ecosystem it is. Label the three populations.
DESCRIBE: Below that drawing, describe WHY that picture is an ecosystem AND what the community is in that ecosystem.
HABITAT and NICHE
Definitions
HABITAT- The place where an organism typically lives. Examples: Squirrel habitat- oak tree. Cattail habitat- moist soil, near water. Swampy areas.
NICHE- The job an organism has in an ecosystem. Examples: Beavers build dams. Bees pollinate flowers. Phytoplankton creates oxygen and is a primary food source.
JOURNAL PAGE 3- OUTPUT
Choose one species from your ecosystem. Describe its habitat and niche in that ecosystem.
RESOURCES
Gulf of Maine Knowledge Base: http://www.gulfofmaine.org/kb/2.0/search.html- a catalogue of documents and data sets for the Gulf of Maine watershed.
Maine Department of Marine Resources Interactive Maps- https://www.maine.gov/dmr/science/data-and-maps/interactive-maps-data
Northeast Ocean Data: https://www.northeastoceandata.org/
Welcome to the State of the Gulf of Maine- http://www.gulfofmaine.org/public/state-of-the-gulf-of-maine/#:~:text=It%20is%20recognized%20as%20one,the%20Gulf%20of%20Maine%20watershed.
The Gulf of Maine State of Report 2010- chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/http://www.gulfofmaine.org/state-of-the-gulf/docs/the-gulf-of-maine-in-context.pdf
Eating with the Ecosystem- The Gulf of Maine- https://www.eatingwiththeecosystem.org/gulf-of-maine
GMRI
The Gulf of Maine Explained Series- https://gmri.org/stories/filter/gulf-of-maine-explained/
The Changing Gulf of Maine Image- https://neptune911.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/250332-gulfofmaine1015-2.jpg
Exploring a Unique Biodiversity Hotspot in the Gulf of Maine (2014) https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/exploring-unique-biodiversity-hotspot-gulf-maine
Gulf of Maine: Acadia National Park- https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/gulf-of-maine-acadia.htm
About the Gulf of Maine- http://www.gulfofmaine.org/public/gulf-of-maine-council-on-the-marine-environment/about-the-gulf-of-maine/