Ecological Niches (Joy Batty)
Title: Which Niche is Which?
Principle(s) Investigated: Every Ecosystem is made up of organisms that interact with each other and perform certain duties within the community.
Standards: MS-LS2-2 : Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Materials:
1) Laptops
2) Cards with a different Ecosystems written on it.
3) Google Slides
Procedure:
1) Start by having the students answer the first 3 Quickwrite questions. Use a stopwatch to give them 3 minutes to work. (3-4 minutes)
2) Go over the answers and build a community with the list of jobs given from the students. (3-5 Minutes)
3) Define what a Niche is. (5 Minutes)
4) Get the students into groups of 3-4. Give them an Ecosystem card. (1 Minute)
5) Have students list 10 organisms in that Ecosystem. The list must include one organism of a Consumer, Producer, Predator, and Decomposer. Students can use the internet or outside resources for help. (3-4 Minutes)
6) Have the students answer the same 3 Quickwrite questions but this time regarding their organisms. (5 Minutes)
7) If there is time you can have each student create a Help Wanted Ad listing a job for one of their organisms using Google Slides (5-10 Minutes)
Student prior knowledge:
- Students must already have learned about the different types of Ecosystems: Grassland, Tundra, Forest, Desert, Marine, and Freshwater.
- Students should already know about the different roles organisms play in an Ecosystem: Producers, Consumers, Predators, and Decomposers.
Explanation:
Students will make analogies between roles in their community to the roles of organisms in a certain Ecosystem. It is important that the students understand that organisms interact with each other to build a community. Students should be able to understand that there are patterns of interactions and roles within each Ecosystem. `
Questions & Answers: Give three thought-provoking questions and provide detailed answers.
Q: Can a different species with the same role occupy the same niche?
A: The species will occupy a different niche (Niche Partitioning & Competitive Exclusion Principle)
Q: What defines a community in an Ecosystem?
A: All of the different species that live and interact with each other in an Ecosystem.
Q: Can an organism fill different niches at once?
A:
Applications to Everyday Life: Explain (don't just list) three instances where this principle can be used to explain other phenomenon.
The principles discussed could explain:
1) Students will have had more practice making patterns and analogies which can be applied to many topics throughout their academic career.
2) The relationship that species have with each other. Such as the different types of symbioses.
3) Some species would have a much larger niche if it were not for another species out competing them (Realized or Fundamental Niche).
4) In order to coexist some species will use a habitat differently. This could include living at different parts of a tree (Niche Partitioning).
Photographs: Include photos and diagrams that illustrate the how the investigation is performed.
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Videos: Include a video of your investigation
IMPORTANT NOTE: Embed a Youtube Video that illustrates the procedure and results. This video should reside in your YouTube account and should be viewable by all. You may use a video in another persons YouTube channel if the video is better quality than what you can make.