Delaware's Ecosystems
Overview-
This unit focuses on the
horseshoe crab/shorebird connection as a model to help students understand
ecosystems. Students first examine how science is different from other
disciplines. Students then look at where organisms live in order to establish
the interaction of abiotic and biotic factors. Students learn a variety of
sampling techniques and explore the effects of limiting factors on populations.
Adaptations are investigated as they relate to the interaction of structure and
function. Food webs and the flow of energy are a major focus before students cap
the unit with a human impact/fisheries management computer
activity.
Big Ideas-
This unit focuses on the
horseshoe crab/shorebird connection as a model to help students understand
ecosystems. Students first examine how science is different from other
disciplines. Students then look at where organisms live in order to establish
the interaction of abiotic and biotic factors. Students learn a variety of
sampling techniques and explore the effects of limiting factors on populations.
Adaptations are investigated as they relate to the interaction of structure and
function. Food webs and the flow of energy are a major focus before students cap
the unit with a human impact/fisheries management computer
activity.
Big Ideas-
- The scientific process is different than other forms of
investigation and has specific characteristics that relate causes to effects and
develop relationships based on evidence. - Critical analysis skills learned in the classroom can be
applied to judge the validity of claims made in everyday life. - An ecosystem consists of all the organisms that live together
and interact with each other and their physical environment. - Populations consist of all individuals of a species that
occur together in a given place and time. These populations can scientifically
estimated. - Interactions in an ecosystem result from the transfer of
matter and energy from producers to consumers and eventually to decomposers. The
total amount of matter and energy in the system remains the same even though its
form and location changes. - Changes in the physical or biological conditions of an
ecosystem can alter the diversity of species in the system. As the ecosystem
changes, the populations of organisms must adapt to these changes, move to
another ecosystem, or become extinct. - The number of individuals in a population increases, or
decreases as a result of the interrelationships among organisms, availability of
resources, natural disasters, habitat changes, and pollution. - The supply of natural resources such as water and petroleum
are finite. - Decisions about the use of natural resources can affect the
stability of ecosystems.