Invasive Species Project

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/New_Zealand_Mud_snails.jpg

Summary: The New Zealand Mud Snail is an Invasive species. An invasive species is a species that is introduced into a nonnative area and harms the ecosystem there. These snails are a perfect example of an invasive species. They can reproduce at tremendous rates. For example one paring of male and female can create up to billions of offspring in only 4 years. These snails also take up half of the resource in the river usually when they live there. So half the food half the shelter etc. These little pests are crazy and could really end up destroying the water habitats we know and love.

S&EP: This week we used  Asking Questions and Defining Problems. We did this by asking things like; How does this effect the water ecosystem? How fast do they spread? What is the main issue and how do we fix it? All these questions had to be asked and answered so we could make our video. To understand the full story you must think of all the benefits and problems. Asking questions always helps but the answers are what you really need.

XCC: This week we used Cause and Effect. I think our environment is full of cause and effect. You see when we ask our questions we need to see how does this invasive species negatively effect the environment. For the New Zealand mud snail they cause lack of resource which effects the over all populations of  the ecosystem. Also we may ask how one pair of male and female can cause an explosion in the population. This explosion may cause again a resource problem. You can always find a way to make a cycle into simpler steps because a cycle is just cause and effect.