Fairview High School
Inventing Quality Work For Students

Ecology
Learning Targets
Fairview High School

Ecology T1

Individuals:

Ø  Analyze strategies for classifying organisms

·         I can develop a visual aid to illustrate the major characteristics of the six kingdoms.

·         I can use a dichotomous key to identify at least five species found in a local ecosystem.

Ø  Identify organisms based on how they obtain energy

·         I can note the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary consumers.

·         I can note the difference between among herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.

·         I can note the difference between photosynthesis and chemosynthesis and I can describe organisms that survive with these methods in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

Ø  Relate specific animal behaviors and plant tropisms to survival

·         I can study and note differences in animal behavior by observing common invertebrates:  termites, isopods, mealworms or bess beetles.

·         I can use simple materials to create a living display of photo-, hydro-, and geo-tropisms.

Ø  Investigate various approaches to maintain biodiversity

·         I can study techniques and findings of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventories (ATBI) underway in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Tennessee State Parks.

·         I can explore careers in conservation biology and bioinformatics.

Populations:

Ø  Cite examples of populations limited by natural factors, humans, or both.

·         I can define population and describe several examples of populations in different ecosystems.

·         I can determine if limiting factors are density dependent or density independent, if they are human influenced or non-human influenced, and if they are biotic or abiotic when given scenarios.

Ø  Explain population growth patterns and rates

·         I can use a population of yeast, duckweed or other suitable species, design and conduct an experiment to evaluate population growth and carrying capacity.

·         I can draw and/or label population growth curves representing exponential growth, logistic growth and carrying capacity.

·         I can draw the type of survivorship curves created by r-strategists and K-strategists.

·         I can research case studies (Tasmanian sheep, St. Matthew’s Island reindeer, Isle Royale) to identify what happens in logistic and exponential growth.

·         I can identify location patterns (random, uniform, clumped with groups random) and populations that exhibit each of these patterns.

·         I can give various types of information about populations based on age structure, distribution, and density.

Ø  Summarize how natural selection influences a population over time.

·         I can compare case studies of evolution such as Galapagos finches, peppered moths, and

salamanders in the Smoky Mountains

Communities:

Ø  Explain ecological niches within various habitats.

·         I can describe the difference between a fundamental niche and a realized niche.

·         I can create a chart to compare and contrast specialist and generalist species and describe environment al conditions that favor each of them.

Ø  Relate species interactions such as competition, predation, and symbiosis to coevolution.

·         I can note the difference between the following types of species and give Tennessee examples of each:  native species, non-native species, invasive species, indicator species, “keystone” species.

·         I can discuss how competition and predation regulate population size.

·         I can summarize the basic ideas of competitive exclusion and resource partitioning.

·         I can note the differences among the three forms of symbiotic relationships.

·         I can describe structural and behavioral techniques  for survival used by predators and prey.

Ø  Apply the 1^st and 2^nd laws of thermodynamics to explain the flow of energy through a food chain or web.

·         I can explain energy pyramids and the “Rule of 10” as they relate to the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

Ø  Analyze how biomass is related to trophic levels.

·         I can create a food web characteristic of a Tennessee ecoregion composed of at least four trophic levels.

Ecosystems:

Ø  Describe the flow of energy and matter through various biogeochemical cycles of ecosystems.

·         I can follow the energy flow from the sun through living organisms.

·         I can draw each of the following biogeochemical cycles:  water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

·         I can explain how nutrient availability affects terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Ø  Evaluate the process of succession.

·         I can note the difference between primary and secondary biological succession.

·         I can explore a local area and examine the abiotic and biotic factors relating to succession and ecosystem structure.

·         I can summarize how disturbances in the environment cause succession and may affect ecosystem stability.

Ø  Summarize the human impact on ecosystems.

·         I can summarize how human/unnatural interruptions in the environment cause succession and may affect ecosystem stability.

·         I can design an ecosystem in the classroom (terrarium, bottle biology, eco-column, etc.) for making observations, conducting experiments and long-term monitoring of human impact on ecosystems.

·         I can create a concept map relating the events that lead to the parachuting of cats on Borneo by the World Health Organization.

Ø  Describe how biodiversity relates to stability of an ecosystem

·         I can design an ecosystem in the classroom (terrarium, bottle biology, eco-column, etc.) for making observations, conducting experiments and long-term monitoring of how biodiversity relates to stability in an ecosystem.

Ecology T2:

Biomes:

Ø  Explain how climate influences terrestrial biomes.

·         I can draw or explain how temperature, precipitation, latitude, and altitude affect terrestrial biomes.

Ø  Compare and contrast the major terrestrial biomes

Ø  Identify how humans impact terrestrial biomes

·         I can research and create a visual to summarize the climate, soil, location, plant adaptations, animal adaptations, and human threats to each of the major terrestrial biomes.

Ø  Examine the major marine and freshwater biomes.

Ø  Identify how humans impact aquatic biomes.

·         I can research and create a visual to summarize abiotic factors, location, plant adaptations, animal adaptations, and human threats to marine and freshwater biomes.

·         I can research wetlands in the local area and write a persuasive letter to a public official concerning the protection of wetlands.

Ø  Infer how organisms in different biomes occupy similar niches.

·         I can compare two or more similar species  and how they are specifically adapted to their particular biome (black/grizzly bears, Asian/African elephants, snowshoe/cottontail/jack rabbit).

Humans and Sustainability:

Ø  Investigate the role the government plays in providing public lands to sustain biodiversity.

·         I can explain the purposes of State and National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Forests.

·         I can design a vacation brochure, poster, slide show presentation or commercial advertisement that shows the virtues of a given area (i.e. state or national parks/forests) and ecotourism opportunities that may be found there.

Ø  Examine state, national, and international efforts to maintain natural species and ecosystems.

·         I can research and simplify the wording of local, national, and international environmental legislation created to sustain biodiversity (i.e. The Lacy Act, Endangered Species Act, National Marine Fisheries Act, TWRA Hunting and Fishing Regulations, CITES).

·         I can draw a timeline that illustrates major local, national and international environmental legislation created to sustain biodiversity.

Ø  Evaluate your personal impact on the environment and choices you can make to lessen your impact on the environment.

·         I can find out what watershed our school is located in and how wastewater, municipal solid, and hazardous wastes are handled.

·         I can research issues surrounding the use of environmentally and socially responsible behaviors (i.e. proper waste disposal, using fuel efficient transportation, planting native species, purchasing locally grown food, reducing/eliminating dependence on “one use” products).

·         I can write a list of the “Five Biggest Threats to the Global Environment.”

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Fairview, TN 37062
Phone: 615-472-4400   Fax: 615-472-4421

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