Surveying Gorongosa’s Biodiversity

Surveying Gorongosa’s Biodiversity Student Worksheet OVERVIEW This worksheet complements the short video “Surveying Gorongosa’s Biodiversity” from the Scientists at Work series. PROCEDURE 1. Prior to watching the film, read the questions below that accompany the video. 2. Watch the film. 3. If working with a partner or in a small group, discuss and answer the following questions. If working alone, think about and answer the questions. QUESTIONS 1. This film is about a biodiversity survey of the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. Define biodiversity: Biodiversity is the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem. 2. The researchers in the film spent a month collecting and identifying various species of animals and plants. These species were then added to a database of all species in Gorongosa. Provide two (2) reasons why building a species database will be useful for the restoration project. 1. To ensure the species protection and monitor their recovery. 2. To help manage the parks and to restore some of its parts and to understand how it all fits together. 3. The Cheringoma Plateau is the location of one of the biodiversity surveys overseen by Dr. Naskrecki. a. Why do they need to do similar surveys at other locations? The park has over 100 thousands of species so it helps track on putting names on specific species. b. Why can’t they assume that the Plateau is representative of the entire park? It has different ecosystems. Population and ecosystems just focusing on the Plateau won't be sufficient. 4. Technology has changed the way scientists perform their research. List and describe three (3) ways technology help make possible the biodiversity survey depicted in the film. The baseline surveys are tools to be able to monitor changes and identity threats. The ultrasound recorder which translates the high frequencies to us. And cameras to be able to document and share their experience to others. 5. An indicator species is a species whose presence, absence, or relative abundance is a reflection of an environmental condition. Changes in the abundance of an indicator species may signal changes in the “health” of the ecosystem. Surveying Gorongosa’s Biodiversity Student Worksheet a. Bats are one group of indicator species mentioned in the film. Develop a claim about what the bats reveal about the relative health of the Cheringoma Plateau region of Gorongosa National Park. Support your claim with at least one piece of evidence from the film. Claim: The more bat species, the more healthier the environment. Evidence: They are really sensitive to changes in the environment (like water quality, agriculture, deforestation). b. Macroinvertebrates—invertebrates that you can see without magnification—are indicator species often surveyed when assessing aquatic ecosystems. The following data table and graph represent macroinvertebrates sampled in two different streams, Stream A and Stream B. Using the data, develop a claim about the overall and relative water quality of the streams and support your claim with at least two pieces of evidence for each stream. Claim: The overall water quality of stream A is good compared to stream B. Evidence: The Mayfly nymph is intolerant to pollution and they had 4 grams for the biomass compared to 0 grams in stream B. Stream A has a higher bi b h h l f h b d Macroinvertebrate Species Name Mayfly nymph Caddis fly larva Freshwater shrimp Water louse Bloodworm Sludge worm Pollution Tolerance Intolerant Moderately intolerant Moderately intolerant Moderately tolerant Moderately tolerant Tolerant Total biomass in sample (g) Stream A Stream B 4 0 30 0 70 1 34 4 10 45 2 100 Macroinvertebrate Biomass Comparison Total Biomass (g) 120 100 80 60 Stream A 40 Stream B 20 0 Mayfly nymph Caddis fly Freshwater larva shrimp Water louse Bloodworm Sludge worm Surveying Gorongosa’s Biodiversity ϲ Student Worksheet Before the Cheringoma Plateau biodiversity survey, scientists knew of 300 species of plants and animals living in Gorongosa. After completing the Cheringoma Plateau survey, the database included 2,82ϵspecies. Ă Going from 300 to 2,829 species represents what percent (%) increase in species diversity? (Show your work.) 843%. Work: 2,829-300= 2,529/300=8.43(100)= 843% b. Dr. Naskrecki believes that scientists will eventually identify between 50,000 and 100,000 species in Gorongosa National Park. Why do you think he suspects there are so many more than the 2,829 species they have already identified living in the park? It has to do a lot with the fact that it was only a one month period in a certain area because there could be seasonal differences in the species that come out or don't come out and there could be different regional varieties of different species. 7. The researchers in the film spent a month collecting and identifying various species of animals and plants. Explain why baseline biodiversity studies, in which species living in an area are identified, are important to each of the following efforts: a. Park preservation: Quantifying biodiversity helps track the parks continued b. Monitoring ecosystem changes: Bats are extremely sensitive to changes in the c. Identifying ecosystem threats: Human impacts, if you see biodiversity in species drop 8. The film explains that Mozambique is among !frica’s poorest nations and its human population is expected to quadruple in the next hundred years. Suggest two effects that this population growth and the Mozambique economy may have on the conservation efforts within the park. Explain your responses. Rising incidence of poaching and smuggling of animals and endangering lives of species, and invasion of land for buildings and structures. Also that huge population will make humans need more land to build structures on to inhabit. As well as resources because if you're using up fresh water that's less water for the animals 9. If you joined the research team shown in the film, what new scientific question would you like to attempt to answer? From these different habitats, how do we identify different keystone species, like which species keeps the habitat in check would be my scientific question to add.