MUDDIEST POINT COMMENTS!

Hey gang... i too am having some issues posting comments, so here are some responses to muddiest points.

For density dependent and independant factors... Think about a crowded classroom (very dense) vs. a less crowded classroom (not very dense).

If there was a flu spreading, which classroom would you rather be in? The less dense one!!! Because disease is density dependent.

BUT if there were a tornado that hit the school... which classroom would you rather be in? DOESN'T matter! Because a natural disaster is DENSITY INDEPENDANT!

Think about the word "limit". If someone limited your spending on clothes, then they would stop you from going shopping. A limit on growth stops the population from growing.

KEEP CHECKING BACK TO THIS POST! I WILL ADD TO IT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND!

Comment

This is my comment for Ereni. It won't let me post a comment on her muddiest point.

Pyramids of biomass show the amount of living organic matter at each level in an ecosystem. (Biomass is the total amount of living things in a trophic level)
The primary producers tend to have more mass.
As you go up the pyramid, the numbers decrease.
A pyramid of numbers shows the number of individual organisms at each level in an ecosystem.

Hope this helps!
-Kaitlyn

Scribe 9/22/11

Today in class we took notes on environmental issues (section 6-3). We talked about biodiversity and how all species are involved in the food web. Some threats to biodiversity are: habitat destruction, hunting, pollution, invasive species, and global warming.
Next, we talked about global climate change and the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural situation where heat is trapped by CO2, methane, and other gases. It occurs from burning fossil fuels and forests. The effects of global climate change are: rising of sea level, loss of biodiversity, and natural disasters.
We also talked about Ozone Depletion. The ozone is a layer of O3 gas in the atmosphere and it filters harmful UV rays. In the 1970's, scientists found that CFC caused a hole to form in the ozone layer. CFC's were used in aerosol cans and were banned in 1987. Now, the ozone holes are shrinking! :)
Next, we talked about Pollution and Biological Magnification. DDT is a non-biodegradable pesticide, which means it can't be broken down by natural metabolic processes. Organisms cannot eliminate DDT from their bodies, which causes a decrease in population. Biological magnification is when a pollutant concentration increases higher in the food chain.
That was the end of our notes, so for the rest of the time, we met with our lab groups and discussed our duckweed presentations, which we will be presenting tomorrow during class.
The homework for tonight was:

• Practice the duckweed presentations for tomorrow!

THE NEXT SCRIBE WILL BE.... MAKENZIE :)

Muddiest Point!!!

Hey guys!

So, a lot of you have mentioned the things that I'm confused on, which would probably be the pyramids of biomass and numbers... If someone could help me with that it'd be awesome!

Thanks!!

Muddiest Point

Hey guys! I need some help understanding some things in section 6.3. The first thing that got me confused was biodiversity. I don't understand what biodiversity actually is. One paragraph said that it was a type of natural resource....what??? Another thing that was confusing to understand was genetic diversity. I didn't understand the definition that was in the book, it made no sense to me. The more I kept reading about biodiversity and genetic diversity, the more it confused me. If someone understands, please please please help me! :)

muddiest point

howdy! my muddiest point is about the numbers pyrimd. can someone explain what it generally is?

Scribe 9/21/11

(Movie Trailer)

            Today in class we watched the movie, Planet Earth. During the movie we learned interesting facts about many biomes and learned about many living organisms in a specific biome. The first biome we saw was the Tundra. Two organisms that live in the Tundra are, penguins and polar bears. The penguins struggle with the cold weather sometimes, which leads them to no food. And for the polar bears, they don’t get a lot of food either, so it is hard for the mama polar bears to feed their cubs. The next biome we saw and learned a little about was called Taiga or Boreal Forest. The one fact we leaned about the Taiga was that it contains many conifer trees, which are trees that last all year. Furthermore, the next biome we saw was called Deciduous Forest. Broad leaf trees are very common in the Deciduous Forests and the leaves are also edible! Also there are a many Armur Leopards roaming around the forests. Armur Leopards are considered rare in all the cats in the world and have thick fur so they can stay warm and keep out the cold air. In addition, the Tropical Rainforest came next to learn about. The Tropical rainforest covers 3% of earth’s surface and contains 50% of earth’s plants and animals. One of the animals that lives is the rainforest are the birds of paradise. One of the biggest challenges for the birds is finding a mate and impressing their mate. Finally the last biome we learned about was the desert. The desert is 1/3 of lands surface and one deserts is called Kalahari. The Kalahari Desert always get very dry at some point during the year and it also has many dust storms. And a special animal that lives there is the Lechwe Antelope, which has special hooves that help move quickly and easily in the water. All in all, we learned about many biomes and many living organisms in the movie, Planet Earth.

The next scribe will be…KASIA 

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point would probably be understanding all of the pyramids, like their names and what they represent and why the pyramid is shaped like a pyramid.

Muddiest Point

The thing I don't understand the most in this chapter is what are scavengers, and what are decomposers. I am just confused what they do, and are, and why they are so important. That is what I am currently struggling with the most!

Muddiest Point

The topic that I am most struggling with in unit one is density dependent limiting factors. I know that density dependent limiting factors operate strongly when the population density reaches a certain level. I also know that they include competition predation and herivory. I don't understand why this matters. Why do people need to know about this and how does this affect us? So, please help me out with this topic.
Thanks, SamC

Muddiest Point!

Hey guys. What I don't really understand is that identifying factors that limit population growth. I think I have the right idea about it but I don't really understand it that well... Can someone please expain to me in more detail the differences of a density-dependent factor and a density-independent factors are?


Thanks!

muddiest point

My muddiest point in the class is the energy pyramid and what 10% energy efficent is.
I'm really struggling with it this so if anyone can answer this, thanks (:

Muddiest Point

So after reading the section today, I'm still confused on one thing. Why does an organism have a better chance of surviving distrubances if it is more genetically diverse? If someone could help me out that would be great!

Muddiest Points!

My muddiest point would mainly be the difference between food chains and food webs. I know a food web is formed by many other food chains, but then what's the exact definition of a food chain? I would like to know a clearer difference. It would also be helpful if someone explained a little more about the pyramid of energy. Is pyramid of energy just that the producer gives 100% energy to first-level consumers, then 10%, then 1%, then 0.1%? I would also like to know more about the first, second, and third level consumers. Thanks! :)

Class Review 9/19/11

Today in class, we took the last data for our Duckweed experiment. In groups, we have been conducting an experiment on Duckweed. It is to see how quickly the Duckweed reproduce and if other things within the beaker affect the growth. For example, a group put motor oil in the water along with the Duckweed. Another group placed Hornworts in the beaker as well. In some cases, the growth of the Duckweed was affected, and in others, nothing changed.

Another thing we did in class was turn in the homework which was the comparison chart for sections 6.2 and 6.4. We went over the homework that was assigned for this week which is:

• Duckweed Presentations


• read 6.3


• post Muddiest Point to blog


• comment on a post

Finally, we did the Water Testing Lab. We did this to see if the Des Plaines River was polluted. Our class predicted the river would be polluted because of bacteria, and waste from insects and other living organisms found in the water. We tested 8 pollutants to see how comtaminated the water is.

1. Coliform bacteria - pollution from sewage
2. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) - you want a high level of this because it is good for organisms.
3. Biological Oxygen Demand (DOB) - is the amount of DO used by bacteria when they break down waste.
4. Nitrates - if the levels are high, it is from sewage and fertilizers
5. pH - industrial wastes, mining operations, etc. affect this
6. Phosphates - high levels mean it's from human and animal waste and farm run off
7. Temperature - thermal pollution comes from industries
8. Turbidity - is how clear the water is. Can be affected by soil erosion and algae blooms.


For our group, we came to the conclusion that the river water is somewhat polluted.

JESSICA is the next scribe!

Muddiest Point!

The things that I am most confused about in this unit are the biomass pyramid, pyramid of numbers and the energy pyramid. I know it's kind of ironic how the only things I am confused about are all pyramids! But I hope you can help me understand these concepts better! Thanks!

Muddiest Point!

Hey guys. The thing I'm most confused about right now is what we just read for homework: the biodiversity and I don't understand the types of biodiversity's. I don't really know what it exactly is and I also don't understand what the ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity are. If someone could explain this to me, it'd be great. Thanks :)

Muddiest Point!

The two things I don't understand is primary and secondary succession, and food webs and food chains. The parts I am confused on about the successions are what the difference between them and which areas of ground they occur on exactly. The parts I am confused on with the food webs are which ones the primary producers are and all the organisms up above them and what the difference between food webs and food chains. Other than that the unit has been good and I understand everything else.

Muddiest Point!

The muddiest point for me is how to define a biome. Also another thing that I don't fully understand is the energy transfer among the organisms and how to distinguish on a food web which animals are 3rd order and 4th order consumers or 5th and 6th consumers. It would be great if someone could explain this to me!

Thanks and Have a great day!

Muddiest Point!

One of the main things that always confuses me is when there's a question asking you to state an organism that's both a 2nd and 3rd order consumer or a 4th and 5th order consumer. Another question I have is how to tell what the original source of energy on a food web is, we had a question like this on our ecology quiz and it really confused me.