How Wolves Impact an Ecosystem? Introduction
What is a wolf? Where does it come from? Speciation and Populations
A. What is the wolf? How does it differ from other Canine species? Why does it differ?
A. What is the wolf? How does it differ from other Canine species? Why does it differ?
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Click on the links to learn about the Grey Wolf (Canis Lupis)
B. Task: Big Bad wolf editorial
Often the wolf is cast in a very negative perspective thanks to it's proximity to humans. Because of attacks on livestock and fables told historically, human's started hunting wolves mercilessly. You need to defend the poor wolf by writing a newspaper editorial defending the wolf. You must write about the wolf's habitat, characteristics, diet and social behaviour. Start with. "I'm not so bad......." |
Speciation: How do we get a new species?
Speciation occurs when a group within a species separates from other members of its species and develops its own unique characteristics. The demands of a different environment or the characteristics of the members of the new group will differentiate the new species from their ancestors.
An example of speciation is the Galápagos finch. Different species of these birds live on different islands in the Galápagos archipelago, located in the Pacific Ocean off South America. The finches are isolated from one another by the ocean. Over millions of years, each species of finch developed a unique beak that is especially adapted to the kinds of food it eats. Some finches have large, blunt beaks that can crack the hard shells of nuts and seeds. Other finches have long, thin beaks that can probe into cactus flowers without the bird being poked by the cactus spines. Still other finches have medium-size beaks that can catch and grasp insects. Because they are isolated, the birds don’t breed with one another and have therefore developed into unique species with unique characteristics. This is called allopatric speciation. There are four types of speciation: allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric and artificial. Allopatric speciation occurs when a species separates into two separate groups which are isolated from one another. A physical barrier, such as a mountain range or a waterway, makes it impossible for them to breed with one another. Each species develops differently based on the demands of their unique habitat or the genetic characteristics of the group that are passed on to offspring. When Arizona's Grand Canyon formed, squirrels and other small mammals that had once been part of a single population could no longer contact and reproduce with each other across this new geographic barrier. They could no longer interbreed. The squirrel population underwent allopatric speciation. Today, two separate squirrel species inhabit the north (Harris's Antelope Squirrel) and south rims (White-tailed Antelope Squirrel) of the canyon. |
text edited from original source:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/speciation/ Peripatric speciation is when small groups of individuals break off from the larger group and form a new species. In parapatric speciation, a species is spread out over a large geographic area. Although it is possible for any member of the species to mate with another member, individuals only mate with those in their own geographic region. Instead of being separated by a physical barrier, the species are separated by differences in the same environment.
Parapatric speciation sometimes happens when part of an environment has been polluted. Mining activities leave waste with high amounts of metals like lead and zinc. These metals are absorbed into the soil, preventing most plants from growing. Some grasses, such as buffalo grass, can tolerate the metals. Buffalo grass, also known as vanilla grass, is native to Europe and Asia, but is now found throughout North and South America, too. Buffalo grass has become a unique species from the grasses that grow in areas not polluted by metals. Long distances can make it impractical to travel to reproduce with other members of the species. Buffalo grass seeds pass on the characteristics of the members in that region to offspring. Sometimes a species that is formed by parapatric speciation is especially suited to survive in a different kind of environment than the original species. Sympatric speciation occurs when there are no physical barriers preventing any members of a species from mating with another, and all members are in close proximity to one another. A new species, perhaps based on a different food source or characteristic, seems to develop spontaneously. The theory is that some individuals become dependent on certain aspects of an environment—such as shelter or food sources—while others do not. A possible example of sympatric speciation is the apple maggot, an insect that lays its eggs inside the fruit of an apple, causing it to rot. As the apple falls from the tree, the maggots dig in the ground before emerging as flies several months later. The apple maggot originally laid its eggs in the fruit of a relative of the apple—a fruit called a hawthorn. After apples were introduced to North America in the 19th century, a type of maggot developed that only lays its eggs in apples. The original hawthorn species still only lays its eggs in hawthorns. The two types of maggots are not different species yet, but many scientists believe they are undergoing the process of sympatric speciation. Artificial speciation is the creation of new species by people. This is achieved through lab experiments, where scientists mostly research insects like fruit flies, and in animal husbandry. Animal husbandry is the care and breeding of livestock (animals). Many agricultural products, such as dairy, meat, and wool, depend on animal husbandry. |
Speciation from Jenny Klemme |
3. How do we know the wolf has evolved?
We know how evolution works because we have physical evidence to show that habitat change and species change has occurred.
Topic Assignment:
Create a Prezzi to discuss the evolution of a chosen species. The presentation is no more than 8 slides and must demonstrate how the species has adapted to change over time, leading to the species that we see today. The key points to demonstrate are the changes in the environment that have changed to the species. How did the environment change and why? How did the species adapt and why? |
4. The next extinction: Are we causing it?
The extinction of even one species can seem catastrophic. But over the whole of life on Earth, extinction is quite normal. Extinctions occur continually in a process called "background extinction". However, extinction rates can suddenly rise for a relatively short time or during an event known as a mass extinction. Mass extinctions have a range of causes and kill off many species. But the space left behind may allow other species to develop changing the diversity of life on Earth.
Life on Earth has experienced several mass extinctions, the most devastating was the Permian mass extinction 225 million years ago. About 90% of the species living at the time went extinct, including most of the dominant land vertebrates at the time, the synapsids. Scientists are studying this event to figure out whether it was caused by climate change, volcanic eruptions, sea level change, continental movement, asteroid impacts, or several of these factors. edited from: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/massextinctions_01 |
A. In groups, you will research one mass extinction.
Guiding questions for research as a group.
B. Individually, you now need to include the following times.
Biological Events Timeline: (MY = Million years before present)
- Late Ordovician
- Late Devonian
- End-Permian (sometimes called “Permian-Triassic”)
- End-Triassic
- End-Cretaceous (also known as “Cretaceous-Tertiary” or “K-T”)
Guiding questions for research as a group.
- When did this extinction take place? (What years roughly?)
- Describe the extent of the extinction. How many kinds of organisms lived on Earth before the extinction? What percentage were lost during the extinction? Did new kinds of organisms evolve after this extinction?
- What did Earth look like at that time? Were the continents in the same locations they’re in today? If not, how were they arranged? (Sketch a rough map)
- How do scientists know what they know about the event? What evidence have they used to support their ideas?
- What are some of the kinds of organisms that went extinct during the extinction?
- What explanations have scientists put forth to explain why so many groups of organisms disappeared during this extinction? Do scientists agree on the cause for this extinction?
B. Individually, you now need to include the following times.
Biological Events Timeline: (MY = Million years before present)
- First bacteria - 3500 MY
- Trace animal fossils - 1000 MY
- First fish - 505 MY
- Early land plants - 438 MY
- First amphibians - 370 MY
- First reptiles - 310 MY
- Dinosaurs appear - 240 MY
- First mammals - 225 MY
- First birds - 200 MY
- Flowering plants appear - 140 MY
- Earliest humans - 2 MY
- Formation of Earth - 4600 MY
- Oldest rocks yet discovered - 3950 MY
- Significant oxygen in atmosphere - 1500 MY
- Start of supercontinent Pangaea (all continents pushed together) - 360 MY
- Break-up of Pangaea begins 225 MY
- Massive volcanic activity marking opening of north Atlantic Ocean - 60 MY
- Formation of Rocky Mountains - 60 MY
- Major deformation of Alps and Himalayas - 50 MY
- Hawaii (big island) eruptions start - 0.7 MY
C. The sixth mass extinction
Read the article from the guardian and answer the following questions
- Describe each of the 4 main causes of biodiversity loss.
- Discuss what can be done to slow/stop the loss of biodiversity.
5. Where Wolves Live: Biomes And Taiga/Boreal Forests
The timber wolf is commonly found along areas of the taiga biome in North America, Northern Europe and Russia. The taiga or coniferous biome is characterised by cold winters and short mild summers. Why is it relatively colder in these biomes and how does it affect productivity?
We're going to do a practical investigation of this looking at how temperature affects productivity and how insolation affects temperature.
We're going to do a practical investigation of this looking at how temperature affects productivity and how insolation affects temperature.
Camboba & Pondweed Productivity |
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So why do we have different biomes?
Geography has a profound impact on ecosystems because global circulation patterns and climate zones set basic physical conditions for the organisms that inhabit a given area. The most important factors are temperature ranges, moisture availability, light, and nutrient availability, which together determine what types of life are most likely to flourish in specific regions and what environmental challenges they will face.
Earth is divided into distinct climate zones that are created by global circulation patterns. The tropics are the warmest, wettest regions of the globe, while subtropical high-pressure zones create dry zones at about 30° latitude north and south. Temperatures and precipitation are lowest at the poles. These conditions create biomes—broad geographic zones whose plants and animals are adapted to different climate patterns. Since temperature and precipitation vary by latitude, Earth's major terrestrial biomes are broad zones that stretch around the globe. Each biome contains many ecosystems (smaller communities) made up of organisms adapted for life in their specific settings.
Geography has a profound impact on ecosystems because global circulation patterns and climate zones set basic physical conditions for the organisms that inhabit a given area. The most important factors are temperature ranges, moisture availability, light, and nutrient availability, which together determine what types of life are most likely to flourish in specific regions and what environmental challenges they will face.
Earth is divided into distinct climate zones that are created by global circulation patterns. The tropics are the warmest, wettest regions of the globe, while subtropical high-pressure zones create dry zones at about 30° latitude north and south. Temperatures and precipitation are lowest at the poles. These conditions create biomes—broad geographic zones whose plants and animals are adapted to different climate patterns. Since temperature and precipitation vary by latitude, Earth's major terrestrial biomes are broad zones that stretch around the globe. Each biome contains many ecosystems (smaller communities) made up of organisms adapted for life in their specific settings.
Source: http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=4&secNum=2
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6. Why is biodiversity important?
6.1 Answer the following hypothetical question
- Would human populations be better or worse off if there were only 5 species of plant and 5 species of animal remaining on Earth?
- Make a note for each of the 12 examples of importance.
7. Threats to biodiversity
Edited from original source: http://www.defenders.org/gray-wolf/threats
Conflict with Humans
Where wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act, the most common cause of death for wolves is conflict with people over livestock losses. While wolf predation on livestock is fairly uncommon, wolves that are suspected of preying on livestock are often killed, sometimes even entire packs. Where they are not protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, the most common cause of death for wolves is hunting and trapping.
Intolerance
Overall, the greatest threat to wolves is prejudice, fear and misunderstanding about the species. Many fairy tales and myths tend to misrepresent wolves as villainous, dangerous creatures. Anti-wolf extremists perpetuate these myths, and it is a slow process to undo decades of misinformation. Some hunters perceive wolves as a threat to hunting opportunities, while others understand that wolves tend to prey on weaker or diseased elk and deer instead of the ”trophy bulls” commonly targeted by hunters. By culling weaker animals from the herds, wolves help maintain the overall health of these animals.
Habitat Loss
Another serious threat is human encroachment into wolf habitat. This leads to habitat fragmentation, where wolves might have to travel across lands with varying degrees of protection, cross highways, through developed areas and across large portions of private land, potentially containing livestock. All of these increase the risks wolves must face. This makes it very difficult for wolves to adequately expand into all areas of suitable habitat, which is vital to sustainable recovery of wolves in the lower 48.
Diminishing Protection
Wolves in the lower 48 states are in danger of losing the protections that they so desperately need. In 2011, in an unprecedented move by Congress, gray wolves across much of the Northern Rockies were stripped of their protections under the ESA. Since then, thousands of wolves have been killed in the region, and states have established alarmingly aggressive management plans for these animals. In the entire history of the Endangered Species Act, wolves are the only species to go from protected to hunted in a single day. Wolves in the Great Lakes region were also delisted in 2011.
Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to remove all ESA protection for nearly all gray wolves across the remaining parts of the U.S. This decision could derail wolf recovery efforts in areas around the country where it has barely begun like the states of Oregon and Washington, and in states that possess some of the nation’s best unoccupied wolf habitat.
Where wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act, the most common cause of death for wolves is conflict with people over livestock losses. While wolf predation on livestock is fairly uncommon, wolves that are suspected of preying on livestock are often killed, sometimes even entire packs. Where they are not protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, the most common cause of death for wolves is hunting and trapping.
Intolerance
Overall, the greatest threat to wolves is prejudice, fear and misunderstanding about the species. Many fairy tales and myths tend to misrepresent wolves as villainous, dangerous creatures. Anti-wolf extremists perpetuate these myths, and it is a slow process to undo decades of misinformation. Some hunters perceive wolves as a threat to hunting opportunities, while others understand that wolves tend to prey on weaker or diseased elk and deer instead of the ”trophy bulls” commonly targeted by hunters. By culling weaker animals from the herds, wolves help maintain the overall health of these animals.
Habitat Loss
Another serious threat is human encroachment into wolf habitat. This leads to habitat fragmentation, where wolves might have to travel across lands with varying degrees of protection, cross highways, through developed areas and across large portions of private land, potentially containing livestock. All of these increase the risks wolves must face. This makes it very difficult for wolves to adequately expand into all areas of suitable habitat, which is vital to sustainable recovery of wolves in the lower 48.
Diminishing Protection
Wolves in the lower 48 states are in danger of losing the protections that they so desperately need. In 2011, in an unprecedented move by Congress, gray wolves across much of the Northern Rockies were stripped of their protections under the ESA. Since then, thousands of wolves have been killed in the region, and states have established alarmingly aggressive management plans for these animals. In the entire history of the Endangered Species Act, wolves are the only species to go from protected to hunted in a single day. Wolves in the Great Lakes region were also delisted in 2011.
Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to remove all ESA protection for nearly all gray wolves across the remaining parts of the U.S. This decision could derail wolf recovery efforts in areas around the country where it has barely begun like the states of Oregon and Washington, and in states that possess some of the nation’s best unoccupied wolf habitat.
6.3 Exploring the different causes of biodiversity loss.
Follow the links below and answer the related questions on the top of the infographics.
Follow the links below and answer the related questions on the top of the infographics.
6.5 Why are some species more vulnerable than others?
For this task, you must create a table for each of the reasons in which a species may be more vulnerable than others. Look up the definition for the reason and in the table, explain the reasons and give examples.
- Habitat specialists
- Clumping
- Species Size
- Economic value
- Altruistic species
- Population size
- Population distribution
- Reproductive habits
- Competitiveness
How Many Wolves Are Left?
HOW TO COUNT POPULATIONS/Factors that Affect Numbers
Dichotomous Keys: How we tell if it is a species on it's own.
Lincoln Index: Measuring the number of that species
7. The RED LIST
image source: https://vulturejam.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/greenpeacebattle.jpg
Create a photo essay that presents a case study on the following 3 species:
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2016
Giant Panda Eastern Falanouc Fawn Hopping Mouse Bridled Nailtail Wallaby Tibetan Antelope Degeneria vitiensis Victoria Stonebasher Seychelles White-eye Azores Bullfinch Gentoo Penguin Adélie Penguin Montserrat Oriole Chatham Parakeet St Helena Plover |
2015
Guadalupe Fur Seal Markhor Iberian Lynx Seychelles Warbler Brown Teal Audouin's Gull Velvet Scoter Chatham Petrel Hamilton's Frog |
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8. Conservation
8.1 Conservation organizations
Non-Governmental Organizations: Not run by, funded by, or influenced by governments of any organizations. ex. Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Inter-Governmental Organizations: Bodies are established through international agreements to protect the environment and bring together governments to work together on an international scale. ex. UNEP, IUCN
Inter-Governmental Organizations: Bodies are established through international agreements to protect the environment and bring together governments to work together on an international scale. ex. UNEP, IUCN
The history of the IUCN: The first Inter-Governmental Organizations
Task 8.1: Sort the cards in groups.
Each category focuses on conservation through the lens of the Gov. vs. Non-Gov organizations.
Task 8.2 Answer the following question.
Discuss the effectiveness of Government vs. Non-Government Organizations in their ability to conserve nature and natural resources.
Each category focuses on conservation through the lens of the Gov. vs. Non-Gov organizations.
Task 8.2 Answer the following question.
Discuss the effectiveness of Government vs. Non-Government Organizations in their ability to conserve nature and natural resources.
Unit Assessment: Wolves of Yellowstone Conservation
Your task will be to create a documentary on the conservation of wolves in Yellowstone National Park.
The I-movie must be no more than 5 minutes long and must be original work based on factual evidence you research. Below is an example of a documentary. See how Sir David Attenborough uses clips of animal behaviour as evidence of his statements.
The I-movie must be no more than 5 minutes long and must be original work based on factual evidence you research. Below is an example of a documentary. See how Sir David Attenborough uses clips of animal behaviour as evidence of his statements.
Who can create the best I-Movie, a Sir David Attenborough styled documentary about the wolves of Yellowstone National Park?
Yellowstone Park:
What is the climate? (Temperature, precipitation, soil type, main plant and animal species)
What manipulates/causes the climate in this area?
Characteristics of the park? (Size, shape, area)
Human impacts? (tourism, settlements or towns, roads, human structures)
Wolf populations:
Characteristics of the wolves in Yellowstone? (Populations, size, traits, phenotype characteristics, different sub-species and wolf food web)
How many wolf packs are there in the park? Are they different from each other? How so?
What were the past threats to the wolf populations?
Are there any threats to the wolf population now?
Conservation efforts:
What are RED LIST and IUCN and UNEP? How are they related to the Yellowstone wolves?
What is the RED list status of the Yellowstone wolf? Why?
What conservation efforts are happening within the park?
Is the park in-situ or ex-situ? Which is better? Why?
Can you compare/contrast this type of conservation in the park to another type of conservation elsewhere?
Are the locals involved? How are the locals involved?
Are there education programs running? Are there government laws or policies protecting the wolf?
How you'll be marked?
This will be determined in class. Consider the format? The information required? The skills required? The rubric will be generated in class together and will be considered as part of your in class performance. The mark band will be the same as the IA mark band.
Yellowstone Park:
What is the climate? (Temperature, precipitation, soil type, main plant and animal species)
What manipulates/causes the climate in this area?
Characteristics of the park? (Size, shape, area)
Human impacts? (tourism, settlements or towns, roads, human structures)
Wolf populations:
Characteristics of the wolves in Yellowstone? (Populations, size, traits, phenotype characteristics, different sub-species and wolf food web)
How many wolf packs are there in the park? Are they different from each other? How so?
What were the past threats to the wolf populations?
Are there any threats to the wolf population now?
Conservation efforts:
What are RED LIST and IUCN and UNEP? How are they related to the Yellowstone wolves?
What is the RED list status of the Yellowstone wolf? Why?
What conservation efforts are happening within the park?
Is the park in-situ or ex-situ? Which is better? Why?
Can you compare/contrast this type of conservation in the park to another type of conservation elsewhere?
Are the locals involved? How are the locals involved?
Are there education programs running? Are there government laws or policies protecting the wolf?
How you'll be marked?
This will be determined in class. Consider the format? The information required? The skills required? The rubric will be generated in class together and will be considered as part of your in class performance. The mark band will be the same as the IA mark band.