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									                                  SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

                             Student Instruction Sheet
                          Ecosystems and Human Activity
Suggested time:       2 Hours

What’s important in this lesson:

It is evident that human activity has a great impact on ecosystems. In this unit you will
look at various ways humans have impacted the environment and what steps can be
taken to help reduce damage.

Complete these steps:

   1. Complete the diagnostic activity. Have your teacher check this.

   2. Get a copy of the student handout for Unit 1 Lesson 3 and follow the instructions
      to complete the activity. Have your teacher check this.

   3. Turn in the laboratory work on Humans activities and plants.

   4. Complete the Assessment. You have 15-20 minutes to do this. Turn in to

   5. Complete the Reflective Activity. Turn in to teacher

Hand-in the following to your teacher:

   1.   Diagnostic activity
   2.   Lesson to be checked
   3.   Laboratory activity
   4.   Assessment activity
   5.   Reflective activity

Questions for the teacher:

                                     Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 1
                             SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

                        Humans and the Environment

In the diagram below, list 5 human activities that have an impact on
          our environment. One is done to get you started.


         1 Invasive                                            3.
        brought in to
        great lakes.
         i.e.: zebra
          mussels.                    Human

                        4.                                5.

                               Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 2
                              SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

Disappearing Frogs

Use Nelson Science 10 pgs 10 – 13 or Science 10 Concepts and
Connections pgs 8 – 10 to answer the following:

      Biologists have recently become aware of the rapid disappearance of
__________________, _________________________ and
______________________________ which seem to be dying at
______________________ rates. About ________________ of North America’s frogs
and toads are in trouble.
      Amphibians have been around for more than ____________
__________________ years. Frogs and their relatives have been around a long time
and survived disasters that killed ________________ ages ago. There is evidence to
suggest frogs are being affected by growth of the human __________________.

Why Are Scientists Concerned?
       Many scientists believe that the _______________ of amphibians indicates the
health of the ___________________ they live in. Frogs begin as eggs and grow to
tadpoles in _______________________, and then enter their second life as adults in
________________________ and _________________________ areas. This means
that they are exposed to hazard in both ____________________________. Any
decline in the health of either ecosystem will have an _____________________ on the

Frogs in their Ecosystems
        Tadpoles eat large amounts of _____________________ (small plant-like
organisms), both living and dead. The tadpole is a _____________________________
and is part of an aquatic food chain. In this food chain there are two food sources –
producers (the _____________________) and detritus (waste from plants and animals.
Detritus food chains are critical in the recycling of matter in ecosystems. They include
___________________________, organisms that break down dead and decaying
matter to get nutrients for their own use, but also to release
________________________ to the soil and water for plants and algae
        Adult frogs eat mostly ______________________________, although they may
also each some small _________________________. In turn, large fish, predatory
birds, reptiles, and small mammals eat frogs. Frogs are an important part of food
        If frogs were completely wiped out, _____________________ populations would
soar. The result is a rise in the number of ____________________________, and a
dramatic rise in the cases of ___________________________ among humans.
Why are Frogs disappearing?
 Loss of Habitat

                                 Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 3
                              SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

     The loss of habitat, places where a species _________________, is often the main
     reason why frogs are disappearing. The growth of cities and human activities,
     such as ______________________ and _________________________, are
     responsible for a loss of habitat. Humans drain ponds, cut down trees, and build
     roads between ponds and woods.
    Air and Water Quality
     A second cause for the decline in frog numbers is ________________________.
     This is because frog skin is _____________________ and not protected. Frogs
     breathe through their skin, which must be thin enough to allow
     ___________________ through. Acidity affects the frogs’ ability to
     ____________________________. Embryos, if they develop at all, grow
     _____________________ in acidic water. Embryos may also develop
     ____________________ limbs. Tadpoles with such limbs do not live long.
    Ultraviolet Radiation
     The thin skin of a frog is also susceptible to _______________________ (UV)
     radiation. This invisible radiation from the sun causes suntans and sunburn, but it
     also has been linked with more serious cell damage and cancer. The amount of
     UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface is ____________________________
     because of damage to the protective ozone layer surrounding our planet.
    Climate Change
     Human activities are causing a change in climate have also been linked to the
     _________________________ of frogs. There is evidence of a
     _________________________ warming trend. Climate changes can cause
     important changes in local _____________________________. If the climate
     becomes ________________, frogs will suffer.

Answer the following questions:

    1. Why are frogs called an indicator species?

    2. A decline in the number of frogs would affect other species. Using the term ―food
       chain‖, describe the impact that a decline in frogs would have on

       a.     Insects

       b.     algae

                          Acid Precipitation
  Read the following article taken from Environmental Science and
Technology Online at

                                 Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 4
                                  SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

Use a highlighter to highlight important statements regarding acid
rain and then answer the questions that follow the article.

Science News –
August 16, 2006
               Acid rain a growing problem for western Canada

Federal and provincial governments have not yet capped acid
emissions from Alberta’s burgeoning oil and gas industry.
The ―gold rush‖ to exploit oil resources in Canada’s Alberta province is driving up emissions of
acidifying pollutants—and may have already begun to damage sensitive ecosystems in western
Canada, according to Environment Canada documents.

Chris Evans, Pembina Institute
Alberta’s tar sands, such as those shown here being mined near Fort McMurray, are set
to produce a staggering amount of petroleum — and pollution.

The internal documents, intended for briefing the new environment minister, caused quite a stir
when they landed in the hands of the Canadian press in June, in part because they state, ―There
is... growing concern about the potential for acid rain impacts in western Canada due to expected
increases in acidifying emissions from industrial sources.‖ Acid rain is caused when the burning
of fossil fuels releases SO2 and NOx.

Until now, acid rain has not been seen as a problem for western Canada, thanks to low pollution
levels and calcium-rich soils that buffer acid precipitation, explains Dean Jeffries, a geochemist
at Environment Canada. But urban and industrial growth have made Alberta the top provincial
emitter of NOx and SO2, and over the next 10 – 20 years, these emissions from Alberta’s
petroleum industry are projected to surpass current levels by 3 – 5×, says Kerri Timoffee,
manager of the acid rain program at Environment Canada.

The sheer size of Alberta’s oil deposits — the equivalent of 1.7 trillion barrels of oil, second only
to Saudi Arabia — has made them an attractive source, despite the difficulties in extracting
petroleum from them. Mining the deposits, known as tar sands for their consistency, requires
massive amounts of natural gas to heat steam in order to move the tar-like bitumen out of the

                                      Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 5
                                  SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

ground and process it into synthetic crude oil. Production from northern Alberta’s tar sands
could triple to >3 million barrels/d by 2015, according to Canada’s National Energy Board.

The tar sands are directly upwind of areas in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwest Territories
that are considered sensitive to acid rain. This region, roughly the northern third of the western
provinces, is covered by thin, poorly buffered soils atop granite bedrock, says Pierre Pinault, the
chief of acid rain and stratospheric ozone at Environment Canada. ―If we don’t have a problem
yet, we certainly have the potential for one in the future,‖ he says.

Preliminary studies hint that acidification already may be under way. According to a new report
for the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, ~7% of soils in Manitoba and ~2% of
soils in Saskatchewan exceed the safe threshold for acid pollution of sulfur and nitrogen. At a
Saskatchewan site 200 km downwind of the tar sands, the mean level of acid in precipitation
increased in the past 12 years, sliding from pH 5.3 to 4.1, says Paul James, the director of
environmental monitoring for Saskatchewan Environment. Normal rainfall has a pH of 5.6.

Nevertheless, Environment Canada officials are optimistic that they can prevent the western
provinces from suffering the ―dead‖ lakes and weakened forests that still plague eastern Canada.
Provincial and federal governments have the tools to keep a lid on acid rain, Pinault says. The
western provinces committed to maintaining air quality in areas that are still clean under the
1998 Canada-Wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000, Timoffee says.

Alberta made a similar provincial-level commitment in 1999. The province has the opportunity
to slow the growth rate of acidifying emissions by inserting requirements for best-available
technology and emissions caps into individual permits for oil-sands projects, says Chris
Severson-Baker, the director of the energy watch program for the Pembina Institute, an
environmental policy research and education group. However, none of the thousands of permits
approved to date have required the ultralow-NOx burners and selective catalytic reduction
scrubbers that are part of the standard requirements in the U.S. for new natural-gas power plants,
he says.

The unreleased Environment Canada documents state that ―air quality modeling indicates that
even when existing planned reductions in both Canada and the U.S. are considered, Canada’s
clean air goals will not be met.‖ — JANET PELLEY


   1. What is causing an increase in emissions and acidifying pollutants?

   2. What causes acid rain?

                                     Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 6
                          SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

3. Why has acid rain not been a problem for Western Canada until now?

4. Why is Alberta now the top producer of acid emissions; NO2 and SO2?

5. Why are Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwest Territories considered
   especially sensitive to acid rain?

6. What has the provincial and federal government done to try and keep a lid on
   acid rain?

7. Does the U.S. and Canada have the same standard requirements on technology
   to minimize acidic emissions? Explain.

8. Your car produces the same types of acid emissions that many factories do.
   Describe three things that you can do as an individual to help reduce the amount
   of emissions released into the atmosphere.

                             Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 7
                               SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

             Lab Activity – Human Activity and the Environment


Humans can significantly impact the ecosystems around them. In this activity you will
investigate how three human activities, the use of fertilizer, addition of salt on roads,
and the production of acid rain can impact plant growth.

Safety: Wear Safety glasses. Do not touch fertilizer with bare hands.


Plant cuttings or sprouts. i.e.: alfalfa sprouts, coleus cuttings, water plant sprigs,
duck weed, weeds with roots,

Three containers in which to hold plants

Beakers or mixing containers for watering solutions


Tap Water


Plant food

Road salt or standard salt


   1. Take plants and divide into four containers. You may use soil or have them sit is
      a liquid solution.

   2. Add the equivalent of 1 pinch of fertilizer to 1/4 liter (250ml) of water Mix. DO

   3. Add 2 teaspoons of vinegar to 250ml of water. Mix

   4. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to 250ml of water. Mix.

   5. Label plant containers with the following: Tap Water,
      Acid – Vinegar, Fertilizer. Salt.

   6. Pour appropriate solution over plants to water them. Save extra solutions for
      future watering.

                                   Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 8
                          SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

  7. Observe daily for a minimum one week recording any changes. Water with
     appropriate solution as necessary.


Complete the following table with observations of plants. Be certain
to note any colour changes, or signs of wilting.

                            Plant Observations

 Day      Tap Water           Acid                 Salt       Fertilizer
                             Solution            Solution





                              Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 9
                         SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3


  1. Are there any significant differences in your results? Explain.

  2. Did any results surprise you? Describe.

  3. Why is it important to know how humans impact plant development?

  4. Humans use lots of salt on icy roads in the winter. What possible
     problems may this cause when Spring comes?

  5. Where does acid in our environment come from?

  6. List two good reasons to use fertilizers and two problems that
     fertilizers can cause.

                            Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 10
                      SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

7. What can you do to help the problems caused by acid rain and road
   salt use?

                        Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 11
                              SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

Invasion by a Foreign Species into an Ecosystem

      Many plants and animals have been imported into a new ecosystem either by
design or by accident. Many arrive on ships, or in the packing of the crate containing a
shipment and ―come ashore‖ entering the new ecosystem.

Purple Loosestrife
       Using the internet go to this site:
       Go to the ―Frequently asked questions‖ section to answer the following:

1. Is this species a producer, consumer, scavenger, or decomposer?

2. Where did the purple loosestrife come from?

3. When did it arrive in North America?

4. How did it enter North America?
5. What are some of the nicknames for purple loosestrife?

6. What affect has this species had on the ecosystem that it has invaded?

7. How does it spread?

                                 Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 12
                                SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

8. How can you get rid of it?

                                  Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 13
                                SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

 Whether an exotic species has been introduced to an ecosystem on purpose, or by
 accident, there are often natural species that are endangered as a result.

Banff Longnose Dace

         Using the internet, go to the following site to answer the questions below:

         Select English and then do a search for the Banff Longnose Dace

 1. Is this species a producer, consumer, scavenger or decomposer?

 2. Is this species endangered, threatened, extirpated or extinct? __________________
    What does this mean?______________________                 ________________________

 3. Describe this species:

 4. Describe the habitat of this fish:

 5. What were the three main limiting factors for this species?
        1) ________________________________________________________
        2) ________________________________________________________
        3) ________________________________________________________


                                   Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 14
                          SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3


Bioaccumulation, sometimes called biomagnification, is the build up of a
substance as it moves up a food chain. Many substances taken into the
body are broken down, or eliminated. However, there are many
substances that get stored in the body for long periods of time.

Pesticides are chemicals that are designed to kill pests. A pest is any
organism that people consider harmful or inconvenient.

DDT was a pesticide that was used in the U.S. and Canada for many
years. What was found is that DDT doesn’t break down in the environment
and builds up in organisms. The bioaccumulation of DDT was associated
with reproductive problems in birds. It was also not fully understood what
the long term impacts of DDT use would be. DDT was banned from use in
the U.S. and Canada in 1972, but it was still used until 2000 in Mexico.
DDT has been found in the far reaches of the Arctic Circle. Inuit people
who eat seal or other large mammals have some of the highest
concentrations of DDT in their bodies of people in the world.

Why would Inuit people have higher concentrations of this pesticide than
other populations?

DDT gets into the food supply low down on the food chain. Imagine small
oceanic fish eating plankton contaminated with DDT. Each little fish, a
primary consumer, in its lifetime eats hundreds of thousands of plankton.
Since DDT doesn’t break down, the DDT accumulates and stays in the little
fish. They may have a concentration of 0.23 ppm (parts per million) in their

Then a larger fish, a secondary consumer, comes along and eats
thousands of little fish in its life time. The DDT may build up in the
secondary consumer to 2.07 ppm. A tertiary consumer such as a bird or
seal may eat many of the larger fish. Now the DDT may reach a level of
13.8 ppm. Since DDT doesn’t break down, any organism higher up on the
food chain is getting all of the poison consumed lower down on the food
chain into its body.

                            Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 15
                       SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3


  1. What is bioaccumulation?

  2. Why is DDT considered a dangerous pesticide?

                         Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 16
                      SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

3. Explain how DDT builds up in a food web.

4. Why would Inuit people of Northern Canada have higher levels of
   DDT than people living in Southern Ontario.

5. When a woman is pregnant, she is told to limit her intake of Tuna and
   other large fish. Explain.

6. DDT is not the only toxin that causes problems. Other known
   substances to build up in food chains include Mercury and PCBs.
   Although present throughout the Great Lakes, Hamilton harbor has a
   fairly high concentration of these substances. Should people be
   allowed to fish in Hamilton harbor? Explain.

                         Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 17
                             SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

                                           Average Concentration
    Species              Location                                       In Shell
                                            of DDE in Eggs (ppm)
                   Alaskan tundra (north
Peregrine falcon                                       889               -21.7%
Peregrine falcon      Central Alaska                   673               -16.8%
Peregrine falcon      Aleutian Islands                 167                -7.5%
 Rough-legged      Alaskan tundra (north
                                                       22.5               -3.3%
    hawk                  slope)
                    Seward Peninsular,
    Gyrfalcon                                          3.88                 0

   7. The table above shows the relationship between concentrations of
      DDT found in the eggs of various bird species and the reduction in
      shell thickness.

          A. Draw a conclusion on the effect of DDT based on the results

          B. Which type of organism seems to be most greatly affected?

          C. Propose a hypothesis to explain the observed differences.

                                Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 18
                       SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3


HUMAN INTERACTIONS           POLLUTION               DDT         TOXINS




                         Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 19
                              SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

Multiple Choice

   1. DDT would be most concentrated in which of the following?
        a. Producers
        b. Primary consumers
        c. Top carnivores
        d. Bird eggs

   2. Frogs are vulnerable to contaminants in the environment because
         a. They have thick skin to collect toxins
         b. They have thin skin that absorbs toxins
         c. They live in more than one ecosystem
         d. Both b and c

   3. Purple Loosestrife is described as a(n)
         a. Extinct species
         b. Invasive species
         c. Indicator species
         d. Consumer

   4. The two chemicals that make up acid rain are
         a. C02 and H20
         b. S02 and N02
         c. NH3 and S02
         d. C02 and N02

   5. The process of toxins building up in food chains is called
         a. Amplification
         b. Bioaccumulation
         c. Toxicity
         d. Transformation

True or False – Correct False Answers

   1. Ontarians have the highest concentrations of DDT of all Canadians.

   2. Alberta is the leading producer of acid emissions in Canada.

   3. 70% of frog populations are in danger of dieing out.

   4. Tadpoles are carnivores.

   5. Malaria may increase if frog populations decline.

                                 Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 20
                           SNC2P Unit 1 Lesson 3

Short Answer

  1. Describe 5 ways humans impact the environment

  2. China has the fastest growing economy in the world. It is also the most
     populous Nation. Many peasant people are now reaching middle class status.
     As a result, there is an increasing demand for energy, food, conveniences.
     Pollution is on the increase in China and Farmland is on the decline. How do
     you think this will impact the World at large?

  3. Describe 5 things you can do to help minimize the impact humans have on the

                              Unit 1 Lesson 3 – Page 21

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