BIOLOGYSUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS

Introduction

Trouble for the Cricket FrogThe northern cricket frog is in trouble. This tiny member of the tree frog family spends much of its life in or near water in areas such as marshes, ponds, and streams. The northern cricket frog is currently considered an endangered species in Canada. Cricket frog numbers have declined for three main reasons: loss of habitat, pollution from pesticide, and the introduction of carp that prey on the frogs.

Trouble for the Cricket Frog Cricket frogs are amphibians. They have lungs for

breathing but also absorb dissolved oxygen directly through their thin skins. When their skin is wet, oxygen from water or air passes through their skin into an extensive network of blood vessels. Because this dissolved oxygen enters their blood directly from water and air, amphibians are especially sensitive to pollution.

Trouble for the Cricket FrogBut why would scientists care about amphibians? It is because they believe that the health problems and decline in population of amphibians like the cricket frog may be signs that other living things, including humans, are also in trouble from excessive environmental pollution.

Overall Expectations By the end of this course, students will:

1. assess the impact of human activities on the sustainability of terrestrial and/or aquatic ecosystems, and evaluate the effectiveness of courses of action intended to remedy or mitigate negative impacts;

2. investigate factors related to human activity that affect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and explain how they affect the sustainability of these ecosystems;

3. demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic nature of ecosystems, particularly in terms of ecological balance and the impact of human activity on the sustainability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Big IdeasConcepts that students should retain long after this course are:

Ecosystems are dynamic and have the ability to respond to change, within limits, while maintaining their ecological balance.

People have the responsibility to regulate their impact on the sustainability of ecosystems in order to preserve them for future generations.

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & Skills 1. Look at the diagram.(a) Which organisms are producers?(b) Which organisms are consumers?(c) What type of consumer is the squirrel? the snake? The owl?(d) What do you think would happen if the birch tree became extinct? the snake?

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsCONCEPTS REVIEW2. The diagram below shows a woodland ecosystem.(a) List two biotic features of this woodland ecosystem.(b) List two abiotic features of this woodland ecosystem.

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsCONCEPTS REVIEW3. The diagram shows the process of secondary succession.(a) Describe what is happening to the plant community.(b) What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsCONCEPTS REVIEW4. Describe how the two activities shown below can influence the environment. Is the effect positive or negative?

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsMake a bar graph using the data shown. Give your graph a title and label the axes. (b) What does the graph tell you about the deer population? (c) What are some factors that may have caused a change in

the deer population? Year Number ofDeer1996 211998 322000 362002 452004 352006 182008 12

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsSKILLS REVIEW 6. The circle graph given shows data on species of

plants and animals in Ontario that are at risk. Estimate the percentage of species that fall into each category.

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsSKILLS REVIEW7. Describe how water is cycled through the environment. Make sure to use the following terms:

• precipitation• evaporation• condensation• surface runoff

Activity: The Lorax (1DBIOL-WS1)ISSUE The LORAX is a fictional story about a man who

abused the environment and about what he learned. The story begins in the most run-down part of a dull, gray town. A small boy asks the Once-ler to share the secret of the Lorax and how he was "taken away." Thus, the story is told as a "flashback" as the Once-ler talks about the Lorax and past events.

INSTRUCTIONS A. Watch the video and answer the questions given

on 1DBIOL - WS1.