My Life as a Plankton

http://www.ted.com/talks/the_secret_life_of_plankton

7.3.1 Food Chains and Food WebsFood chains and food webs help show how energy is transferred through an ecosystem. There are three roles in an ecosystem: producers, consumers, and decomposers. As plants and animals are eaten, less and less energy gets transferred up the food chain. That's why an ecosystem needs a lot of producers to support only a few top consumers.
7.3.1 Food Chains and Food Webs on 2nd WebSite
7.3.1 WebQuest


Create Basic Food Chains
1) http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/food/food_menu.html
2) http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/play_chainreaction.cfm
3) http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm

Create More Complex Food Webs:
4) http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/blueplanet/webs/flash/main_game.shtml
5) http://puzzling.caret.cam.ac.uk/game.php?game=foodchain
6) http://www.blue-iceberg.net/rutgersfoodweb/frameset.html

4th Quarter Endangered Species Slideshow ProjectFor your final project, you'll be expected to create a well researched, informative slideshow presentation on an endangered species. Choose an animal or plant that is being threatened by human actions today and become an expert on how to best save that organism from becoming extinct!

Your project will include how your organism fits within the food web of their environment (7.3.1), how your organism interacts with other creatures (7.3.2), and how your organism's ecosystem is being affected by mankind (7.3.3).

Here are some good links to help you locate endangered species.

http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/

http://www.earthsendangered.com/

http://webecoist.com/2008/08/24/strangest-endangered-species-and-animals/

Genetic and Heredity Wrap-up Activites:

Genetic Diversity (7.5.6)/ Endangered Species (7.3.3):
Zoo Matchmaker

Body Structure Adaptations (7.5.4) /Natural Selection (7.5.3):
Darwin “Who Wants to Live a Million Years?”

Punnett Square (7.5.2):
Punnett Square Lab
Punnett Square Hoop Shootout
Dog Breeding

Evolution (7.5.3):
Theory of Evolution
Human Origins
Biology in Motion: Evolution Lab
http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/humanevolution/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/guess-embryo.html

Owl Pellets


Owls don't have teeth, so they have to tear chunks of food and swallow it whole. In its digestive system, the owl draws away nutrients. The bones and fur of their prey is then regurgitated as owl pellets.

Try out an online version of owl pellets at http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/index.htm#

When dissecting an owl pellet one must be careful to extract as many bones as possible, and thus careful lab habits are essential. Have fun!