2.2.5: Relationships B/W Ecosystems & Populations Yellowstone

Welcome to Yellowstone National Park

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GOALS

After becoming president in 1901,Teddy Roosevelt used his authority to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the United States Forest Service (USFS) and establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments by enabling the 1906 American Antiquities Act. During his presidency,Theodore Roosevelt protected approximately 230 million acres of public land.

History of Protecting Populations

Yellowstone National Park is said to be the first national park in the United States and the world! It was established when president Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law in 1872. The park is larger than the state of Delaware and situated in a region that has been volcanically and seismically active for tens of millions of years! Yellowstone National Park is an ecosystem containing many biotic and abiotic factors.

A sportsman-hunter all his life, Roosevelt sought a chance to hunt the big game of North America before they were gone. Although his writings depict hunting trips and successful kills, they are laced with lament for the loss of species and habitat.

Yellowstone's main attraction is its 10,000 hydrothermal vents, making up half of those found in the entire world! You can find special bacteria that only live in extreme environments here.

Keystone Species

Species critical to the overall health of an ecosystem

In the late 1800s, grey wolf populations were hunted close to extinction. How would this affect the other species and abiotic factors?

Take a walk to Dragon's Mouth Spring. Observe the environment around the boardwalk. What natural causes could lead to this kind of destruction?

PROBABILITY

The chances of an event occurring

How can ecologists predict the probability of the affects on the Yellowstone ecosystem if hot springs disappeared?

1. Use the graphs below to identify the keystone species.2. How does the change in population of the keystone species affect the other 3 populations?

Can natural changes be good?

Hmm...this area does not look like the lively, green ecosystem I would expect.What happened to it?

Why don't I see any of the animals I was expecting?

Lesson Overview

Vocabulary

• examine evidence of the relationships between changes in the ecosystem and changes in populations

• explore the significance of keystone species in ecosystems

Probability

Ecology

Food Web

Invasive Species

a chance an event will occur

model that shows all the feeding relationships in an ecosystem

the study of ecosystems

an organism that is not native to a particular area

Take notes in your Workbook on pages 56-57 or in Classkick (https://app.classkick.com/login/4JNCIR)

Review Vocabulary in Edio under Lesson 2.3.5: Relationships Between Ecosystems and Populations or on Classkick through our vocab tracker ( https://app.classkick.com/login/FOEDOB)

Explore different parts of Yellowstone Park using the VR tour or the photo gallery. What kinds of human impacts was Teddy Roosevelt trying to protect these ecosystems from?

Photo Gallery