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Create an Ecosystem...
Your goal is to describe a unique ecosystem (i.e. an imaginary, yet biologically plausible one) and to assess what would happen to it in the presence of an environmental disturbance (pollution, housing development, you name it). While the limits to this exercise will be set by your imagination, and, unfortunately, the clock, I suggest you keep this relatively simple (things can get complex rather fast if you are not careful). Following are some guidelines:
- Environmental conditions: where is it? what is the terrain, soil, climate, temperature, moisture regime like?
- Community: include both producers, primary and secondary consumers, decomposers. Include the population size, food requirements, food web position, environmental tolerance, etc. of each organism. Be creative!
- Identify a potential disturbance to your ecosystem; and then, speculate:
- which species will become extinct or endangered, and why
- which species will not be affected, and why
- which species will benefit and increase in population size, and why
- anything else you think should be added
CAREFUL! This activity seems simpler than it really is: cooperation among
members is important if your ecosystem is to be credible... Think
about the various plant parts that are edible; how organisms move
around; how seasons may affect your predictions, how reproduction
may offset some loss in numbers, how humans may make use of your
species, etc. etc. Above all, have fun!
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