INTERACTIONS AMONG ORGANISMS

INTERACTIONS AMONG ORGANISMS

Symbiotic Strategies

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/nat08.living.eco.humeco.lpsymstra/

 Read “OVERVIEW” and answer the following questions:

1.     Write a sentence (using your own words) explaining the focus of this lesson.

2.     What are students suppose to “discover” in this lesson?

3.     Re-write the 6 objectives of this lesson (Use your own words)

You may now watch the videos and answer the questions after watching each video.

COLLAPSE OF SHARKS:

Watch this video and answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper

1.        Why are shark populations in danger of collapse?

2.        How has the relationship between sharks and humans changed over time?

3.      What might happen if the shark fin trade continues unchecked?

SHARK AND TURTLE:

Watch the video and answer the following questions

1.     How does the turtle protect itself?

2.     What relationship is held between the tiger shark and the loggerhead turtle?

SHARKS AND FISHERMAN

1.     How have sharks become trained to follow fishermen?

2.     Describe how the following species pairs interact in the video segment: fishermen/fish; sharks/fish; sharks/fishermen.

SHARKS IN OUR FUTURE

1.     Describe the type of tourism seen in this clip.

2.     What benefit do these businesses provide to: sharks? To local populations? To tourists?

3.     How might these businesses help prevent the collapse of shark populations?

UNLIKELY TRAVEL COMPANIONS

1.     List three ways in which being near a shark might be beneficial to a fish.

2.     What is one way that a shark might benefit from a fish (other than as prey)?

3.     Classify each shark-fish relationship shown in this video segment as commensalism, mutualism or parasitism.

Ecology

Ecology Webquest
Name: __________________________ Period: ________ Date: _____

Part I: Ecosystems and Nutrient Cycling
I. FOOD CHAINS
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm
and click on “play the game” to begin. Answer the questions below:

1. A person is called a _____________________________________ because they eat meat and vegetables.
2. Food gives people and animals __________________________________.
3. ________________________ are animals that only eat meat.
4. ________________________ are animals that only eat plants.

(2) Choose the Forest Food Chain.
1. What animals were in your food chain? Place them in the correct order by creating a food link (show arrows representing the direction of energy).


2. What 5 things happen if you take the frog out of the food chain?
1. _________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________
II. FOOD WEBS
(1) Go to http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/food/food_menu.html Play the 3 food webs and answer the questions below
Name a consumer in your food web _______________________________
Name a producer in your food web ________________________________
Name a decomposer in your food web ______________________________
III. NUTRIENT CYCLING
A. Carbon Cycle
Go to http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Water/co2_cycle.html
1. DRAW and label the carbon cycle on a separate paper AND fill in the blanks below:

• Plants pull carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere to make food, through a process called ____________________.
• Through food chains animals get ____________ from the plants and other animals they eat.
• When plants and animals die and _________________, carbon goes back into the ground.
• Some carbon is buried deep in the ground and forms ________________________.
• When humans burn fossil fuels, ________________ is released back into the atmosphere.
• When humans and animals exhale, they release carbon back into the air by a process called ______________________________.
B. Water Cyle
Go to http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/water_cycle.html
1. DRAW and label the water cycle AND define the following vocabulary words
Transpiration, Condensation, Precipitation, Evaporation
B. Nitrogen Cycle
Go to  http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Life/nitrogen_cycle.html&edu=mid 

DRAW and label the nitrogen cycle and answer the questions below

1. What are 2 ways nitrogen becomes useable to plants, humans and animals:
_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

2. How do herbivores obtain the nitrogen they need?
_________________________________________________________

3. How is nitrogen returned to the atmosphere?
_________________________________________________________

4. What are two ways humans impact the nitrogen cycle:
1.________________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________
5. What is the role of bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?
__________________________________________________________

IV. POPULATION
Go to http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_population.html and answer the following questions:
1. What is a population? __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

2. Two things that increase a population
a. ______________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________

3. Two things that decrease a population:
a. _____________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________



V. BIODIVERSITY
Go to http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/issues/biodiversity/ and answer the following questions
1. What is biodiversity? ____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. What is the estimated number of species existing on earth today______________
3. How many species have been named (a) and why may this number actually be too high (b)
a. _______________
b. ____________________________________________
4. What is a species?


5. What are the five main pressures on biodiversity
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



6. Describe three of the reasons that biodiversity is important
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Evolution Part 3 - Natural Selection

EVOLUTION PART 3 – NATURAL SELECTION

Ms. Carter

MUTATIONS are changes in our DNA. Sometimes, mutations are harmful and cause death. Other times, mutations give the individual an advantage and allow these individual to survive certain environmental conditions better. Organisms with good mutations survive and have offspring. Some offspring inherit the good mutation, survive, have children and so on.  Mutations that allow organisms to survive and pass on to future generations are part of the evolutionary process.

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.gen.doubleimmunity/

Background essay: Double Immunity

1. Why are some people resistant to the HIV virus today?

Video:  Double Immunity

1. Why doesn’t the virus enter the cells of people with this mutation?
2. What is the evolutionary importance of the mutation that cause pople to durvive the plague 700 years ago?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/2/l_012_02.html

Watch the video and read the essay below it

1. Why are some people resistant to malaria?
2. If sickle cell is lethal, why is it still present in populations? How is it pass on from generations to generations? Explain.

Some organisms survive the hazards of their environment by changing themselves to blend with their surrounding.

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.evo.lp_howevowork/

VIDEO: Evolution of Camouflage

Read the essay and watch the video:

1. Explain how is camouflage related to evolution?

http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/lsps07_int_nowherehide/

After playing this interactive write a short essay on how camouflage allows for natural selection to take place in a prey/predator relationship.

The Fossil Record- Evolution Part 2

How Evolution Works – Evolution Part 2

Ms. Carter

Evidence for Evolution

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.div.lp_evid/

Video: Becoming a Fossil

Read the Background Essay

1. DESCRIBE how fossil are formed and give examples

Watch the video

1. What happened to Lucy? What’s her story?

Video: Laetoli Footprints

Read the Background Essay

1. Explain how the Laetoli Footprints were formed and preserved

Watch the video

2. Why are the Laetoli Footprint so important for evolutionary biologists and how old are they?

Video: Evolving Ideas – How do we know Evolution happens?

Read the Background Essay

1. Write an essay explaining the fossil evidence that supports that evolutionary idea that “whales have descended from land mammals.”

Watch the video:

1. How do fossils support evolution?

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.evo.lp_howevowork/

1. Explain how evolution works.
2. New species arise through natural selection. LIST and EXPLAIN the four processes of natural selection.
3. How are “competition” and “natural selection” related?

Genetic Engineering

GENETIC ENGINEERING WEBQUEST

Ms. Carter – Gunderson High School

Bioengineered Foods?

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.gen.lp_bioengfood/

INTERACTIVE: Engineering a Crop: Transgenic Manipulation

Read the Background Essay and answer these questions:

1. Cross-breeding is a type of selective breeding. Explain how it works.

2. Scientists use “transgenic manipulation” to produce organisms with desirable characteristics. Think of it as designing the perfect organism. How do they do it?

PLAY the INTERACTIVE and answer these questions:

3. List the materials needed

4. LIST and EXPLAIN the steps of transgenic manipulation.

5. What is a “vector’?

6. What was the purpose of using the herbicide?

VIDEO: Classical Versus Transgenic Breeding

Read the Background Essay information, watch the video and answer these questions:

1. Selective breeding is also called “classical breeding.” Explain “selective breeding.”

2. Explain the similarities and differences between “selective breeding” and “genetic engineering”

3. What does GMO stand for?

4. LIST the benefits of GMOs

5. LIST and explain the four major public concerns regarding GMOs

6. For what kind of characteristics have food crops been selectively bred?

7. What are some examples of harmful effects of selective breeding.

Video: Bt Corn

Read “Background Essay” first, watch the video and answer these questions:

1. What dos Bt stand for?

2. Why/how do scientists use Bt in plants?

3. Using Bt toxin in plants has some “unintended effects.” LIST and EXPLAIN those effects.

4. How will these “unintended effects” affect evolution?

5. What are “refuges”?

6. How is Bt introduced into the genes of corn? Video

1. How is this process called?

7. How is Bt used differently for organic farming than in biotech corn? Video

8. How could the use of Bt in biotech corn impact the use of Bt for organic farming?

Video: Super Salmon

Read the Background Essay, watch the video and answer these questions:

1. What does “transgenic mean”?

2. What has been done to the Atlantic Salmon and why?

3. What seems to be the problem as presented by scientists Muir and Howard in 1999?

4. What are the concerns consumers have regarding transgenic organisms?

5. What allows transgenic salmon to grow in winter? ( questions 5-8 are from the video)

6. What are some possible consequences of transgenic salmon escaping from their pens into the ocean populations?

7. How might transgenic salmon affect the evolution of other salmon populations?

8. Do you thing the FDA should give Aqua Bounty permission to grow and sell transgenic salmon? Why or why not?

GENETIC ENGINEERING: CLONING

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/biot09.sci.life.gen.cloning/

Animal Cloning 101

Read the Background Essay and answer these questions:

1. What is reproductive cloning?

2. Explain the 2 techniques used in reproductive cloning.

3. What are some of the problems in cloning animals?

PLAY the INTERACTIVE and answer these questions:

1. What is a clone? Examples of clones

2. What is cell differentiation?

3. LIST the steps used in “The Creation of Dolly”

4. How is the method used to clone a mouse different from the method used to clone Dolly?

Click and Clone: MIMI Mouse

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/cloning/clickandclone/

In this Interactive, you’ll be cloning a mouse using the Somatic Nuclear Transfer method.

PLAY the interactive and answer these questions:

1. LIST and EXPLAIN the 6 steps of cloning used here.

2. What color was the baby mouse? Why?