Standard 7

Develop and use models to illustrate examples of ecological hierarchy levels, including
biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, and organism.

Understanding Biomes and Ecosystems

Demonstration
Comparing Ecosystems Mini-Project
Introduction: There are many different types of biomes on the planet that are characterized by a
certain weather pattern, dominant plants and dominant animals. These areas are also called
ecosystems. In some areas, particularly those biomes that are close on the map, you will have
some overlap of plant and animal species. For instance, deer can be found in grasslands and in
temperate forests. In this activity, you will work together to create a VENN diagram to compare
two ecosystems, illustrate what features are distinct to each and what they have in common. Each
group will have a pair of ecosystems to investigate.
*Computers with internet connections may be helpful, alternately students can use textbook,
magazines and other classroom resources.
Group 1
Tropical Rain Forest
Temperate Forest

Group 2
Tundra
Taiga

Group 3
Desert
Grasslands

Group 4
Rivers & Streams
Ponds & Lakes

Group 5
Temperate Oceans
Tropical Oceans

Instructions: As a group, brainstorm a list of animals and plants you can find in each ecosystem.
Find any animals or plants that you would probably find in both areas. The venn diagram can
also include other features of the ecosystem, such as average temperature, physical features,
geography. You may want to start with a rough draft, then revise a "clean" diagram to turn in.
You can print out a copy of the venn diagram that shows two overlapping circles, or create one
yourself. The venn diagram can also be created the computer using a word processing program.
Finally, include a drawing, clip art or photo printed from a website, or a picture from a magazine
for each ecosystem you studied. You may include more if it is appropriate.
Helpful Website: Missouri Botanical Gardens - Biomes

Understanding Biomes and Ecosystems

Lab
Ecosystems and Chi-Square
Materials

One 5 gallon bucket filled with fresh dirt from a pine forest area
One 5 gallon bucket filled with fresh dirt from a hardwood forest area
8 Wire mesh screens (cooking strainers work well)
10 Plastic petri dishes
Paper towel

Procedure:
In this lab students will test two hypothesis:
1. The research hypothesis that there are significant differences between the
two ecosystems.
2. The null hypothesis that there are no significant differences between the
two ecosystems.
Divided classroom into two ecosystems. Name one group pine forest and one group
hardwood forest.
Each group gets 4 wire mesh screens or sifters and petri dishes.
Give the groups the bucket of dirt that came from their ecosystem (Pine forest dirt
to the pine forest group and the hard wood forest dirt to the hardwood forest group).
Have students carefully sift through the material. Observe the leaf litter of the
sample for any obvious organism (such as isopods, earthworms, snails, or other
invertebrates). Have students record any organisms that are found in the dirt
sample. (The teacher may also want to have some petri dishes with lids for students
to put invertebrates that may still be living, such as centipedes or ants, to prevent
them from getting away).
Have students sift through a small sample of dirt from their ecosystems and put it
into the petri dish. Have students look at the dish under a dissecting microscope to
observe any other movement of organisms.
Have students continue to sort through all the litter and dirt in the bucket until they
have captured and recorded most of the organisms in the sample.
Identify the organisms that were collected from the dirt sample using a field guide.
Construct at least two food chains from the organisms the students collected.
Remind students that primary producers are the plant detritus.

Have students weave the two food chains that they have identified into a food web.
Have them add any additional organisms as necessary to complete their food web.
Have students complete the micro ecosystems table provided. (Table 1). Have
students compare the two ecosystems by writing their results on the board for the
whole class to see.
Once table 1 is completed for both ecosystems and all students can see the results,
have students fill out table 2 to find the Chi-Square value for the ecosystems.

If the chi-square calculated is greater than the critical chi-square from the table
then the null hypothesis may be rejected in favor of the research hypothesis.
Table 1. Collection data sheet
Soil organism collection data sheet
Micro ecosystem collection from _____________ forest
Species collected
#s of individuals
Species type

Table 2. Chi-Square Calculation

TAXA

Pine (P)

Hardwood
(H)

P-H

(P-H)2

Chi-Square
=
Table 3. Chi-Square Probability
Values of Chi-Square for probability equaling 0.05 and 0.01
Degrees of freedom

0.05

0.01

3.84146

6.63490

(P-H)2/H

5.99147

9.21034

7.81473

11.3449

Understanding Biomes and Ecosystems

Questions
What is a research hypothesis?
What is a null hypothesis?
In this exercise were we able to reject or accept the null hypothesis?
Are there differences in species diversity between the environments? How can you tell?
Which of the environments do you think is more stable?
Defend your answer.