Discussion with Group Members - Post 4

Our 6-member group comprises Yi Wai, Zi Fang, Sumana, Swathi, Charis and myself. Our discussions are predominantly via Google documents. We all agreed to interact through the Google documents which were created by Swathi and me on 7 and 8 August 2012, respectively.

Our group had many brainstorming and discussion sessions before each of us started designing our individual organisms. As a group, we had to mutually agree on and make many key decisions such as the following:

Type of Tundra Biome

We had to decide on which type of Tundra Biome, namely, Alpine Tundra, Arctic Tundra or Antarctic Tundra for our project. Further to our research and discussions, our group decided on Arctic Tundra as its characteristics map closely to the characteristics provided for the Tundra Biome in Planet Zork. For example, the soil of Arctic Tundra tends to be waterlogged as opposed to the Alpine Tundra where the soil is well-drained.

Type of Habitat
Our group chose the pond habitat as it allows us to have a combination of aquatic and land organisms in the habitat.  Hence, we could have a more diverse range of organisms with different adaptations in the habitat.

Types of Organisms
We also have to decide on whose organisms are living on land; or living in the water; or both on land and in water. After much discussion, we finally agreed on the following:

In water only	On land only	Both on land and in water
Yi Wai’s plant (producer)	Swathi’s decomposer	Zi Fang’s carnivore
Charis’s herbivore	Sumana’s herbivore	Natasha Tai’s omnivore

           

Note: The carnivore and omnivore usually live on land but are able to go into the pond in search for food.

Key Adaptive Features of the Group Members’s Organisms

We also discussed the main adaptations that our organisms should have to survive in the environment and to ensure that each organism fulfills its role effectively in the food web and to ensure that our food web is sustainable. For instance:

Swathi’s fungus (decomposer) – Rate of reproduction is faster than the consumers and its spreading roots allow it to absorb maximum amount of water over a large surface area from the top layer of the soil.

Yi Wai’s plant (producer) – Rate of reproduction is faster than the consumers and it can remain dormant and can stay under the icy surface of the pond to survive when the pond freezes. 

Charis’s herbivore – it can camouflage and hold its breath for a long time to hide from its predators.  It hibernates when the pond freezes and when food is scarce. It travels at 30km/h.

Sumana’s herbivore – moves in herds for protection and travels at 30km/h.

Zi Fang’s carnivore – has night vision to hunt at night, has strong and powerful wings to swoop down onto its prey.

Natasha’s omnivore – has thick fur coat, short and strong legs, camouflage and blend in with its surroundings. Travels at a fast speed.

Group Meeting

The group met up at my house on 10 August 2012. During our meeting, we focus on the following key areas:

1)         Final touch up on the models of our respective organisms to ensure that the adaptive features mapped to those discussed during our planning stage.

2)         Elaborated on the points relating to the habitat and the adaptive features of our organisms for our video presentation.

3)         Discussed the respective roles of our organisms in the food chain.

4)         Filmed the inter-relationship among the various organisms in the food web.

5)         Discussed the sound and graphic effects to enhance our video presentation to make it more interactive and interesting. 

Photographs of our Group Meeting

Our Pond Habitat with Our Organisms 

 

Photo-taking of Our Organisms for Group Video Presentation

 

Editing of Our Group Video Presentation 

Link to group presentation:  http://goo.gl/Vy2Nm