Building off of our understanding of food webs and symbiosis, students analyze population graphs to understand relationships between the biotic and abiotic parts of the ecosystem.
Power standard: Provide evidence that disruptions to an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations
State standard: 7.MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of periods of abundant and scarce resources on the growth of organisms and the size of populations in an ecosystem.
7.MS-LS2-4. Analyze data to provide evidence that disruptions (natural or human-made) to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
How does competition over limited resources impact populations of organisms in an ecosystem?
EcoMUVE Pond story, analyzing populations graphs to uncover the mystery of the fishkill in Scheele Pond.
Populations: the number of organisms of one species
Limiting Factor: a resource that causes the population of a species to slow in its growth
Carrying Capacity: the number of species that can live sustainably in an ecosystem