Pre-Program Student Sheet The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) is a supplemental agreement of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). Ecological regions are a way to assess environmental resources and develop biological criteria. The NAAEC developed ecological regions for areas that are ecologically similar. The regions were determined based on similarities in: vegetation, land use, physiography, climate, hydrology, etc. You will examine similar factors when you visit Blandy Experimental Farm to learn about biotic and abiotic factors of ecosystems. Biotic factors are those created by living things or living things themselves. Abiotic factors are nonliving factors such as soil, temperature, water, etc. In order to familiarize yourself with maps similar to the ones you will be using- Use the EPA Ecoregion map (page 2-3) to answer the questions on this page. 1. In what ecoregion do you live (#)? 2. The Southeast coast of Virginia is in the same ecoregion as what other area? a. What river runs through this area? b. What is similar about these two areas? 3. Which state is located completely in the 8.4 ecoregion? 4. Much of the middle U.S. is in the 9.0 region (9.2, 9.3, and 9.4). Judging from the quick descriptions listed and your previous knowledge of our country, what would you expect the land to look like in these areas? 5. Would you expect to find the same types of trees growing in the Southeast coastal plain as in the Marine West Coast forest? Why or why not? 6. Cape May warblers summer in Canada and a few areas of the northern U.S. They migrate south and spend winter from just the tip of south Florida to the West Indies. Why do you think these birds migrate north in the summer? 7. What is the only tropical ecoregion in the continental U.S.? 8. Locate region 6.2, Western Cordillera on the map. What topographical feature can be associated with this area? (Hint: this is part of a feature that runs all the way from Alaska south through the U.S. and south through South America!) 9. Name the 3 ecoregions along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. 10. Monarch butterflies make transatlantic migrations over several generations. In the spring, monarchs will migrate northward from Mexico moving as far north as Canada. However, monarchs on islands such as Bermuda (it is a 15 ecoregion like the Everglades), do not migrate north. What is a difference between regions such as Bermuda and areas that other monarchs migrate to? Copyright 2008 PreK-12 Programs at Blandy Experimental Farm The State Arboretum of Virginia www.virginia.edu/blandy 1
Map of Ecological Regions (level II) of the United States EcoRegions are designated by color and by number. Source: http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm 2
ECOLOGICAL REGIONS OF UNITED STATES ABBREVIATED LIST 5.0 NORTHERN FORESTS 5.1 SOFTWOOD SHIELD 5.2 MIXED WOOD SHIELD 5.3 ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS 5.4 BOREAL PLAIN 6.0 NORTHWESTERN FORESTED MOUNTAINS 6.1 BOREAL CORDILLERA 6.2 WESTERN CORDILLERA 7.0 MARINE WEST COAST FOREST 7.1 MARINE WEST COAST FOREST 8.0 EASTERN TEMPERATE FORESTS 8.1 MIXED WOOD PLAINS 8.2 CENTRAL USA PLAINS 8.3 SOUTHEASTERN USA PLAINS 8.4 OZARK, OUACHITA- APPALACHIAN FORESTS 8.5 MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL AND SE USA COASTAL PLAIN 9.0 GREAT PLAINS 9.2 TEMPERATE PRAIRIES 9.3 WEST-CENTRAL SEMI-ARID PRAIRIES 9.4 SOUTH CENTRAL SEMI-ARID PRAIRIES 9.5 TEXAS-LOUISIANA COASTAL PLAIN 10.0 NORTH AMERICAN DESERTS 10.1 COLD DESERTS 10.2 WARM DESERTS 11.0 MEDITERRANEAN CALIFORNIA 11.1 MEDITERRANEAN CALIFORNIA 12.0 SOUTHERN SEMI-ARID HIGHLANDS 12.1 WESTERN SIERRA MADRE PIEDMONT 12.2 MEXICAN HIGH PLATEAU 13.0 TEMPERATE SIERRAS 13.1 UPPER GILA MOUNTAINS 13.2 WESTERN SIERRA MADRE 13.3 EASTERN SIERRA MADRE 14.0 TROPICAL DRY FORESTS 14.1 DRY GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL PLAINS 14.2 NW PLAIN OF YUCATAN 14.3 WESTERN PACIFIC COAST PLAIN AND CANYON 15.0 TROPICAL WET FORESTS 15.1 HUMID GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL PLAIN 15.2 PLAINS & HILLS YUCATAN 15.3 SIERRA LOS TUXTLAS 15.4 EVERGLADES Descriptions obtained from Commission for Environmental Cooperation www.cec.org 12/1/2008 3
Post Program Teacher Sheet Teachers: Students observed and identified biotic and abiotic factors at Blandy Experimental Farm on their field trip today. You can conclude and extend their experience at Blandy with the two activities described below. 1. How do invasive organisms affect natural environments? The Beware of the Butterfluff activity (page 3) is a great way to demonstrate the effects of invasive plants and animals on ecosystems. Try it! 2. The activity described below integrates math and science to conclude what your students learned. Ask each group to review their Biotic Component Sheet of observations at Lake Georgette. Tell them to separate all the organisms into the following groups: Plants, Mammals, land insects, Fungi, Birds, Water /Macroinvertebrates and reptiles/amphibians. Next, they will make a bar graph of their data. Put the organism groups on the X axis and the number of different species observed on the Y axis. Additionally, they can figure out the percentage each group makes up of the total number of organisms observed. Chart showing percentage of total species diversity for Lake Georgette Group Number Percentage Birds 7 15% Fungi 7 15% 18 38% Mammals 3 10% Water 10 21% Reptiles 2 4% Total 47 100% Copyright 2008 prek-12 Programs at Blandy Experimental Farm The State Arboretum of Virginia www.virginia.edu/blandy 4
Example- Lake Georgette Survey 7/2/2008 Number of species observed 20 15 10 5 0 7 7 Birds Fungi 18 3 Mammals 10 Water 2 Reptiles Engage your students in an inquiry discussion as to why students found certain types of animals when they did (think about the affect of seasons, time of day, etc. on organisms). Copyright 2008 prek-12 Programs at Blandy Experimental Farm The State Arboretum of Virginia www.virginia.edu/blandy 5
Post program Student Sheet You observed many organisms on your field trip to Blandy Farm. Using the data you recorded in your groups, separate all the organisms using the following chart and count the number of different species or types you observed in each group. Group Number Percentage Plants Birds Fungi Mammals Water Reptiles TOTAL Use this data to construct a bar graph of the organisms you observed. Number of species observed 24 20 16 12 8 4 0 Lake Georgette Survey / /20 Plants Birds Fungi Land Water Copyright 2008 prek-12 Programs at Blandy Experimental Farm The State Arboretum of Virginia www.virginia.edu/blandy Reptiles Mammals Now, you can use the graph you have just made to determine the percentage diversity of each group of organisms you observed. Use the following equation and fill in the rest of the table above. % age = # of particular species observed [ ] * 100 diversity total # organisms Why did you see more of one group than of another? What abiotic and biotic factors can affect what organisms you observed? 6
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