7th Grade Name:

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Science
Date :
__________________________
Unit: Ecology
Homeroom:
Packet: Eco 6
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OBJECTIVES: BY THE END OF CLASS STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO …….

SWBAT explain of energy and matter are both limiting factors in an
ecosystem.
DO NOW
Agenda:
1. Do Now 5. Guided Practice
2. Opening 6. I ndependent Practice
3. Rev iew Do Now 7. Closing
4. Notes

Label the follow ing Energy Pyramid below. Make sure to use the follow ing vocabulary:
primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, producer, most amount
energy, least amount energy, large population, and small population.
 I DO: Class Notes

Practice Ecology Vocabulary:

Level of an
Description
Ecosystem
Biome

Ecosystem

Community

Population

Species

New Vocabulary

Carrying Capacity:
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Limiting Factor:
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Dynamic Equilibrium:

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 We Do: Guided Practice

The Introduction of Rabbits to TasmaniaPopulation Size of the Tasmanian Rabbit Over Time
The v ery first rabbits to arrive in Tasmania (an island
off the coast of southern Australia) at the turn of
the 18t h century found a v ast land rich in edible
plants, protectiv e habitats, and w ithout any
natural predators. The rabbit population grew
rapidly as they spread across the island, C
consuming nativ e grasses. Though the grasses
could grow fairly quickly (in roughly 12 months),
the rabbits w ere able to reproduce much faster (ev ery 6
months). The rabbit population continued to grow
exponentially for nearly 15 generations until the supply of
food on the island w as exhausted – causing many rabbits
to starv e to death. This decline continued until some
grasses on the island w ere able to re-grow, and could once again sustain more rabbits.
Betw een grass that w as new and grass w hich w as re-grow ing, there w as alw ays
enough grass for roughly half-a-million rabbits. The population continued to oscillate
(increase and decrease) slightly ov er time, but remained fairly constant around the
env ironment’s carrying capacity of 500,000 indiv iduals.

Change in Wolverine Population Over Time

Wolverines & Territory Size
Wolv erines are small carniv orous animal related to
w easels. Wolv erines are know n to be able to eat B
many different animals, and usually do not hav e
difficulty finding food. How ev er, they are fiercely
A
territorial and require large tracts of land for their C
territories. I f they do not maintain these large
territories, they risk competing ov er liv ing-space, food,
mates, or w ater. As a result, territory-size is w hat mainly
determines the carrying capacity of a w olv erine’s
env ironment. A large earthquake in northern Canada
isolated a population of roughly 15 w olv erines in a large
forest. The w olverine population grew very rapidly until they had exceeded the number
that could liv e in the space of the forest. At that point, competition betw een
w olverines w hose territories ov erlapped caused the w olv erine population to decline.
This increased the amount of av ailable space, and the w olv erine population w as able
to rebound. This cycle continued, w ith the population stabilizing at the ecosystem’s
carrying capacity: 80 w olv erines.
STOP & JOT 1: In both examples, both species were said to have reached the “carrying
capacity” of their environments after some time. Using the information contained in
both passages, as well as the population graphs provided, brainstorm a definition for
the term “carrying capacity”
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STOP & JOT 2: A Limiting Factor is an environmental resource, feature, or condition that
affects how many organisms that environment can support.
Based on this definition, identify the limiting factors which affected the size of the rabbit
and wolverine populations.
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THINK PAIR SHARE: In part “C” of both graphs, both the Rabbit and Wolverine
populations were said to have been in a state of “Dynamic Equilibrium”.
“Dynamic” means ‘changing’ and “Equilibrium” means ‘equal’ or ‘constant’.
Explain what “Dynamic Equilibrium” means in terms of populations and carrying
capacity.
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 You Do: Independent Practice

Use the graph below to answer question 1

1. Briefly explain w hy the fruit fly population ceases (stops) to increase rapidly once
it has reached 290 indiv iduals.
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Use the diagram below to answer question 6. The diagram represents a pond in
New York State.
6. I dentify one abiotic factor in the diagram
that functions as a limiting factor for the
autotrophs in this ecosystem, and explain
w hy it w ould be considered a limiting factor.

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7. Ten breeding pairs of rabbits are introduced onto an island w ith no natural
predators and a good supply of w ater and food. Describe what will most likely
happen to the rabbit population ov er the next 100 years, assuming no natural
disasters occur on the island.

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 8. The diagram below represents the growth of the population of w olves in an
ecosystem.

On w hich day did the population represented in the graph abov e reach the
carrying capacity of the ecosystem? How do you know?

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9. The graph below shows how the human population has grow n over the
last sev eral thousand years.

Predict w hat w ill happen if the human population continues to grow at a

rate similar to the rate show n between 1000 A.D. and 2000 A.D.
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10. CHALLENGE: Create a caption describing the cartoon below to summarize the
information you learned in today’s lesson.

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 7th Grade Name: _______________________________
Science
Date:

Homeroom: ________________________
Unit: Ecology
Lesson: Ecology 6 - Carrying
_______/5 = ________%
Capacity
DNG? A B C D F

Directions: Choose the best answ er to each multiple choice question

1. An environment can support only as many organisms as the available energy, minerals,
and oxygen will allow. Which term is best described by this statement?

A. biological feedback
B. carrying capacity
C. homeostatic control
D. biological diversity

2. One biotic factor that limits the carrying capacity of any habitat is the
A. availability of water
B. activity of decomposers
C. level of atmospheric oxygen
D. amount of soil erosion

3. The graph below shows the number of birds in a population.

Which statement best explains section X of the graph?

A. Interbreeding between members of this

population increased the mutation rate.
B. An increase in the bird population caused an
increase in the producer population.
C. The population reached a state of dynamic
equilibrium due to limiting factors.
D. Another species came to the area and
provided food for the birds.

4. The diagram below represents a common temperate pond food web.

Which statement describes an interaction that helps maintain the

dynamic equilibrium of this system?

A. The frogs make energy available to this ecosystem through the

process of photosynthesis.
B. The algae directly provide food for both the rotifers and the
catfish.
C. The green-backed heron provides energy for the mosquito
larvae.
 D. The catfish population helps control the populations of water boatman and
water fleas.
5. The graph below shows the growth of a population of bacteria over a period of 80 hours.

Which statement best describes section II of the graph?

A. The population has reached the carrying
capacity of the environment.

B. The rate of reproduction is slower than in section

I.

C. The population is greater than the carrying

capacity of the environment.

D. The rate of reproduction exceeds the death

rate.

6. The graph below shows the growth in a field mouse population over a period of time.

The dashed line indicating the carrying capacity for the mouse population is correctly

shown on which graph?

Support your answer by explaining your reasoning:

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