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Work The Web
UNIT 1: ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN ACTIVITY
1.1 Disappearing Frogs
1.2 Going, Going, Gone!
1.4 Explore an Issue: What is the Value
of Wolves?
1.7 Energy in Ecosystems
1.8 The Carbon Cycle
1.10 Explore an Issue: Should
We Interfere with Natural Cycles?
1.12 Populations
1.13 Canadian Biomes
1.14 Career Profile: Tree Planter
1.17 Logging Forests
1.18 Acid Precipitation
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1.1
Disappear-
ing Frogs |
Research the disappearance of the northern
cricket frog (Acris crepitani) from southwestern Ontario
and produce a report.
Northern
(Blanchard's) Cricket Frog, a site maintained by Environment
Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, contains basic information
on this frog. Use the search feature to research the northern
cricket frog.
Blanchard's
(or Northern) cricket frog is a site maintained by the Canadian
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network. The page contains
some good general information about Blanchard's cricket frog and
its natural history.
National
Recovery Plan for Blanchard's Cricket Frog, sponsored by Environment
Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service, is a very informative site
about the frog recovery program at Point Pelee National Park in
southern Ontario.
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1.2
Going,
Going,
Gone! |
A recovery plan has been implemented to protect
and enhance the Harlequin duck population. In a paragraph or two,
list the strategies that have been tried, and indicate whether
each has been successful.
National
Recovery Plan for the Harlequin Duck
This site by Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, describes
the recovery plan for the Harlequin Duck in eastern North America.
Harlequin
Duck - Hinterland Who's Who - Canadian Wildlife Service
A site maintained by Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Services,
contains general information about the Harlequin Duck in North
America.
Species
at Risk - Harlequin Duck
An Environment Canada site that provides information about the
eastern population of Harlequin Ducks that are at risk.
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1.4
Explore an Issue: What Is the Value of Wolves? |
Explore the controversy over wolves in Yellowstone
National Park
Background information:
The
Yellowstone wolves site, mounted by Yellowstone National Park,
follows the wolves on a pack-by-pack basis.
Yellowstone
Wolf Restoration — This Yellowstone National Park site
describes the wolf restoration program from its beginnings.
Bearman's
Yellowstone Wolf Update page is a creation of Kevin Sanders,
who is closely following the progress of the restoration program
in Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone
Wolf Tracker follows the ecological events associated with
the wolf recovery program. The site is supported by the Wolfstock
Foundation, an American non-profit organization.
Frontier View:
Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation site is an American pro-hunting site,
although it does not focus on wolves.
"Wolf
on the Doorstep of 10th Circuit Court of Appeals: Conservationists,
Legal Experts In Court To Defend Yellowstone Wolves", appeared
in Wolflines, March 4, 2000.
Sheep
Mountain Pack is a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service site that
describes the interaction between cattle and wolves reintroduced
in the Mountain-Prairie Region.
Reference
Section, Waterton Park, Alberta gives a good in-depth look
at wolf attacks on cattle and sheep.
Stewardship View:
Wolf
Ecosystem Research — This detailed site describes a
study in Algonquin Park on wolves from an ecological viewpoint.
This detailed study is sponsored by the Faculty of Environmental
Studies at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
Defenders
of Wildlife, an organization attempting to increase and restore
wolf populations in the United States, has 15 links to its wolf
conservation programs.
Ownership View:
Animal
Alliance of Canada site gives a broad overview of animal rights
issues.
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1.7
Energy in
Ecosystems |
Find out about the effect of greenhouse gases
and summarize your findings in a couple of paragraphs.
What
Are Greenhouse Gases?
EPA
Global Warming Site: Climate
Greenhouse
Gases
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1.8
The Carbon Cycle |
Find out about the effects of increased levels
of atmospheric CO² and summarize your findings in a couple
of paragraphs.
Effects
of CO² on Ecosystems
Global
Warming - Fact vs. Fiction
CO²
concentration in the atmosphere - Is it all bad?
Carbon
Dioxide is Good for the Environment
Environmental
Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ...
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1.10
Explore
an Issue:
Should We
Interfere
with Natural
Cycles? |
Ploughing fields actually reduces the population
of earthworms. Earthworms help decomposition and improve soil
quality. Research the role of earthworms. What recommendations
would you make to farmers based on your research?
Farming
Earthworms, Dr. Jill Clapperton and Nancy Lee, Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre
Zero-Tillage:
The No-Till Soil, The Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers
Association
Earthworm
ecology and sustaining agriculture, Matthew R. Werner, Center
for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, University of California,
USA
Earthworms
are Soil's Best Friend, University of Guelph
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1.12
Roles in Ecosystems |
Select population data that could be represented
by a histogram. Present the data first in table format and then
in a histogram. Based on your histogram, make a prediction about
the growth of the population.
Statistical
Profile of Canadian Communities, 1996, Statistics Canada
Canadian
population chart by age and sex, Statistics Canada
Canadian
population chart by age and sex by province and by territory,
Statistics Canada
CSO
Ireland: Principal Statistics, Agriculture, Selected Livestock
Numbers in June (1847, 1897, 1947, 1999)
CSO
Ireland: Principal Statistics, Demographics
Department
of Fisheries and Oceans: Conservation Issues: Groundfish (requires
Acrobat reader)
ECN
Summary Database, Environmental Change Network (butterflies and
moths)
Data
Analysis Methodology: How population trends are estimated, Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center, Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey, USA
Wildlife
Harvest and Population Status Report: Northern Bobwhite Quail,
1999, Conservation Commission of Missouri, USA
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1.13
Canadian
Biomes |
Construct a food web for each of the Canadian
biomes.
Tundra:
Woodland Caribou Strategy Report, British Columbia Ministry of
Environment, Lands and Parks
Ptarmigan,
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Lemmings,
Canadian Wildlife Service
Arctic
fox, Canadian Wildlife Service
Species
Account, The Wolverine Foundation
The
Tundra, Physical Geography Working Group of The Virtual Geography
Department, Radford University
Lichen
use by wildlife in North America, Stephen Sharnoff and Roger Rosentreter
Boreal forest:
Taiga
or Boreal Forest, Physical Geography Working Group of The Virtual
Geography Department, Radford University
White-winged
Crossbill, Birds of Nova Scotia
Spruce
Grouse, Birds of Nova Scotia
Boreal
Owl, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Canada
lynx, Canadian Wildlife Service
Snowshoe
hare, Canadian Wildlife Service
Wolf,
Canadian Wildlife Service
White-tailed
Deer, Canadian Wildlife Service
The
Northern Coniferous Forest, College of Agriculture, Department
of Forestry, University of Illinois, USA
Marten,
Canadian Wildlife Service
Grasslands:
North
American bison, Canadian Wildlife Service
Sharp-shinned
Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, and Northern Goshawk, Canadian Wildlife Service
Grasslands
of the Canadian Prairies, Environment Canada
Grasslands
plants, the Evergreen Project
Prairie
Rattlesnake, Steve W. Thompson
Meadow
mice, voles?, PestProducts.com
Temperate deciduous forests:
Temperate
Broadleaf Deciduous Forest
Red
Maple, US forest Service
Black
bear, Canadian Wildlife Service
Downy
Woodpecker, Canadian Wildlife Service
Assessment
of species diversity in the mixedwood plains ecozone: Mammals,
Andrew B. T. Smith and Donald A. Smith, Ecological Monitoring
and Assessment Network
Temperate
Deciduous Forest Biome, The Evergreen Project, Inc.
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1.14
Career
Profile:
Tree
Planter |
Research job opportunities with your province's
Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).
Youth
Employment in Natural Resources
This government of Ontario site explores youth employment
in natural resources. It includes a good description of the eight
week Ontario Rangers program.
Ontario
Forests: Management for Today and Tomorrow
This site provides an opportunity to investigate forest practices
and job possibilities, including tree planting.
Grow
in a Growing Industry
This site provides information about opportunities in agriculture
in Manitoba.
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1.17
Logging
Forests |
Research disputes over Canadian forests. Report
on one dispute. What evidence can you find that members of one
group, or the public at large, are showing signs of a change in
attitude?
Cancelling
Canadian Clearcutting: TimberWest Follows MacMillan Bloedel, June
1999, The Forestry Source
Saskatchewan's
Forest Management Plan
Folk
singer, environmentalists and Cree denounce forestry practices
in Quebec, Forest Conservation News
UN
Names British Columbia's Clayoquot Sound a Biosphere Reserve,
Forest Conservation News
No
More Logging in Vancouver Watersheds, Forest Conservation News
Tree
Sitters Protest British Columbia Wilderness Logging, Forest Conservation
News
B.C.
Loggers Assault Protesters, Burn Camp, Forest Conservation News
Internet
Resources on Clayoquot Sound, University of Victoria
Code
of Forest Practices, Ontario Forest Products Industry
AFER
Research, Temagami old growth studies, Earthwatch
Temagami
Wilderness Threatened by Logging and Mining, 1997, Taiga-News
Clearcutting;
A look at Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources' new policy, Wildlands
League
Province
Adopts Strategy to Enhance Environmental Protection in Temagami,
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, June 1996
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1.18
Acid
Precipi-
tation |
Burning gasoline is a major source of sulfur
emissions. Oil companies have different strategies for reducing
sulfur emissions. Is there one strategy that is better than the
others?
Special
Report on Transboundary Air Quality Issues, November 1998, International
Air Quality Advisory Board
Smog:
What's Being Done, Environment Canada
Ontario
and Electric Vehicles, Econogics, Inc.
GreenOntario,
Provincial Strategy: Smog
Air
Programme, Pollution Probe
Canadians
deserve clean gasoline now!, Thursday, April 20, 2000, Canadian
Vehicle Manufacturers' Association
Call
for fuel boycott is off base, Canadian Petroleum Products Association,
news releases
The
Suncor Energy page describes how the company is taking action
on climate change.
Imperial
Oil's view on climate change
Alternate
Fuels |
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