Biology Performance Task
Year 1
Planet Zork
(image taken from: http://letubeu.com/2012/05/04/can-facebook-cure-humanitys-problems/)
Done by: Natasha Tai Qian Hui
Index number: 23
Sunday 9 September 2012
Table of Contents
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TOPICS
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POST NUMBER
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DATE
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My
Research
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1
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1 – 10 August 2012
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About
the Biome and the Habitat
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2
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7 – 8 August 2012
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My
Organism’s Name
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3
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7
– 8 August 2012
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Discussion
with Group Members
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4
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7 – 10 August 2012
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Structure
of Food Web
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5
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7 - 8 August 2012
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Relationship
Between My Organism & Group Members’s Organisms
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6
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7 - 8 August 2012
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Force
Fitting Activity
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7
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7 August 2012
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Sketches
of My Organism
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8
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8 August 2012
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Improvements
Made to My Organism
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9
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8 - 10 August 2012
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Design
Flowchart
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10
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7 – 8 August 2012
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Adaptations
that enable Albus superstes to
survive successfully in its habitat
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11
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8 - 9 August 2012
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Adaptations
that enable Albus superstes to
fulfill its role effectively in the food chain
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11
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8 - 9 August 2012
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Annotated
Photo Guide Showing the Process of Creating My Organism
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12
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8 - 9 August 2012
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Photographs
Showing Different Views of My Organism from 4 Different Angles
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13
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10 August 2012
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My
Reflection
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14
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1 September 2012
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References
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15
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Compiled on 1
September 2012
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My Research - Post 1
The
scope of my research covers the following areas:
1)
The definitions of a biome and a habitat
2)
The definition of a pond habitat
3)
The various roles and inter-relationship of
organisms in the food web
4)
Energy flow in the ecosystem
Definition
of Biome and Habitat
A
biome is a geographical area that covers a rather large region. There are a few
biomes, namely freshwater biome, marine biome, desert biome, forest biome,
grassland biome and tundra biome.
A
habitat is the natural home of animals and plants. There are many different
types of habitats, such as seashore habitat, pond habitat, field habitat,
garden habitat and tree habitat. Our group settled on the freshwater pond
habitat.
Definition
of Pond Habitat
My
research shows that the pond habitat is not only restricted to the water body
itself but covers an area which stretches a few meters from the edge of the
pond. Some of the conditions of our pond habitat are:
1)
As our pond is a freshwater pond, there is low
salt content in the pond, resulting in the water in the pond having a higher
water potential as compared to the organisms living in the pond. Hence, the
organisms living in the pond have to adapt to the salinity of the pond.
2)
Given the cold climate of the pond habitat in
Tundra biome, the water in the pond tends to freeze during winter period.
Therefore, the organisms living in the pond habitat must be well adapted to
this condition. For example, the plant in our food web can remain dormant under
the icy surface of the pond. The
herbivore that feeds on the plant in our food web hibernates during the winter
period when food is scarce.
Various
Roles and Inter-relationship in the Food Web
A
food web is an interconnected food chains in ecosystem. It shows how the
organisms in an environment depend on one another for food. A food web can
consist of producer(s), decomposer(s), herbivore(s), carnivore(s) and
omnivore(s).
The
consumers in a food web can be categorized into 3 groups, namely, primary
consumer, secondary consumer and tertiary consumer. Herbivores are primary
consumers as they feed on the producer (plant) or decomposer (fungus).
Carnivores are those organisms that prey on other animals only and can be
either secondary consumers (feed on herbivores) or tertiary consumers.
Omnivores which feed on both plants and animals can be both primary consumers
and tertiary consumers or both primary consumers and secondary consumers.
Consumers
play an important role in the ecosystem as they ensure that the population of
the animals are kept in balance and that the food web is sustainable.
Energy
Flow in the Ecosystem
Energy
is transferred along a food chain as follows:
Energy
is lost at each link of the food chain due to:
- Undigested food which is egested by the consumer;
- Energy that is used up by the organism for carrying out life processes such as respiration.
- Uneaten body parts of the prey
The
following pyramid of number shows that the number of consumers become smaller at
each successive trophic level.
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