As Biology Trip 2010 Workbook

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A TOUR OF THE COASTAL FOREST.

After this guided walk:

a) Name the dominant plant species in the coastal bush.

b) List down the animals that live within the bush.

c) Attempt a classification of one named species of plant or animal

according to the taxonomic groups below.

kingdom _________________________

Phylum __________________________

Class ___________________________

Order ___________________________

Family ___________________________

Genus ____________________________

Species ___________________________


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d) Identify and explain the adaptations of the plants to avoid

excessive water loss.

e) Draw a possible food web for the forest.


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The Ghost crabCarefully examine the behaviour of the ghost crab as the tide returns and

suggest scientific explanations for such unique behaviour.

Catch one of the crabs and examine it carefully using the hand lens. Draw a

diagram of the specimen and identify any adaptive features of the organism

to life on the shore.

Write down a food chain including the ghost crab


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Dissect the ghost crab and examine the respiratory and digestive

system

Draw a diagram of the digestive system


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Collection , examination and identification of organisms.

It is impossible to make an exhaustive survey, counting and mapping every individual

organism on the shore, so we will need to sample just part of the area. If this is

done carefully, then you can assume that your sample provides a fair picture of theoverall species distribution in the area.

Using forceps or gloves collect a sample of each representative plant and animal

species and put them in your sample containers for examination and identificationlater. You should work in pairs to avoid removing many organisms from their natural

habitats.

y Make a list of the organisms collected, arranged taxonomically and identified

as far as possible.

y Use the sketch map of the area to mark places on the map where theorganisms identified were located.


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y Use the general collection sheet to fill in names, location and

adaptations of the organism and a sketch drawing of the organism

General collection sheet

Organism Location and adaptations Sketch Diagram


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Organism Location and adaptations Sketch/ Diagram


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A Belt transect of the sand island lagoon.

This is a method of systematic sampling which should demonstrate the

distribution of organisms and how it changes as we move down the beach and

further into the intertidal zone.

Method:

y Make a measured profile of the shore indicating the low and high tide

levels.

y Lay down the rope to mark the position of your transect on the shore.

It should run at right angles to the sea and where possible should

avoid big pools.

y At 5 metre intervals, lay down the quadrat. Mark the position of the

quadrat on the profile chart.T

he quadrat is a sample area. Examineeach sample and estimate the abundance of each alga or plant as:

1. A Abundant more than 30 % cover

2. C - Common - 5- 30 % cover

3. F- Few Less than 5 % cover

4. O Occasional scattered

5. R- Rare/ very few.

Record the information on the data collection sheet provided. Animalnumbers should be determined by direct counting in bands 5 m long and 0.5

m wide all along the length of the transect.

On completion of your observations, present your results on a graph paper.


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Transect across sand island lagoonRecord for plants A C F O R and actual numbers for animals.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Angiosperms

Green algae

Brown algae

Red algae

Echinoderms

Molluscs

Crustacea

Fish


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Graph


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Rotational activitiesy Star fish garden visit. Take notes and use the notes and the materials

in the text book to write an essay on the star fish. The essay should

include, the different species, nutrition, reproduction (life cycle) and

locomotion.


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SnorkellingExamine the coral heads and associated plants and animals by

completing the snorkelling transit. This transit gives you the opportunity to

study the biodiversity of a small part of a coral reef. Write up a short

summary of the biodiversity of organisms within the corals in this transit.


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Ecology Glossary

1. Ecosystem: interactions between thebiotic (living) organisms and the abiotic (non-living) materials and howmaterials and energyare transferred.

a) biotic livingordeadorganisms; made up ofcells.(examples: plants, animals)

b) abiotic non-livingmaterials; basic unit is elements also includesenergy. (examples: plastic, oxygen, water, rocks, light, heat)

2. Producers: turn the suns lightenergyinto chemical (food)energy.They maketheirownfoodby the process calledPhotosynthesis.Only find Producers on the firsttrophiclevel.(examples: plants, algae, bacteria)

3. Consumers: cannotmake their own food(chemicalenergy)They use the chemical energy from other living organisms.

Consumers need to eat Producers or Consumers to get their food energy.Consumers are found on thesecondorhighertrophic levels.

a) Primary Consumer firstconsuming organism in a foodchain.SECOND TROPHICLEVEL

(examples: herbivores or omnivores)

b) econdaryConsumer: secondconsuming organism in a foodchain.THIRD TROPHICLEVEL

(examples: carnivores or omnivores)

c) Tertiary Consumer: thirdconsuming organism in a foodchain.FOURTHTROPHICLEVEL

(examples: carnivores or omnivores)

4. Trophic Level: feedinglevel

5. Types of Animal Consumers:

a) Herbivores: only eat PRODUCERS(such as plants)

b) Carnivores: eat CONSUMERS(herbivores or carnivore or omnivores)

c) Omnivores: eat PRODUCERSorCONSUMERS

6. a)Food Chain: starts with a producerand onlyconnectswith single links(arrows) to the consumers.

example: a typical food chain in a field ecosystem might be:grass ---> grasshopper --> mouse ---> snake ---> hawk

b)Food Web: multiple (many)foodchains that interconnectshowingmanyfeedingrelationships.

7 a) cavengers feedon the bodies oflargerdeadanimals.(examples: vultures, eagles, ravens, hyenas, some ants, and beetles)


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b) Detrivores feedon bodies ofsmallerdeadanimals and plants and dung.(examples: crabs, earthworms, wood beetles, carpenter ants

Decomposers: feed on any remaining dead plant and animalmatter; they break down the cells and get the last remaining energy.

(examples: bacteria, fungi)

8. Population organisms that belong to thesamespecies that live in thesameecosystem. (ex: people-species in Halifax-ecosystem)

9. Carrying Capacity - largestpopulation of a species that an ecosystemcan support.

a) Competition: demand for resources (ex: food, water, mates, space)

Intraspecific Competition: competition within a species.(example: wolves vs. wolves)

Interspecific Competition: competition between species.(example: wolves vs. coyotes)

b) Population Density: the numberoforganismswithin a givenspace.

Denisty dependent factors: have a greatereffectlimitingpopulationsize when populationnumberincreases; especially play arole when the carryingcapacityisreached(example: food supply, predation, competition, disease)

Density independent factors: limitpopulation sizenomatterthesize of the population (whether 10 or 1000 organisms)(example: climate, oxygen level, natural disasters likehurricane, tornado, forest fire, earthquakes, floods)

10) Biological Magnification - the process whereby substances for example poisons collect in

the bodies of organisms and progressively higher concentrations towards the top of the foodchain example: DDT

Biological Magnification Activity in class: Each blade of grass gets DDT when they take inwater. DDT gets stroed in the plants along with stored energy. The grass gets eaten by therabbits but rabbits eat many blades of grass and get all the DDT present. Now the fox eats manyrabbits and the DDT from each rabbit goes to the fox. Therefore, the fox has more DDT than anyorganism below it on the Food Web.

11) Nutrients - chemical elements used by organisms to build and operate their bodies.example: carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N)

12) Nutrient Cycles - movement of nutrients through the environment.

example: Carbon cycle; nitrogen cycle

13) Closed system - an environment in which substances do not enter or leaveexample: Earth if often referred to as a closed system

14)Photosynthesis - the change oflightenergy to chemicalenergy(sugars) byproducers.

Chemical Equation:H2O + CO2 (in presence of Light) ---> C6H12O6 + O2 REACTANTS

PRODUCTS


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15)Cellular Respiration - the change ofchemicalenergy (sugars) into energythat is usedbyorganisms such activities as metabolism (maintaining body temperature, repairing cells,growth); reproduction and movement.

Chemical Equation: C6H12O6 + O2 -----> ENERGY + H2O + CO2REACTANTS PRODUCTS

16)Nitrogen Fixation - the changingofnitrogen gas (N2) in the atmosphere into ammonium(NH4

+); nitrogen fixation is done bybacteria that live in the soilor on the roots oflegumes.

17)Nitrification - the changingof ammonium (NH4+) in the soilinto nitrates (NO3

-1);

nitrification is done by bacteria that live in the soil.

18)Denitrification - the changing ofnitrates (NO3-1) into nitrogen gas (N2) that returns to the

atmosphere; denitrification is done bybacteria that live in the soil.

19)Eutrophication - a water system that has been enrichedby nutrients (in particular nitrates)needed by plants; often nutrients from sewage and run-off over-enrich the water systemcausingan increase in bacterial growth and oxygen depletion that can resultin the loss of

organisms that live in the water system.

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As Biology Trip 2010 Workbook