Energy Cycle

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Ecological_Pyramid.svg/1280px-Ecological_Pyramid.svg.png

Summary:  This week we studied the Energy Cycle. This cycle is the balance in ecosystems between producers and consumers.  Producers are at the bottom. Producers are organisms that can make there own food using the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process when plants transform sunlight into food to keep themselves. Next we have the consumers. Consumers are organisms that get there energy by eating other organism. It doesn't stop there though because it usually become much more complex. For example we have grass as a producer but we may also have a rabbit which consumes the grass. Then we have snakes which consume the rabbits. Then on top of that we have hawks that consume the snakes. It's all a chain and a never ending cycle.

S&EP: This week we Analyzed Data. We used the gizmo to analyze a balanced and unbalanced ecosystems. We used different numbers in the population and disease to see how the ecosystem would be effected. By changing the numbers and therefore the ecosystem we can simulate what it would be like if lets say our snake population suddenly spiked. We used all this data and record the outcomes. Surprisingly most of the time the ecosystem would manage to stabilize itself. As they said in Jurassic Parks. " Life always finds a way". There are other time though when it can permanently damage and even destroy and ecosystem. This includes when you take out a completely species or if you take out grass which is the main base of all the ecosystem.

XCC: This week we saw cause and effect. Ecosystems are all about cause and effect. Every animals or more so organism in an ecosystem has a role in the function of it. So letssay we took out one of these key organisms you must think how would that effect the ecosystem. Well it would most likely cause a disruption for a bit but as most ecosystems can do it stables out. This is just an example of a cause and effect relationship. If we want better detail lets not even look at the food chain. How about we see the caterpillar. What would happen to the caterpillar if it had no leaves to munch on? Well as we know the caterpillar wouldn't be able to eat and couldn't survive. This means the lack of leaves causes the caterpillars to starve. Our world is filled with cause and effect even right outside your door. Everything is an ecosystem you just need to find it.