In the 1960's, in an attempt to eradicate malaria, the World Health Organization embarked on a major campaign to rid the tropics of the mosquitoes that carry the disease. Borneo was to be one of the regions cleared, and a massive spraying campaign was initiated throughout the worst affected areas. The chosen pesticide was DDT, a highly toxic and cancer-causing chemical since banned in most western countries but still widely used in the Third World.

Initially the program was successful and the mosquito population fell dramatically. But it was not only mosquitoes that died. Numerous other species were poisoned by the DDT, among them a minute wasp that preyed upon caterpillars living in the thatch of local houses. With the wasp gone, the caterpillar numbers increased to plague proportions, devouring the roofs of house and causing them to collapse. Nonetheless, the spraying program continued. the dead mosquitoes were eaten by gecko lizards which, as thy became sick, proved easy prey for the local cats. As a result the cats accumulated large quantities of DDT, passed on from insect to lizard to cat. The cats began to die in their thousands - and local population of rats exploded. The rats not only ate local crops but brought an even greater menace - bubonic plague. In desperation the Borneo government called for cats to be parachuted into the worst affected regions.

Today, the mosquitoes have returned to the sprayed areas and malaria is still rife. Many pesticides are now in effective, the mosquitoes having developed resistance to them. But, as in other parts of the world, the spraying goes on unabated. And the subtle balance of nature continues to be disrupted.

1. On a piece of paper, draw and label a flow chart which traces the domino-effect impacts that spraying mosquitoes with the pesticide DDT had in Borneo in the 1960's.

2. What is DDT? Why is it banned in the USA?

3. Speculate on why DDT is not banned and still used in Third World countries?

4. Read about food chains, food webs, and biological magnification in the Biology text or Environmental Science text.

a. Create on your paper examples of a food chains, labeling each part of the food chain with the following terms:

producer
primary consumer
secondary consumer
herbivore
carnivore
top carnivore
autotroph
heterotroph

b. Draw a food web consisting of a number of food chains

c. Draw a diagram which explains the concept of biological magnification.

Discovering the Structure of Nature

Ecosystem Structure Terminology

Directions: Read the paragraphs describing “My Yard” you have been given. Underlined terms in the paragraphs represent aspects of ecosystem structure. Place the underlined terms from the piece of writing into the appropriate categories given below:

Species

Population

Community

Habitat

Ecosystem

Niche

My Yard

My yard is a small microcosm of the typical oak and maple forests of the Willamette Valley. It definitely gives one the feeling of being in the woods. Everywhere you look, there are trees, shrubs, ferns, wildflowers, and vines. In terms of trees, there are about seven black locusts, three horsechestnuts, three dogwoods, five Douglas fir trees, and a huge old Oregon White Oak. There are also many kinds of maple trees: Japanese maple, vine maple, a bigleaf maple, whose scientific name is Acer macrophylum, and an unusual Acer griseum, (which is also known as the paperbark maple for its peeling red bark.)

Next to my driveway is a tree once thought to be extinct. It is the Dawn Redwood. Once plentiful in the temperate rainforests of earth 10,000 years ago, they had long been thought to be extinct until the 1940's when they were found in a secluded valley in China. Since then, they have been transplanted successfully back into their natural environment of Oregon's forests and are making a strong comeback.

Along with all the trees in my yard, there are numerous kinds of wildlife. A family of 3-5 raccoons live around my home. We often see them in the trees at night. A family of opossum live in the underbrush. Gray squirrels are always jumping and chasing each other among the branches. Lately, they have been very busy storing horsechestnuts in the holes of the old oak tree for winter.

As you can imagine, there are lots of birds to be found in my yard. I have noticed that the smaller birds such as the wrens tend to stay among the branches of the smaller shrubs and trees and eat seeds and small berries, while the larger birds, such as the bluejays and robins stay in the larger trees and eat worms, insects, and larger seeds.

Look under a rock in my yard and you are bound to find a host of snails, potato bugs, slugs, and millipedes. These small invertebrates are not the only little creatures around that many people like to avoid. There are, also, many spiders with their webs among the plants, that one can't take a walk around without getting a web in the face!

In the last few weeks, I've noticed that as the trees lose their leaves, other organisms are "sprouting" all over the place. These organisms are the ones that thrive in the moist dampness of old tree trunks and logs and cause them to rot by feeding off of the decaying wood. Yes, you guessed it: the famous fungi. There are puffballs, bracket fungi, club mushrooms, and even a slime mold!

Cycles in Nature

All living things on this planet are composed of four basic elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen (C,H,O,N). These elements make up the carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids which make up our cells and the cells of all other living organisms on our earth. How do these four basic elements always make themselves available as our bodies produce the million or so cells each and every second of every day?

The four elements necessary to all living organisms are constantly cycled through nature in these 3 biogeochemical cycles:

1. Click on each of the cycle links above to see examples of the cycles.

2. On your own piece of paper, draw each of the cycles, labeling with the words listed below and using arrows to show the flow of the nutrients.

3. Then below each drawing, write a few sentences describing actions of mankind that have caused disruption of the cycle.

Water Cycle

Atmospheric water vapor

Precipitation

Evaporation

Transpiration

Runoff

Surface water

Ground water

Water Table

Percolation (leaching)

Carbon-Oxygen Cycle

Atmospheric oxygen

Atmospheric carbon dioxide

Photosynthesis

Respiration

Stored carbon

Decomposition

Combustion

Plankton

Nitrogen Cycle

Atmospheric nitrogen

Nitrogen fixing bacteria

Ammonia

Nitrifying bacteria

Usable nitrates

Stored nitrogen

Decomposition

Ammonifying bacteria

Denitrifying bacteria

Biomes of the World

Directions: With a partner, create a booklet which provides written and visual information on these 9 biomes of the world:

Land Biomes

Tundra

Coniferous Forest

Desert

Deciduous Forest

Grasslands

Tropical Rainforest

Temperate Rainforest

Water Biomes

Marine

Freshwater

The information you must provide for each one of the above biomes is as follows:

I. Biotic Factors:

Typical vegetation list (flora)

Typical animal list (fauna)

II. Abiotic Factors: (For land biomes only)

Soil conditions

Temperature range

Precipitation levels

III.   A color-coded map showing the location of the biome



IV.   A color-coded graph demonstrating the monthly temperature range and precipitation range     for the land biomes.

V.      A list of the Natural Resources within the biome (ex: soil, timber, minerals, water, coal,   oil, fish, etc.)

VI.         Examples of Human Impact (ex: plowing land, cutting forests, draining                         wetlands, pollution, mining, urbanization)

VII.   Visuals of the biome (these can be hand-drawn or cut out of magazines, and placed on the opposite page of the information in the booklet.)

Then, on one additional piece of paper, type answers to the following questions:

Define a biome. What are the three major factors that categorize or determine which land biome you are in? What is the single differentiating factor that divides the aquatic biomes into two categories and what are those categories?

From a human point of view, give some reasons why it is advantageous to have different kinds of biomes in the world.

3. Describe and explain the relationship between biomes and the level of development

     of countries. Which biomes tend to support de eloped countries? Which biomes

     tend to contain underdeveloped countries?



Make sure your booklet has a cover with a title and your names. This piece of work should also reflect neatness, creativity, professionalism, in short, your best work!



Due Tuesday, October 31^st!!!!!

Option #2: This assignment can be done as a website instead of a booklet. Information on biomes can be accessed at the following websites:

http://www.snowcrest.net/geography/slides/biomes/index.html

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html

http://www.marlborough.la.ca.us/depts/science/biomes.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html

http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.html

http://www.psd.k12.co.us/schools/tavelli/biomes.html

Election 2000

Directions:

Each group will be assigned to create a mini-campaign that either focuses on a presidential candidate or a ballot measure. Each group will be required to present their campaign to the class.

If you are representing a candidate, your campaign must include the following:

·        Background information about the candidate.

·        Identification and brief explanation of the candidates political party.

·        Description of the candidates views on major political issues such as environment, education, crime, health care, social security, etc.

·        A political advertisement representing your candidate. This advertisement can be a poster, comic strip, web site, video , etc.

If you are presenting a ballot measure, you must include the following:

·        Brief Explanation of the ballot measure.

·        If you represent a “Yes” vote, you must explain the consequence of a “Yes” vote.

       If you represent a “No” vote, you must explain the consequence of a “No” vote.

·        If you are “For” the ballot measure, you must describe the arguments “For” the measure.

        If you are “Against” the ballot measure, you must describe the arguments “Against” the measure.

·        A political advertisement representing your position on the ballot measure. This advertisement can be a poster, comic strip, web site, video, etc.

Once presentations are complete, a school-wide election will take place based on the campaigns that are presented in class. Good luck and have fun!

For more information go to:

http://www.kidsvotingoregon.org/

http://www.kidsvotingoregon.org/links.htm

Ecosystem Interactions

Directions:

Define the following terms:

Competition

Predator-Prey Relationships

Social Behaviors

Defensive Mechanisms

Rhythms

Mutualistic Symbiosis

Parasitic Symbiosis

Commensualistic Symbiosis

Using the video, Alien Empire, identify each of the above inter-relationships that are focused on in the insect world.

Economic Systems

Directions:

Read Chapter 4 in the Economics text.

Compare the four types of economies:

Traditional

Planned

Free-Market

Mixed

contact: school@communityschoolhouse.org