Lab Worksheet 4

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Lab 4 Worksheet: Model Ecosystems

Student instructions: Follow the step-by-step instructions for this exercise found on the virtual lab and the instructions below and record your answers in the spaces below. Submit this completed document by the assignment due date found in the Syllabus.

Please make sure that your answers are typed in RED.


1. Please make sure you have read through all of the information in the “Question” and “Field Guide” areas. If you come upon terms that are unfamiliar to you, please refer to your textbook for further explanation or search the word here: 2. In this exercise, you will examine several model ecosystems and their characteristic plant and animal species. To begin, read the information in the “Field Guide” to learn more about the organization of five selected ecosystems. 3. You are now ready to begin the activity. Start by selecting the ecosystem type that you would like to model from the pull down menu in the laboratory area. Then click and drag the various organisms to their correct locations within the different trophic levels of the pyramid. Once you have moved all of the organisms click the “Check” button and fix any incorrect choices if necessary. Clicking on the “Pyramid of Energy” will reveal how much energy is available at each trophic level. Clicking on the “Pyramid of Numbers” will show the number of organisms at each trophic level within this type of ecosystem. Fill in all of the information from this pyramid on Table I below. 4. You must take one last step in the investigation of this ecosystem. It is important to determine the amount of energy that is transferred from one trophic level to the next. This is called the “energy conversion efficiency” (E.C.E.), and this ratio is determined by taking the energy value from a higher trophic level and dividing it by the energy value of the level below it. Please do these calculations as directed and input the data in your “Data Table” and Table I below. 5. When you are completely finished analyzing the ecosystem, you can then click the “Reset” button and select another type of ecosystem from the pull down menu. Follow the directions above to investigate this ecosystem and the three that remain. 6. Please finish this exercise by opening the “Journal” link at the bottom of the page and answering the questions. Table I:

|Ecosystem Type |Producers |First Order Heterotrophs |Second Order Heterotrophs|Third Order Heterotrophs | |Deciduous Forest |Organisms present: 7996 |Organisms present: 4559 |Organisms present: 1418 |Organisms present: 50 | | | | | | | | |Energy: 6011 |Energy: 623 |Energy: 61 |Energy: 6 | | |Numbers: |Numbers: |Numbers: |Numbers: | | |E.C.E.*: |E.C.E.*: .1036 |E.C.E.*: .0979 |E.C.E.*: .0983 | |Hot Desert |Organisms present: 2603 |Organisms present: 831 |Organisms present: 58 |Organisms present: 5 | | | | | | | | |Energy: 200 |Energy: 21 |Energy: 2 |Energy: .19 | | |Numbers: |Numbers: |Numbers: |Numbers: | | |E.C.E.*: |E.C.E.*: .105 |E.C.E.*.0952...
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