Student Exploration: Coral Reefs 2 – Biotic Factors
[This lesson was designed as a follow-up to the Coral Reefs 1 – Abiotic Factors lesson.
Students should complete that activity before trying this one.]
Vocabulary (r
...
Student Exploration: Coral Reefs 2 – Biotic Factors
[This lesson was designed as a follow-up to the Coral Reefs 1 – Abiotic Factors lesson.
Students should complete that activity before trying this one.]
Vocabulary (refer to vocab file located on the Gizmo site for definitions): biotic factor,
black band disease, invasive species, white band disease
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew left a wake of destruction through Florida.
One victim of the storm was a reptile-breeding facility. Over 900
Burmese pythons were set free, and today thousands of pythons live in
Florida. These pythons are an invasive species, or a harmful species
not native to the region.
1. What impacts do you think the Burmese pythons might have on local ecosystems?
They’ll disrupt the normal food chain
2. In general, why might ecologists be concerned when new invasive species arrive in
an ecosystem? It could cause another species to die off in the area
Gizmo Warm-up: Like terrestrial environments, coral
reefs can be damaged by invasive species. Reefs are
also impacted by disease-causing bacteria, humans,
and other biotic factors, or living parts of the
ecosystem. In the Coral Reefs 2 – Biotic Factors
lesson, you will explore how these factors affect coral
reefs.
1. On the CONDITIONS tab, select Fishing. Set Net fishing to 50%. Click Advance
year 10 times. What changes do you notice on the Coral reef tab? There is almost
no fish life in the area
2. On the DATA tab, select every organism. What happens to the reef populations?
The long-spined sea urchin, algae, and sponge populations rise and
everything else decreases
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