Click here for a copy of the Blog Directions & Expectations.
Your Ecology blog posts (2 of them!) are due by Friday, February 26th and March 5th!
Blog Grades: (50 points per post)
10 points for each complete sentence (3 sentences = 30 points)
15 points for original thought
5 points for spelling, grammar, and punctuation
An invasive species is a non-native species that is introduced to an ecosystem by humans, either accidentally or purposefully.
Around 1900, people wanted to introduce a Japanese vine called kudzu into the United States.
A few facts about kudzu:
The U.S. Congress is debating whether the benefits of kudzu would outweigh the costs. You are an east Texas farmer who Congress has asked to testify for or against introducing kudzu to the U.S.
As a farmer, do you feel that kudzu should or should not be introduced? To support your argument, how would you predict kudzu might affect:
Be specific and detailed with your argument. Congress doesn’t have time for vague nonsense!
If you’re interested…An example of an invasive species that was introduced accidentally to the United States is the zebra mussel. It arrived in the Great Lakes in 1988 attached to European ships. Within 10 years the mussels have spread to all five Great Lakes and into several major U.S. rivers. Because of their ability to reproduce rapidly and travel easily, zebra mussels have had a great impact on aquatic ecosystems and even our economy. Read this article for more details.
We hear a lot of debate about whether life could survive on the moon or Mars, but what about extreme environments on Earth?
The animals listed below are all adapted to the environment of Central Texas. But what if they lived in one of Earth’s extreme environments instead? How would the species be different?
deer, catfish, turtle, gecko, squirrel, hawk
Click the links below to learn about these extreme environments on Earth:
Deep Sea Vents, Alpine Tundra , Geothermal Vents (Geysers), Hypersaline (Salt) Lakes
Pretend that one of the common animals above lives in one of these extreme environments instead of in Central Texas. Design an adaptation (real or inmaginary) that would help your animal survive in its extreme environment. How will the adaptation help the animal with the specific challenges of that environment?
The leaders of the Animal Kingdom are having their annual meeting. On their agenda is a vote to determine whether three groups should be allowed to join the Animal Kingdom as living things. Before the vote, a debate must be held to provide evidence for and against the addition of these groups to the Kingdom.
The groups wishing to be recognized as living things, and therefore approved as members of the Animal Kingdom are: the vampires, zombies, and aliens.
Your job is to argue for or against any or all of the above groups. You must present evidence based on the 6 characteristics of living things to support your argument.
One, two, all, or none of these groups could be accepted, so make sure that you are very specific about to which group(s) your argument is referring.
Let the debate begin!
***DO NOT respond to this post!***
Use this post as an example of how you should write your responses.
Invisible1 and Invisible2 are examples of regular responses to the teacher’s question.
Invisible3 is an example of a reply to another student’s comment.
*Reminder: 3 complete sentences!*
