Unit: Lab to identify an invasive species effect on non-native habitat. Title: I
ID: 90461 • Letter: U
Question
Unit: Lab to identify an invasive species effect on non-native habitat.
Title: Identifying Environmental Hazards
Instructions: You will write a 1-page lab report using the scientific method to answer the following questions:
Why do you see increases and decreases in the invasive species population?
What are the implications associated with these alterations to the ecosystem as a whole?
Part I: Using the lab animation, fill in the data table below to help you generate your hypothesis, outcomes, and analysis.
Years
Zebra and Quagga Mussel (density/m2)
Phytoplankton (µg/ml)
Zooplankton (µg/ml)
Cladophora Biomass (g/m2)
Foraging Fish (kilotons)
Lake Trout (kilotons)
0
4
7
10
13
16
20
Part II: Write a 1-page lab report using the following scientific method sections:
Purpose
State the purpose of the lab.
Introduction
Hypothesis/Predicted Outcome
Methods
Results/Outcome
Discussion/Analysis:
The Effects of Zebra and Quagga Mussels Introduced into a Freshwater Lake
As you have learned, population dynamics are caused by the biotic potential of the population and the effects of environmental resistance. When there is minimal environmental resistance impacting a population, it will exhibit a population explosion. One reason for minimal resistance could be factors that no longer regulate a population (e.g., predator decline or resource increases). Another reason for a population explosion is the introduction of an invasive species. Invasive species are species foreign to an ecosystem and are not immediately regulated by the environmental restraints of the particular ecosystem that they invade. This in turn allows their populations to grow seemingly uncontrolled and to displace other indigenous populations. Examples of such an invasive species into North America are dreissenid mussels, commonly known as zebra and quagga mussels. Their introduction into the Great Lakes has caused economic hardship and a reorganization of the ecosystem. This has led, in part, to pollution-causing effects that can be linked to an alga known as Cladophora.
Years
Zebra and Quagga Mussel (density/m2)
Phytoplankton (µg/ml)
Zooplankton (µg/ml)
Cladophora Biomass (g/m2)
Foraging Fish (kilotons)
Lake Trout (kilotons)
0
4
7
10
13
16
20
Explanation / Answer
1) The table below is filled according to the lab animation
Years Zebra and Quagga Mussel (density/m2) Phytoplankton (µg/ml) Zooplankton (µg/ml) Cladophora Biomass (g/m2) Foraging Fish (kilotons) Lake Trout (kilotons) 0 100 3 2 10 150 15 4 1000 2.5 1 100 100 10 7 2500 2 0.5 200 80 8 10 7500 1.5 0.25 600 50 5 13 15000 1 0.1 700 25 2.5 16 7500 1.5 0.2 243 40 4 20 5000 1.75 0.4 136 60 6Related Questions
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