SNCBIOLOGYSUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS & HUMAN …• Introduction

Trouble for the Cricket FrogThe northern cricket frog is in trouble. This tiny member of the tree frog family spends much of its life in or near water in areas such as marshes, ponds, and streams. The northern cricket frog is currently considered an endangered species in Canada. Cricket frog numbers have declined for three main reasons: loss of habitat, pollution from pesticide, and the introduction of carp that prey on the frogs.

Trouble for the Cricket Frog

Cricket frogs are amphibians. They have lungs for breathing but also absorb dissolved oxygen directly through their thin skins. When their skin is wet, oxygen from water or air passes through their skin into an extensive network of blood vessels. Because this dissolved oxygen enters their blood directly from water and air, amphibians are especially sensitive to pollution.

Trouble for the Cricket FrogBut why would scientists care about amphibians? It is because they believethat the health problems and decline in population of amphibians like the cricket frog may be signs that other living things,including humans, are also in trouble fromexcessive environmental pollution.

Overall ExpectationsBy the end of this unit, students will:

1. analyse the impact of human activity on terrestrial or aquaticecosystems, and assess the effectiveness of selected initiatives relatedto environmental sustainability;

2. investigate factors related to human activity that affect terrestrial oraquatic ecosystems, and describe the consequences that these factors have for the sustainability of these ecosystems;

3. demonstrate an understanding of characteristics of terrestrial andaquatic ecosystems, the interdependence within and betweenecosystems, and the impact humans have on the sustainability of these ecosystems.

Big IdeasConcepts that students should retain long after this course are: Ecosystems consist of a variety of

components, including, in many cases, humans.

The sustainability of ecosystems depends on balanced interactions between their components.

Human activity can affect the sustainability of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & Skills

CONCEPTS REVIEW1. Look at the diagram.(a) Which organisms areproducers?(b) Which organisms areconsumers?(c) What type of consumer is the squirrel? the snake? theowl?(d) What do you think wouldhappen if the maple treebecame extinct? the snake?

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsCONCEPTS REVIEW2. The diagram below shows a woodland ecosystem.(a) List two biotic features of this woodland ecosystem.(b) List two abiotic features of this woodland ecosystem.

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsCONCEPTS REVIEW3. The diagram shows theprocess of secondarysuccession.(a) Describe what ishappening to the plantcommunity.(b) What is the differencebetween primary andsecondary succession?

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & SkillsPrimary succession is the gradual growth of an ecosystem in an environment that is devoid of any vegetation or soil(i.e. a lava flow or a glacial retreat)Secondary succession is thegrowth of an ecosystem in anenvironment that previouslysupported vegetation (i.e. forestfire, tsunami, or flood).

CONCEPTS REVIEWCONCEPTS REVIEW4. Describe how the two activities shown below can influence the environment. Is the effect positive or negative?

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & Skills

SKILLS REVIEW5. (a) Make a bar graph using the data shown. Give your grapha title and label the axes.(b) What does the graph tell you about the deer population?(c) What are some factors that may have caused a change inthe deer population?

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & Skills

SKILLS REVIEW6. The circle graph given shows data on species of plants and animals in Ontario that are at risk. Estimate the percentage of species that fall into each category.

Getting Started: Useful Concepts & Skills

SKILLS REVIEW7. Describe how water is cycled through the environment.

Activity: The Lorax (BIOL-WS1)ISSUEThe LORAX is a fictional story about a man who abused the environment and about what he learned. The story begins in the most run-down part of a dull, gray town. A small boy asks the Once-ler to share the secret of theLorax and how he was "taken away." Thus, the story is told as a "flashback" as the Once-ler talks about the Lorax and past events.INSTRUCTIONSA. Watch the video and answer the questions given on BIOL - WS1.