Listen to Episode 3: How Are Bugs, Skunks, and Sagebrush All Connected in Wyoming?
Vocabulary
Biodiversity: the variety of life that you find in an area. Every organism– animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria, are interconnected creating a web of life that depends on others for survival.
Ecosystem: a geographic area that consists of living things (biotic) like plants and animals, and non-living things (abiotic) like soil and weather. In an ecosystem the biotic factors interact with and abiotic factors forming a system of interconnected parts.
Food Chain: A food chain describes how organisms get energy from eating other organisms. Typically, the chain starts with the sun which provides energy to plants (aka producers). Herbivores (primary consumers) eat the producers. Then carnivores (secondary consumers) eat the herbivores. The energy is transferred from the sun through the different levels of the chain.
Food Web: A food web is a series of interconnected food chains. Most organisms are part of multiple food chains, so all of these together create a web of interlinked food pathways.
Photosynthesis: the process by which green plants use sunlight to transform carbon dioxide and water into energy (in the form of sugar) and oxygen.
Migration: The seasonal movement of animals from one area to another
Wildlife Corridors: a strip of natural habitat connecting populations of wildlife otherwise separated by human activities
Annual Plants: Plants that complete their life cycle in one year. They germinate, grow, produce seeds and die off within a year.
Biannual Plants: Plants that complete their life cycles in two years.
Perennial Plants: Plants that live 3 or more years. They grow and bloom over the spring and summer, die back every autumn and winter, and then return in the spring from their rootstock.
Extremophiles: Organisms with the ability to thrive in extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents or other areas with high pressure and temperature.
Sagebrush: Any shrub in the genus Artemis. Artemis tridenta is native to Wyoming commonly called Big Sagebrush. This perennial plant has aromatic leaves which are toxic to some animals.
Food Chain Activity
Click this link to play! http://projects.plattebasintimelapse.com/prp_a/food_chain.html
Nature Journaling Activities
https://howtoteachnaturejournaling.com/activities/