We've talked about organisms when we discussed the different kingdoms of life, and we talked about ecosystems and biomes at the beginning of our ecology unit, and today's lesson pulled it all together as we discussed the organization levels of ecology, focusing on the populations, which are all of one type of organism that live in a particular area or ecosystem. We started with an activity that outlined the levels of organization, beginning with a single organism, and then followed it through to the biosphere. The students labeled cups that can then be stacked in order. In order to help them remember the order, we walked through an example: an ochre seastar. We talked about the organism and population levels, which just include the seastar. Then, we looked at the community that they live in, which includes all the living things in that area--sea anemones, barnacles, mussels, algae, sponges, and whatever other plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi that can be found in the tidepool with our sea star. Then, there is the ecosystem which includes the non-living factors, like rocks, water, sunlight, and air. Next, is the biome, which in this example, is right on the line of the ocean biome and a coastal chapparal biome of CA. Finally, all the biomes together make up our biosphere--the earth! Then, the kids had a chance to do their own example, choosing an organism to follow through to it's spot on earth. We had all types of organisms, including a few trees, fish, mushroom, farm animals, and small plants. The older two classes also learned how field biologist estimate population sizes by using a method called "capture-recapture" or "mark and recapture". They were able to try out this method on our "wild beans" in an activity similar to the one below that uses goldfish. This was a great way to see how scientists work. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Population Ecology This is an overview of what a population is in ecology. Biological Levels in Biology: The World Tour The Amoeba Sisters tour through the biological levels of organization: cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere! Activities: Scientists have to estimate population sizes all the time and one method is the "capture-recapture" or "mark and recapture" method. Try it out with goldfish in this activity. Use this computer simulation to see what happens when a population explodes. Test this out with a sheep farm model.
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Today was all about who eats who. We learned about producers, consumers, carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, and decomposers. We talked about organisms that compete--over food or habitats--and organisms that live together, helping one another. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Fabulous Food Chains: Crash Course for Kids Everyone eats, right? But how does that food get the energy to power you? In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina talks about the way energy moves, or flows, through an ecosystem and how that movement forms Food Chains! Magic School Bus Gets Eaten The Food Chain. Arnold and Keesha are in trouble when they forget to bring in their assignment on "two things that go together." Bill Nye the Science Guy: Food Web Watch Bill Nye become tangled in a complex food web in his quest to demonstrate that all living things depend on other living things to survive. Activities: Make a food web--use miniature animal figurines, or photos, or stuffed animals and connect them with yarn or string, making lines between any that eat each other. Here's an example from Adventures in Mommydom. Make a Forest Food Pyramid. In this activity, you’ll create a food pyramid that shows what eats what in the forest. First, you’ll do some research on the plants and animals that live in your area to discover what food pyramids are out there in your local forests. From tiny plants to giant hunters, create a forest food web and discover what’s on the menu in the forest. |
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April 2021
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