SCI 275 Week 3

CheckPoint: Succession and Natural Selection

Resources: Ch. 6 of Visualizing Environmental Science and Ch. 6 Succession animation

Due Date: Day 5 [Individual forum]

View the Ch. 6 Succession animation located under the Week Three Materials section of your aXcess page.

Post a total of 200 to 300 words in response to the following items:

View the succession of the ecosystem in the Succession animation. Is it primary or secondary succession? Explain your answer.

Respond to question 9 under the Critical and Creative Thinking Questions on p. 153 of the text. Review Ch. 6 (pp. 144-145) on natural selection to help you with your response. If you need additional help with your hypothesis, refer to the following article to see an explanation of how evolution could have occurred in a population of

Discussion Questions

Identify the fruit or vegetable you selected and relate the second law of thermodynamics to the changes in energy observed in Appendix C. How did the amount of energy gained compare to the amount of energy lost as heat at the second through fourth trophic levels? Considering the amount of energy required to produce animal-based foods and goods, should humans change their habits so they consume products closer to the bottom of the food chain because it is more efficient?

Provide a one sentence description of typical precipitation and temperature for summer and winter. Use terms such as cool, cold, warm, hot, dry, and wet. Then, identify the characteristics of a plant and animal that is seen regularly in your region. How do the characteristics relate to the amount of rain or sunlight in your region? When responding to your classmates, explain how the traits of your plant or animal may or may not be adaptable to their biome.