2.5 Investigating Ecosystems

2.5 Species & Populations NOTES

Significant Ideas:

• The description and investigation of ecosystems allows for comparisons to be made between different ecosystems and for them to be monitored, modeled, and evaluated over time, measuring both natural change and human impacts.

• Ecosystems can be better understood through the investigation and quantification of their components.

Applications & Skills:

• Design and carry out ecological investigations.

• Construct simple identification keys for up to eight species.

• Evaluate sampling strategies.

• Evaluate methods to measure at least three abiotic factors in an ecosystem.

• Evaluate methods to investigate the change along an environmental gradient and the effect of a human impact in an ecosystem.

• Evaluate methods for estimating biomass at different trophic levels in an ecosystem.

• Evaluate methods for measuring or estimating populations of motile and nonmotile organisms.

• Calculate and interpret data for species richness and diversity.

• Draw graphs to illustrate species diversity in a community over time, or between communities.