Ecology Project
by Max Kurzman
News Report
“There is a crisis in the town of Yonderville,” said reporter Allen Fickle. “The community is not aiding anyone else. From that, the population is decreasing. In that city, our very own human species may be overrun and go into extinction! The problems of our habitat are crippling our city!"
Very few humans believe him, as his house was taken over by groups of carnivores and some omnivores... One of those animals was the endangered species of Northern White Rhinoceroses. Surrounding his house used to be coniferous and deciduous trees, but they were decomposed by detritivores and decomposers.
Coca Cola
The producer of Coca Cola said that all of the consumers of the product may suffer severe pain in their left kidney. There are organisms in the drink that make it fizz up (like Mentos!) and may explode your organs. Do not worry, they are trying to fix it. Probably within the next century.
Effects of Global Warming
Global warming has caused the ice caps to melt and become the home for tropical animals. The same thing has turned some biotic factors into abiotic factors, such as wood into petrified wood. Also, in this new tropical-ice biome, there are new species such as the penguar (penguin + jaguar) and the whankey (whale + monkey). So, ecology can be changed, over time. All of them have a new niche, or role in their environment.
None of these new animals are herbivores; and there are no new plants. The food chain has changed, and now small animals are able to track and hunt larger ones. The ecosystem is like nothing anyone has ever known. Good news is, photosynthesis is able to produce the sweetest food ever.
Vocabulary
abiotic factor a nonliving physical or chemical part of an ecosystem
biome a region of Earth that has a particular climate and certain types of plants
biotic factor a living thing in an ecosystem
carnivores an animal that feeds on flesh, in the mammalian order Carnivora
community all the populations that live and interact with each other in a particular place
coniferous trees cone-bearing trees and shrubs that usually keep their leaves or needles during all the seasons of the year
consumer a living thing that gets its energy by eating other living things in a food chain; consumers are also called heterotrophs
deciduous trees trees and shrubs that drop their leaves when winter comes
decomposer an organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animals
detrivore (detritivore) an organism that feeds on organic waste
ecology the scientific study of how living things interact with eachother and their environment
ecosystem all the living and nonliving things that interact in a small particular environment
endangered species everything that surrounds a living thing
extinction the permanent disappearance of a species
food chain a model to show the relationship between a single producer and a chain of consumers in an ecosystem
global warming the gradual increase in the temperature of the earth's atmosphere, believed to be due to the greenhouse effect
habitat the natural ecosystem in which a living thing gets all that it needs to live
herbivore an animal that feeds on plants
niche the role a living thing plays in its environment
omnivore an animal of person that eats food of both plant and animal origin
organism an individual living thing, made up of one or more cells, that is capable of growing and reproducing
photosynthesis the process in which green plants and other producers use simple compounds and energy from light to make sugar (C6H12O6)
population a group of organisms of the same species that live in air, water, of land
producer an organism that captures energy from sunlight and transforms it into chemical energy that is stored in energy-rich carbon compounds
species a group of living things that are so closely related that they can breed with one another and produce offspring that can breed as wellHabitat
This is a wolf in its natural habitat.
Carnivore
This is a carnivore, specifically a cheetah.
Photosynthesis
This leaf represents the process of photosynthesis.
Bibliography
Trefil, James S. "Glossary." McDougal Littell Science. By Douglas Carnine. North Carolina ed. Vol. 1 of 1. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005. R68-86. Print. Grade 6.