Env+Sci+Resources

=**I will post documents and web links on this page that you may find useful.**=

__Main Page and Data Entry__: [|Project FeederWatch]
(ID #321438. Password: ameshigh. Login name: lazere)

__**Web links**__

 * 1) [|Global Systems Science "e-books"] **Login:** gss-set **Password:** malthus
 * 2) [|Missouri River Recovery Program]
 * 3) [|Benthic Macroinvertebrate Identification]
 * 4) [|Science Daily - Environmental News] Short news stories about current issues in science. This is the Environmental link
 * 5) [|Science News - Environment] More in-depth articles about current news in science. This is also the Environmental link.
 * 6) I[|owa Association of Naturalists book series]
 * 7) [|Earth Sky.] Audio files with interviews of scientists on a variety of environmental topics

__Documents__

 * 1) [[file:why trees need salmon.pdf]]
 * 2) [[file:Tiny Damselfish May Destroy A Caribbean Reef _ NPR.pdf]]
 * 3) [[file:Imperiled Fisheries Make A Comeback, Study Shows _ NPR.pdf]]
 * 4) [[file:Fungi & Trees-Sci Daily.pdf]]
 * 5) [[file:Coral+Algae Sci Daily 3-08.pdf]]
 * 6) [[file:Climate trouble may be bubbling up in far north.pdf]]
 * 7) [[file:IAN203 Prairies.pdf]]
 * 8) [[file:Pollination Networks Key To Ecosystem Sustainability.pdf]]
 * 9) [[file:The Cost Of Long Tongues - Bees.pdf]]
 * 10) [[file:Wild Bees And The Flowers They Pollinate Are Disappearing Together.pdf]]
 * 11) [[file:Wild Bees Can Be Effective Pollinators.pdf]]
 * 12) [[file:Focus On The Wild Could Avert Plant Pollination Threat.pdf]]
 * 13) [[file:ISUE - History of Trees.pdf]]
 * 14) [[file:AHS Water Flow Map.doc]]
 * 15) [[file:Greenhouse Gasses - Aspen Growth.pdf]]
 * 16) [[file:Moore Park Images.doc]]

__**Topics**__
• Old-growth forests (Headwaters Forest Preserve) • Water quality (chemical, physical, benthic macro-invertebrates, microscopic plants and animals, Dead Zone in the Gulf and Duckweed at Moore Pond.) • Interconnections/Relationships between living organisms and between living organisms and the physical environment: *Trees and Salmon; • History of Land Use in Moore Park and in Iowa (Looking at Maps from 1850’s, 1930, 1950’s, 1970’s 1990’s and today) • Factors that determine the types of ecosystems in an area. For example, why was much of Iowa covered by Tallgrass Prairie? (Many physical, biological, and geological factors) • Biodiversity: Articles about pollination and pollinators. The "Rivet" and "Redundancy" Hypothesis vs. "Keystone species" from GSS, Losing Biodiversity p.42-44 Carbon Cycle - Van Helmont's willow tree experiment. Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, Water cycle: Changes of state. Temp. and atomic motion. Fresh water vs salt water resources. Groundwater.
 * Protecting water quality: Prairie buffer strip (infiltration vs. runoff, reducing fertilizer applications
 * Damselfish and Coral;
 * Over-fishing and biodiversity of fish;
 * Fungus and Coral; Fungus and Trees,
 * Permafrost, Methane, Feedback and Global Warming
 * Watersheds and sub-watersheds (Squaw Creek watershed is made up of smaller watersheds, and is part of the larger South Skunk watershed).
 * Natural and Artificial Selection
 * History of Forests in Iowa: Connecting how climate (and climate change over geologic time) and other non-physical factors (like fire) can have a large influence on the type of ecosystems in an area.
 * Watersheds and rain events: Calculated the water leaving the school property for each 1 inch of rain
 * Scientific approaches to environmental studies, including controlled experiments (Independent Variables, Dependent Variables, Controls). Read and discussed articles.

**__Field Trips and Lab Experiences__**
• Squaw Creek and the AHS Tributary (Made observations/Gathered data on the physical and chemical characteristics, the habitat, and the plants and animals, especially the benthic macroinvertebrates) • Moore Park Pond (Made some initial observations and discussed goals for future uses of the pond. Gathered water quality data – physical, chemical, and biological – and made note of the surrounding vegetation) • Microscopic Observations (Made observations/Gathered data on the organisms living in the Moore Park pond water) • AHS and Doolittle Prairie (Made observations/Gathered data on the plants and animals in these 2 prairies – the former is considered a dry prairie, and the latter a wet prairie) • Woodland ecosystem (Made observations/Gathered data in the wooded are west of the teachers parking lot) • Prairie Video: “America’s Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie”.
 * College Creek buffer strips and rain gardens
 * Larson Marsh (wetland)
 * Water runoff/infiltration activity at Moore Park with professor Wagner's class. Graphed Runoff (y) vs. Number of "events" (x)
 * Visited McFarland Park to compare the Prairie, Pond, and Woodland ecosystems there to the same ecosystems that we've seen elsewhere.
 * Visited Beichler farm. Sustainable farm that has made efforts to protect water quality and increase wildlife by changing farming practices and planting prairie.
 * "Follow the Drop" watershed activity. Surveyed hs grounds to determine how/where rainwater goes when it leaves the hs property.
 * Planned and started and discussed a decomposition experiment
 * Biogeochemical cycles: Carbon cycle, water cycle, nitrogen cycle
 * Discussed and set-up table top Bioshpheres
 * Jigsaw activity related to 3 articles on Biodiversity and the Keystone Species Hypothesis