BIO 220 Biomes and Ecosystems Essay
BIO 220 Biomes and Ecosystems Essay
Details:
In this assignment, you will be creating a trophic pyramid, also known as an “ecological pyramid,” for a specific ecosystem, using the “Trophic Pyramid” template located in the Biome Explorer at
.gcumedia.com/bio220/biome-explorer/v2.1/index.html”>http://lc.gcumedia.com/bio220/biome-explorer/v2.1/index.html. Your completed trophic pyramid will be used to identify the trophic levels within the food web, as well as their effects on the ecosystem. To complete this assignment, do the following:
- Select an ecosystem from an area of interest to you. When choosing an ecosystem, be specific. For help differentiating between biomes and ecosystems, review “Biomes, Ecosystems, and Trophic Levels.
2.Utilize credible sources to select and research your chosen ecosystem, including the textbook and the Internet (specifically, you may find the World Biomes page located at .blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm”>http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm helpful).
3.When researching your selected ecosystem, give special attention to the plant and animals species that inhabit that ecosystem. This information will be used to design the ecological pyramid.
4.Refer to the “Trophic Pyramid.” You will complete this template by entering the names of the species that belong to the various trophic levels (Apex predator, tertiary consumers, secondary consumers, primary consumers, and primary producers).
5.Refer to the text for further information and an explanation of trophic levels.
Using your completed trophic pyramid, answer the following questions in a Word document of at least 250-500 words:
- Of the primary producers you selected, which one do you think has the biggest impact on the ecosystem you researched? Explain.
2.”What species did you select for the apex predator? Explain the importance the apex predator’s impact on the other species in your tropic pyramid.
3.How did the amount of energy gained compare to the amount of energy lost as heat at the 2nd–4th trophic levels?
4.Referring to your completed trophic pyramid template, select one species. If this species was removed from your trophic pyramid, what would be the impact on the other species of the ecosystem?
5.Can efforts to save a species from extinction be successful if the focus of preservation is only on that species? Explain your answer
6.Considering the amount of energy required in producing animal-based foods and goods, should humans change their habits so they consume products closer to the bottom of the trophic pyramid? Provide rationale for your response.
This assignment requires a minimum of two references to be included.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
You are required to submit the short answer portion of this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to Turnitin.
Submit both the Trophic Pyramid and Word document to the instructor.
Biomes
Biomes are global geographical areas that share similar climatic conditions.
Examples of biomes include rain forests, tropical forests, tundra, grasslands, and deserts.
Ecosystems
Biomes contain ecosystems, which are comprised of the living and nonliving components that occupy an environment.
Examples of ecosystems include coral reefs and ponds, tidal zones, oceans, coral reefs, kelp forests, alpine meadows, and the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean.
Ecosystems consist of various trophic levels, which comprise complex networks of food chains called food webs. The more diverse an ecosystem, the healthier and more feasible it is.
Differentiating the Two
The grasslands are a kind of biome, while the African savanna or the Brazilian credo are both ecosystems found within the grassland biome.
Tidal zones, Eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific Northwest tidal zones, and Puget Sound tidal zones are all specific ecosystems within the marine biome.
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Lopes Write Policy
For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Important information for writing discussion questions and participation
Welcome to class
Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to
I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.
Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.
If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.
Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.
Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.
I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Hi Class,
Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.
Contact me if you have any questions.
Important information on Writing a Discussion Question
- Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
- There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
- Include in-text citations in your response
- Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
- Follow APA-7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor
- A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
- Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
- Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
- Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
- Follow APA 7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
- Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
- Here are some helpful links
- Student paper example
- Citing Sources
- The Writing Center is a great resource