Activity 1: Diversity in Living Things

CS_Ch9_Environment 2/28/05 1:13 PM Page 532
A Vote for Ecology
Activity 1 Diversity in Living Things
GOALS What Do You Think?

In this activity you will: It is estimated that 4% of all living species are found in Costa
• Observe a group of diverse Rica, even though this country comprises only 0.01% of the
organisms. area of the Earth.
• Relate the structure of an
• How many species do you think are found in Costa Rica?
organism to its adaptation to
the environment. How many species are found globally?
• Describe the organization of • Why do you think that Costa Rica has such a large
the biosphere. number of species?
• Define biodiversity and
explain its importance. Write your answers to these questions in your Active Biology
• Explain the effects of human log. Be prepared to discuss your ideas with your small group
activity on biodiversity. and other members of your class.
• Read about the effects of
extinction.
• Practice safe laboratory For You To Do
techniques for handling
living organisms. This activity provides you with an opportunity to view several
very different species of organisms. It should give you an
appreciation of the huge diversity of life that fills your world.
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Active Biology
Part A: Observing Animal Diversity 2 Is body symmetry radial (symmetry

about a center) or bilateral (the left
1. With your teacher, review the Several of the
and the right sides of the body are
guidelines concerning the proper activities that
mirror images)? follow involve the
handling of laboratory animals. use of organisms in
Follow these guidelines carefully. 3 Does the animal have a skeleton (a water. The water
that the organisms
structure that supports the organism’s are in should be
2. In your Active Biology log make an considered a
body)? If it does, is it an
enlarged copy of the table shown contaminant.
endoskeleton (on the inside) or an Tables, equipment,
below. The table should extend across and hands should
exoskeleton (on the outside)?
two facing pages. Each of the 13 be washed
carefully so that
spaces should allow for several lines 4 Is the animal’s body segmented germs are not
of writing. (divided into sections) or is it inadvertently
passed to people.
unsegmented?
3. In the Characteristics column, copy
the words in italics from each of the
following questions. The 13th space is BODY SYMMETRY
for any other observations you make.
All the specimens of one animal
species and the materials and
equipment needed for observing them
are arranged at the station. Each team
will have a turn at each station.
Record only your observations, not
what you have read or heard about
the organism.
1 What is the habitat of the animal?
Does it live in water, on land, or
radial symmetry bilateral symmetry
both?
Comparing Animals
Characteristic
Characteristics Hydra
Hydra Planarian
PlanarianEarthworm
Earthworm Hermit
HermitCrab
Crab Frog
Frog
1
2
3
13
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A Vote for Ecology
5 Which type of digestive cavity does which it has been living. Wait until
the animal have, a sac (only one the animal attaches itself to the dish
opening) or a tube (open at both and extends its tentacles. Then slowly
ends)? add a few drops of a daphnia culture
with a dropping pipette.
6 Does it have paired appendages?
Are the limbs (arms, legs, fins, wings) 2. Touch the hydra gently with a soft
found in pairs? brush. Observe its reactions.
7 How does the animal obtain oxygen? 3. Examine a prepared slide of a
Through lungs, gills, skin, or a lengthwise (longitudinal) section of a
combination of these? hydra under a compound microscope.
Try to determine the presence or
8 Are any sense organs visible? If so,
absence of a skeleton and of a
what types and where?
digestive system.
9 How does the animal move from one
place to another? Station 2: Observing Planarians
10 Does it make any types of movement 1. Place one or two planarians in a
while it remains more or less in one watch glass containing pond or
spot? aquarium water. Add a small piece of
fresh raw liver. Observe using a
11 How does the animal capture and stereomicroscope or hand lens.
take in food?
12 How does it react when touched
lightly with a small brush?
Station 1: Observing Hydras
1. Place a single hydra in a small watch
glass with some of the same water in
As you move
among the
stations, keep
your hands
away from your
mouth and
eyes. Wash your
hands well after
the activity.
2. Use a compound microscope to

examine cross sections of a planarian.
Examine whole mounts with a
stereomicroscope. Determine the
presence or absence of a skeleton and
a digestive system.
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Active Biology
Station 3: Observing Earthworms

1. Pick up a live earthworm and hold it
gently between your thumb and
forefinger. Observe its movements.
Do any regions on the body surface
feel rough? If so, examine them with
a hand lens. If you are
observing a live
crab in your
2. Place a worm on a damp paper classroom, keep
towel. Watch it crawl until you your fingers away
from the crab’s
determine its anterior (front) and pincers.
posterior (back) ends. Use a hand
lens to see how the ends differ.
Describe. 2. Place a small piece of food from the
food dish in with the hermit crab.
Observe how the hermit crab eats.
Station 5: Observing Frogs

1. Observe the breathing movements of
a frog while it is not moving.
2. Observe the variety of movements of
a live frog.
3. If possible, observe a frog capturing
its food and feeding.
3. Place an earthworm on loose soil and

observe its movements as it burrows.
4. Examine a model or a diagram of a
cross section and lengthwise section
of the earthworm’s body.
Station 4: Observing Hermit Crabs

1. Observe the movements of the
appendages and the pattern of
locomotion (movement from one
place to another) of a living land
hermit crab. Observe the antennae. Wash your hands thoroughly
Touch them gently with a soft brush. before leaving the laboratory. If you are handling
a live frog in the
Note the animal’s reaction. classroom, do not
rub your eyes.
Wash your hands
immediately after
handling.
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A Vote for Ecology
Part B: Animal Adaptations to the a) For each animal, select two

Environment functions it performs as part of its
way of life. Describe how its
1. Review what you have learned about
structure enables it to perform
each of the organisms in Part A. By
these functions.
reading across the table, you should
be able to compare and contrast the
characteristics of the five animals you
have studied.
BIODIVERSITY
Organization in the Biosphere
Bio Words The biosphere is the area on Earth where living organisms can be
biosphere: the area on found. Most are found in a narrow band where the atmosphere meets
Earth where living the surface of the land and water. Life forms are referred to as the
organisms can be found
biotic, or living, component of the biosphere.The abiotic, or
biotic: the living
components of an nonliving, component is made up of items like rocks, soil, minerals, and
ecosystem factors like temperature and weather.
abiotic: the nonliving
components of an
ecosystem
ORGANIZATION IN THE BIOSPHERE
organism population
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Active Biology
Just as you did in this activity, ecologists begin their studies with the Bio Words
organism.Their investigations are designed to explore how the organism: an individual
living thing
individual interacts with its biotic and abiotic environment. However,
species: a group of
an organism does not live on its own. It tends to form a group with organisms that can
others of the same species. (A species is a group of organisms that interbreed under natural
conditions and produce
can reproduce successfully only with others of the same type.) These fertile offspring
groups of species are called populations.When more than one population: a group of
population occupies an area, a community of organisms is created. organisms of the same
The abiotic component as well as the community form a functional species occupying a given
area
unit known as an ecosystem. community: all the
populations of organisms
The Importance of Biodiversity and the Human Threat occupying a given area
In this activity you looked at some very different species of organisms. ecosystem: a community
and the physical
Scientists have discovered and named close to two million species.That environment that it
would mean looking at a lot of different organisms.Yet, it may be less occupies
than 20 percent of the species that exist! There are thousands of biodiversity: the sum of all
the different types of
organisms in the world that scientists know very little about. More organisms living on Earth
than 750,000 species of insects have been identified.Yet, it is thought
that at least twice that many exist. Biological diversity, or biodiversity,
is the sum of all the different types of organisms living on Earth.
community ecosystem
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Unfortunately, many organisms are disappearing.This is partly due to

alterations of habitats.The result is a decrease in biodiversity.
Ecosystems with a large number of different types of organisms are
quite stable. Ecosystems with a small number of different organisms
are less stable. Humans are partly responsible for this change. As the
human population grows it occupies more
land.This infringes on or destroys the habitats
of many organisms.
The smog created by automobiles and industry
is killing many types of trees over a wide area
of southern California.The needles of
ponderosa pines, for example, gradually turn
brown.The tops of palm trees have only small
tufts.When this happens, photosynthesis is
greatly reduced.The plants die.The Everglades
National Park in southern Florida depends on
a slowly moving sheet of water.The water
flows from north to south. Drainage ditches
built at the northern edge of the Everglades
have decreased the flow of water over the
entire area. As a result, many alligator holes
have dried up.These holes helped to contain
Smog is also hazardous to fires in the Everglades. Now, destructive fires
people.This is especially are more frequent in this national park.
true of those with
respiratory problems, theTropical rainforests are the most diverse
ecosystems on Earth.They are home for many
elderly, and children. People
have died from the effects
different species.Two-thirds of the world’s
of smog.
Bio Words species are located in the tropics and
extinction: the subtropics.The cutting of trees in the rainforests today has grown at
permanent disappearance a rapid rate.The trees are cut for lumber, grazing land, and other uses.
of a species from Earth
This loss of habitat is destroying many species every day. Nearly half of
the Earth’s species of plants, animals, and microorganisms will become
extinct, be gone forever, or be severely threatened, during the next
25 years.
To find a similar rate of extinction (loss of species), you need to go
back 65 million years.That was the end of the Cretaceous period when
dinosaurs and other organisms disappeared. Because there are more
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Active Biology
species today than there

were then, the absolute
number of species lost will
be greater now. Hundreds
of species of plants and
animals are threatened
today.They include the
whooping crane and some
rare pitcher plants.
Extinction is a natural
process. However, the
process has been speeded
up because humans have In tropical regions, humans are cutting down, burning, or
changed whole otherwise damaging the rainforests. Extinction of many
species as well as change in global climate are some of
ecosystems. the effects of this deforestation.
Why is biodiversity
important? Why does it matter if whooping cranes and pitcher plants
become extinct? One argument comes from genetics. In a field of crop
plants planted by humans, all the plants are genetically similar.They
have all inherited the same characteristics.
About 90% of the world’s food comes from 15 species of plants.Three of them are corn,
wheat, and rice. However, there are over 10,000 known species of cereals.
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A Vote for Ecology
If one individual gets a disease, all the plants may die. In a wild
population a vast pool of genetic characteristics are available.This
means that some of the plants could resist the disease.Therefore, not
all the plants would be destroyed.The extinction of each wild
population erases genetic material that could mean healthy crops and
animals. Once extinction occurs, the genetic material is gone forever.
A second argument is related to the fact that simple ecosystems are
unstable.Think of a field of corn as a simplified ecosystem. Suppose all
the corn dies.This means that the whole ecosystem would collapse.
The simpler the ecosystem, the easier it is to disrupt its balance.The
fewer the species, the easier it is to upset an ecosystem. New species
are evolving all the time. However, the process is very slow compared
to the rate at which humans are able to cause species to become
extinct. Each time a species becomes extinct, the biosphere is
simplified a little more. It becomes more difficult to maintain the
stable biosphere on which all life depends.
A third argument comes from research on plants.The island of
Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, is the only known habitat of
the Madagascar periwinkle.This plant produces two chemicals not
produced by other plants. Both of these chemicals are used to fight
Hodgkin’s disease, a leukemia-like disease. As the human population on
Madagascar grew, the habitat for the periwinkle shrank.The periwinkle
almost became extinct. Fortunately, botanists collected and grew some
of these plants before they were gone forever.The medicines made
from the Madagascar periwinkle are worth millions of dollars each
year.They also help many people with Hodgkin’s disease to live longer.
These medicines never would have been known if the plant had
become extinct.
Extinction Can Cause a “Domino Effect”
Every organism in an ecosystem is connected to all the other
organisms.The reduction in biodiversity caused by the extinction of a
single species can cause a “domino effect.” The removal of one part
from an ecosystem, like the removal of a moving part from a car, can
cause the collapse of an entire food chain. If a species acts as a
predator, it keeps the population of its prey in check. If a species is
prey, it provides an important food source.
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Active Biology
For example, sea otters were over-hunted along the Pacific coasts of
Asia and North America.This removed the main predator of the sea
urchin. Predictably, the number of sea urchins grew rapidly. Sea urchins
eat kelp, a form of seaweed. As the number of sea urchins grew, the
amount of kelp declined. As a result, the fish that relied on the kelp for
habitat and food were reduced in number.
Sea otters very nearly became extinct due to hunting pressure. For
humans, killing the sea otters for their fur resulted in a decline in a
valuable fishery.Where the sea otter has been reintroduced, sea
urchin populations have fallen, kelp beds are being re-established, and
the number of fish is increasing.
Restoring the Balance Is a Difficult Task
Introducing the sea otter to the Pacific northwest is an example of an
attempt to restore a natural balance. It is not always easy to do.
Conservationists have also tried to restore the whooping crane. In
spring, whooping cranes fly north to live in the marshes and swamps
of the prairies and the Canadian north.There they eat crayfish, fish,
small mammals,
insects, roots, and
berries. Efforts by
the United States
and Canada have
helped increase the
population from a
low of 14
individuals in 1940
to 183 in 1999.The
whooping crane
may be a success
story, and it may
not. Chemical
pesticides were the
original human
threat to the crane.
However, it was During the fur trade southern sea otters were hunted to near
already struggling. extinction.They are still a threatened species, and may very
well be endangered.
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A Vote for Ecology
Cranes must fly a long way

between their summer homes in
the north and their winter homes
on the Gulf of Mexico. Along the
way they are vulnerable to
hunting and accidents. In addition,
the whooping crane reproduces
very slowly. Each year females
produce two eggs, however, only
one will mature.The first fledgling
to crawl from the egg kills its
brother or sister.This ensures
there will be enough food for the
survivor. However, it is very
difficult for the species to
increase its numbers.
Scientists do not understand all
the relationships between species
ecosystems.They cannot predict
what will happen if biodiversity is
Once widespread throughout North reduced, even by one species. If
America, the whooping crane wild one species becomes extinct, it
population dipped to just 15 birds in 1937. could be disastrous.The extent of
Through conservation efforts the whooping
crane has begun a slow recovery. However, the disaster may not be known
coastal and marine pollution, illegal hunting, until later. Sometimes the balance
and the draining of wetlands continue to cannot be restored.
threaten the species.
Reflecting on the Activity and the Challenge

In this activity you observed several an issue that relates to the disappearance
very different living organisms. You of a given species. You can now explain
then discovered that there are millions why it is important to maintain
of other different organisms alive on biological diversity. Whether or not
Earth. There are reasons why it is your issue deals with biodiversity, the
important to make sure that these public still needs to understand why
organisms do not disappear forever biological diversity should concern
from the Earth. For your Chapter them. You need to provide the meaning
Challenge you may choose to research and importance of biodiversity.
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Active Biology
1. Choose and identify two very different ecosystems.

a) For each, name some of the populations that might be found in each
community.
b) Describe some of the abiotic factors that could affect each population.
2. What is biodiversity?
3. Explain how humans can influence biodiversity by changing the environment.
4. Why is maintaining biodiversity important?
5. a) Give an example of an ecosystem that has a high biodiversity.
b) Give an example of an ecosystem that has a low biodiversity.
6. Choose an organism other than one that you studied in this activity. List at least
three structures that have helped the organism adapt to its environment. Describe
how each helps the organism live in its ecosystem.
Inquiring Further
1. The passenger pigeon and the
human influence
Just over a century ago, the passenger
pigeon was the most numerous species
of bird on Earth. In the Eastern United
States they numbered in the billions,
more than all other species of North
American birds combined. On
September 1, 1914, at 1:00 PM the last
surviving passenger pigeon died at the
age of 29. Research and report on how
humans were involved in the
extinction of the passenger pigeon.
2. Extinction is forever
Humans were directly responsible for
the extinction of passenger pigeons.
However, this bird is not the only
organism that has been threatened by
humans. Research and report on White rhinos are so large and powerful that in nature
another organism whose existence has they must give way only to the elephant.Yet, humans
been or is endangered by humans. are a major threat to their existence.
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CS_Ch9_Environment 2/28/05 1:13 PM Page 532

A Vote for Ecology