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| Biomes |
Grade Level:
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| At the "Kids Do Ecology Biomes Pages," you will uncover information about the world's biomes and the research being conducted by scientists. Biomes are explained in terms of climate and questions about the number of biomes are discussed. Click on the name of a biome in the list and find an elaborate description and beautiful photographs. Use a link on the Home page to find out more about the NCEAS scientists and their research. |
| Topic: Biomes and habitats (Ecology); Biotic communities |
| URL: http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/ |
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| Ecosystems |
Grade Level:
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| Find out why rain is necessary for keeping a forest or other ecosystem healthy. Explore abiotic factors like rain, sun, minerals in the soil, and temperature. Discover how these factors help biotic factors like plants, animals, and bacteria survive. Investigate how plants help the ecosystems and learn how animals and bacteria help plants thrive. See if you can identify the roles of different factors in the ecosystem and how they work together in an ecological community. |
| Topic: Biotic communities; Ecology and ecosystems |
| URL: https://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/ecosystems.htm |
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| Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems |
Grade Level:
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| Discover why all animals are dependent on plants even if they don't eat plants. Think about what plants and animals need for survival, and how plants and animals are different from each other. Plants and animals in different environments adapt to different temperatures and water needs. Learn about consumers, producers, and decomposers in an ecosystem. Investigate food webs, what makes a food web healthy, and how invasive species can be destructive. Identify the difference between an ecosystem and a biotic community. |
| Topic: Food chains and food webs; Biotic communities |
| URL: http://www.bozemanscience.com/ngs-ls2a-interdependent-relationships-in-ecosystems |
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| What Happens When Continents Collide? - Juan D. Carrillo |
Grade Level:
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| Plate tectonics doesn't just change the continents. It also affects biotic communities. When continents collide, animals can migrate to new areas. The results can be fantastic, or devastating. North and South America collided with life or death consequences for thousands of species. Discover the car-sized armored animals and giant sloths of South America, as well as the saber-toothed cats and bears of North America. The Great American Biotic Interchange allowed animals to migrate over a thin land bridge. The isthmus also separated the two oceans and their marine species. It even changed ocean circulation. |
| Topic: Biotic communities; Animal migration |
| URL: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-when-continents-collide-juan-d-carrillo |
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| Freshwater Ecosystems |
Grade Level:
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| Identify the biotic and abiotic elements of a freshwater ecosystem. |
| Topic: Freshwater ecology; Biotic communities; Aquatic habitats |
| URL: http://www.state.nj.us/education/21cclc/casp/lsc/unit2/Lesson3.pdf |
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| Chesapeake and Coastal Bay Life |
Grade Level:
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| Just roll your mouse over the images on this site to find out about the organisms found in and around Chesapeake Bay. Select from a long list of fish to find facts about each one. Clicking on the image brings up a larger image suitable for coloring or using on a report. Learn why bay grasses are an important part of this ecosystem. Meet microscopic zooplankton and learn what their purpose is. The bottom dwellers, phytoplankton, and aquatic insects are also introduced. |
| Topic: Chesapeake Bay (Md. and Va.); Biotic communities; Coastal ecology |
| URL: http://dnr.maryland.gov/waters/bay/Pages/cblife/home.aspx |
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| Trophic Pyramid |
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| The base of the terrestrial trophic pyramid is the plants, or producers, that get their energy from the sun. Through photosynthesis, they provide energy to the primary consumers that eat the plants. Secondary and tertiary consumers form the next two trophic levels, eating animals from a lower level. Aquatic and marine communities build their trophic pyramid on algae, detritus, microorganisms, or plankton. Around hydrothermal vents, bacteria get energy from sulfur. Chemosynthesis replaces photosynthesis at the bottom of these unusual trophic pyramids. |
| Topic: Food chains and food webs; Biotic communities; Energy flow |
| URL: https://www.britannica.com/science/trophic-pyramid |
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| Community Ecology: Feel the Love |
Grade Level:
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| Competition for finite resources makes survival and reproduction more difficult for most species. Most species that compete for resources avoid direct confrontation when possible. A community in the ecology sense can be as small as a rotting log or as big as an ocean. Think about competition in a garden as weeds and vegetables compete for nutrients. Investigate competitive exclusion and how similar species avoid extinction by finding an ecological niche. The niche may not be ideal, but it is a way to survive. One ornithologist studied five species of warblers and how they shared an ecosystem using different habits. |
| Topic: Biotic communities; Competition (Biology) |
| URL: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/crash-course-bio-ecology/crash-course-ecology-2/v/crash-course-ecology-04 |
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| Science Rocks! Biome in a Baggie |
Grade Level:
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| You can conduct an experiment called, "Biome in a Baggie." All you need is a two-liter bottle, a storage bag, pebbles, potting soil, seeds, and water. Twelve simple steps take you through the procedure and illustrations are provided as a guide. When you have finished you will have an environment for your plants that never needs to be watered! The reason for such little maintenance is due to condensation, precipitation, and evaporation. |
| Topic: Biotic communities; Botany--Experiments; Science--Experiments |
| URL: https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/arct14.sci.zbiome/biome-in-a-baggie/ |