Description of the Project
In this project our task was to pick and endangered species that lived anywhere around the world and deliver a solution after thorough research and thought collection on ways we can save the endangered species. We started by picking three species that are endangered around the world and then brought the three animals down to one. My group and I choose the Amur Leopard because we found that not many things were being done to stop the killing of these beautiful creatures. We researched the Amur Leopard (information about the animal can be seen below) and the habitat they live in, which happens to be considered the arctic tundra in the north eastern part of Russia. We also researched and found the problems as of why they are endangered. We found that they are primarily endangered due to a loss in habitat, global warming, which decreases the drinkable water each year, and poaching for their beautiful furs.
Not much was being done to help stop these devastating things from happening partly because the Russian government did not allow much aid or finance into the area. That is why my group proposed a plan of spreading awareness through a website and a public service announcement, posted on YouTube, to educate people on the Amur Leopard. We presented this plan to the class and showed them both the website and the video to motivate our classmates to do something about saving the Amur Leopards. Below you can see our slideshow which was created to present the website and the PSA along with giving more information on the Leopard and its habitat. Hope you enjoy!
Not much was being done to help stop these devastating things from happening partly because the Russian government did not allow much aid or finance into the area. That is why my group proposed a plan of spreading awareness through a website and a public service announcement, posted on YouTube, to educate people on the Amur Leopard. We presented this plan to the class and showed them both the website and the video to motivate our classmates to do something about saving the Amur Leopards. Below you can see our slideshow which was created to present the website and the PSA along with giving more information on the Leopard and its habitat. Hope you enjoy!
Evidence of Work
Content
Ecosystem - A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. We used ecosystems in our project because the main goal of the project was to save an ecosystem specifically the northeastern Russian forests where the Amur Leopards live.
Habitat - The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. The habitat of the Amur Leopards had to be protected from big deforestation companies that work in Russia. These companies need to banned so the Amur Leopards can thrive.
Climate - The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period. In our project, global warming was affecting our Amur Leopards because it caused less snow melt to run through their habitat in the summer causing less water for them to drink.
Weather - The state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc. With increasing temperatures the thick fur coat of the Leopard is becoming a disadvantageous trait.
Symbiosis - Interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association. Does not affect the Amur Leopards due to not a lot of animals living in their ecosystem.
Abiotic Factors - A nonliving condition or thing, as climate or habitat, that influences or affects an ecosystem and the organisms in it. This would be the snow melt in the Amur Leopard's ecosystem.
Biotic Factors - Any living component that affects another organism, or shapes the ecosystem. The biotic factors of the Siberian forests have arctic foxes, arctic hares, Amur Leopards, snow lilies, and arctic poppies.
Trophic Levels - Each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy. In our ecosystem the Amur leopards are the Apex predator in the food chain eating smaller 2nd level consumers like arctic foxes.
10% Rule - When energy is passed in an ecosystem from one trophic level to the next, only ten percent of the energy will be passed on. An example of the energy passing through our ecosystem is the Artic poppy, to the arctic hare, to the Artic fox, to the Amur leopard.
Carrying Capacity - The number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation. The carrying capacity is decreasing to the huge increase in clear cutting and deforestation.
Energy Cycle - The cycle of how energy travels through an ecosystem. The energy starts at the autotrophs who make the energy through photosynthesis. Then the energy moves up when an organism eats another organism at a lower trophic levels.
Carbon Cycle - the processes by which carbon moves through the environment, involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels. The carbon cycle is a big part of the arctic ecosystem due to not a lot of water in the ecosystem not being able to take in lots of carbon dioxide.
Biomes - Large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.
Food Chain - A hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food and energy.
Food Web - A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains. Used to represent complex relationships in ecosystem.
Population Density - Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. The population density of the arctic tundra is very low due to the harsh living conditions of this ecosystem.
All of these concepts were used in the creation of the project along with the research used to gather evidence and material for this project.
Habitat - The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. The habitat of the Amur Leopards had to be protected from big deforestation companies that work in Russia. These companies need to banned so the Amur Leopards can thrive.
Climate - The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period. In our project, global warming was affecting our Amur Leopards because it caused less snow melt to run through their habitat in the summer causing less water for them to drink.
Weather - The state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc. With increasing temperatures the thick fur coat of the Leopard is becoming a disadvantageous trait.
Symbiosis - Interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association. Does not affect the Amur Leopards due to not a lot of animals living in their ecosystem.
Abiotic Factors - A nonliving condition or thing, as climate or habitat, that influences or affects an ecosystem and the organisms in it. This would be the snow melt in the Amur Leopard's ecosystem.
Biotic Factors - Any living component that affects another organism, or shapes the ecosystem. The biotic factors of the Siberian forests have arctic foxes, arctic hares, Amur Leopards, snow lilies, and arctic poppies.
Trophic Levels - Each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy. In our ecosystem the Amur leopards are the Apex predator in the food chain eating smaller 2nd level consumers like arctic foxes.
10% Rule - When energy is passed in an ecosystem from one trophic level to the next, only ten percent of the energy will be passed on. An example of the energy passing through our ecosystem is the Artic poppy, to the arctic hare, to the Artic fox, to the Amur leopard.
Carrying Capacity - The number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation. The carrying capacity is decreasing to the huge increase in clear cutting and deforestation.
Energy Cycle - The cycle of how energy travels through an ecosystem. The energy starts at the autotrophs who make the energy through photosynthesis. Then the energy moves up when an organism eats another organism at a lower trophic levels.
Carbon Cycle - the processes by which carbon moves through the environment, involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels. The carbon cycle is a big part of the arctic ecosystem due to not a lot of water in the ecosystem not being able to take in lots of carbon dioxide.
Biomes - Large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.
Food Chain - A hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food and energy.
Food Web - A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains. Used to represent complex relationships in ecosystem.
Population Density - Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. The population density of the arctic tundra is very low due to the harsh living conditions of this ecosystem.
All of these concepts were used in the creation of the project along with the research used to gather evidence and material for this project.
Reflection
In this project there were many positives and some negatives that we can learn from this project. Two positives that we had was our time management/ work ethic and our presentation. Both worked well because they have been practiced thoroughly in the STEM Marin program over the past two years. The time management in our project was planned out carefully through a written plan. This allowed us to become more efficient and in turn finish the project earlier with the same quality of work. Since we were done earlier our presentation was better practiced and therefore became easier to present. Speaking became easier and describing the body systems along with the models became familiar.
There were also some negatives that I can learn from in this project. One negative from this project was the time management doing this website update. I did not manage my time wisely and had to finish the website on the day it was due. I learned that if little chunks of the website are done every day it will be easier to finish. Another negative was the communication in our group throughout this project. We had many absences from different people in our group and were not able to complete the project to the best of our ability because we did not have access to certain parts owned by different people. I will learn from these mistakes in the future. This was a great project that I learned so much from.
There were also some negatives that I can learn from in this project. One negative from this project was the time management doing this website update. I did not manage my time wisely and had to finish the website on the day it was due. I learned that if little chunks of the website are done every day it will be easier to finish. Another negative was the communication in our group throughout this project. We had many absences from different people in our group and were not able to complete the project to the best of our ability because we did not have access to certain parts owned by different people. I will learn from these mistakes in the future. This was a great project that I learned so much from.