Resources for ocean organism information

• Sea World: Animal Information Database (see also "Animal Bytes")
  http://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-bytes/
• Ocean Oasis Field Guide
  http://www.oceanoasis.org/fieldguide/index.html
• Ocean Animals
  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/oceanlife.shtml
• National Aquarium in Baltimore: Animal Index
  http://www.aqua.org/animals.html
• http://marinebio.org/oceans/open-ocean/
• http://www.skyenimals.com/browse_habitat.cgi?habitat=oceans

Ecosystem disruption examples

Disrupted Ecosystems

LT: I can read an example of a disrupted ecosystem and model the reasons and effects on the changes in that ecosystem.

What kinds of factors can disrupt an ecosystem?

1 ) Changes to the biotic factors

• Invasive species
• Big growth in a native species population
• Big drop in native species population
• Top predator is gone
• Disease enters an ecosystem

2) Changes in the abiotic factors

• Change in amount of sunlight  (ex: volcano erupts, particles block sunlight for years).
• Changes in water quality
• Changes in water amounts
• Change to the size of the habitats (ex: Humans build roads that divide habitats)
• Change in the amount of nutrients available
• Fire, severe storms, flooding, climate change

Wolves were killed by humans in western USA. In Yellowstone national park, the loss of wolves meant that the elk had no more predators. The elk eat aspen and willow trees. With so many elk, the tree populations were overeaten. Wolves have been reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in order to let the plants grow again.

http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/wolves.htm

Sea otters on the west coast of America almost went extinct. They eat a certain kind of sea urchin, an organism that loves to eat large kelp. The kelp forests died, until people started making efforts to being back the sea otter population.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140121-sea-otters-our-ocean-protectors

In the 1950's-1960's, a pesticide called DDT was heavily used across America. Populations of bald eagles and other birds crashed when DDT thinned their eggs, killing their embryos. The pesticide, known for accumulating in food webs and persisting in soil and river sediment, was banned in the United States in 1972.

Illustration 1: http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/images/DDT.jpg

Zebra mussels can cause important damage to both the ecosystem and man-made structures.  They are extremely detrimental to native mussel species, frequently out-competing them for the same resources.  In some cases Zebra mussels attach themselves to native mussels, eventually killing them. 

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/invasivespecies/

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/how-invasive-species-changed-the-great-lakes-forever-b99297128z1-267010971.html

Volcanic eruptions can quickly change an ecosystem with lingering effects.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/02/chilean-volcanos-ash-is-still-disrupting-ecosystems.html

Deforestation

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/rainforest-deforestation/#/teak-logs_400_600x450.jpg

Give an example of your own example of ecosystem disruption.