Biology
Rubric

Standards
9. Provide an explanation how stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects such as nutrient recycling, food webs, and composition of producers and decomposers.
9.1. Explain how water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle between abiotic resources and organic matter in the ecosystem and how oxygen cycles via photosynthesis and respiration.
9.2. Diagram how each link in a food web stores energy in newly made structures, but that some of this energy is dissipated into the environment as heat during each transfer, and this can be represented and calculated in a food/energy pyramid.
9.3. Calculate how fluctuations in population size in an ecosystem are determined by the relative rates of birth, immigration, emigration, and death.
9.4. Analyze changes in an ecosystem, and its biodiversity resulting from changes in climate, human activity, introduction of non-native species or changes in population size.

 

Do items:
-Identify the various Ecosystems (regionally) present in Chula Vista
*major flora / fauna in each ecosystem (any endangered/threatened?)
*describe what makes an ecosystem, and how changes affect it.
-Area where majority of growth is located (visual presentations for data)
*what things are needed to allow for growth?
*what are the biggest problems created by the growth?

-Consider the following:
Transportation
Water Supply and Delivery System
Wastewater
Storm Water Management
Solid Waste Collection, Recycling and Disposal
Energy Supply and Delivery
Landscape Plantings
Parks and Open Space
-Analyze how native habitats are affected by human infringement.
-How are food webs affected at various levels?
(by pollution, habitat destructions, waste production…)
-What can be done to ease any of these problems?
*what can/should be recycled-how does it help?
*what can/should be planted? How would that help?

Links: To city web site: (general plan overview)
www. chula vista ca.gov
To Environmental Organizations: (for ideas and reviews)
www.populationconnection.org
www.sdearthtimes.com

Adult Connections:
- Field Trip: Nature Interpretive Center
- Speaker:Chula Vista Environmental Engineer