Teacher Matthew 403

Monday, October 31, 2011

adaptation, hibernate, camouflage, mimicry
Adaptations are traits of behaviors that help living things survive or continue to live
adaptations help animals move, get food, and protect themselves
a sandgrouse is a desert bird whose feathers soak up water
a fennec fox has large ears that help it cool off, and it's fur is very thin
camels can close their nostrils to keep out sand.
they store far in humps and wide hooves help them walk on the sand
hibernate-to live off of it's own bodyfat and use very little energy
migrate- to change location as needed
camouflage-to blend in with the environment
arctic fox and arctic hare change color with the seasons
mimicry-when one kind of thing looks like another
the honeybee has a dangerous stinger, while a hoover fly does not; the hoover fly looks like the honeybee to avoid predators
some snakes and lizards have poison in their jaws, hedgehogs are covered with spines, these help protect them or help them kill food
fleas make their home in animals fur, while the mammal gives the flea a home and food, the flea hurts the mammal by making its skin red and itchy
some fish eat the algae off of sea turtles, this is helpful as the sea turtle gets a clean shell and the fish get food
certain birds clean the leeches off of crocodiles teeth, the bird gets food and the crocodile gets clean gums!

Producers are organisms that make their own food using sunlight energy
these include green plants on land, and algae in the ocean, lakes and ponds
consumers are organisms that cannot make their own food
herbivores eat only plants, or producers (plant eaters)
omnivores eat producers and consumers (bears, raccoons, opossums) (plant and meat eaters)
carnivores eat herbivores and omnivores (cats, tigers, lions, sharks) (meat eaters)
decomposers break down dead decaying matter into wastes (worms, bacteria, fungi)
they return substances to the ecosystem as nutrients
they are called "recyclers"
energy in an ecosystem comes from the sun
food chain-energy passes from on organism to another (one animal eats another for food)
energy in a good chain moves from producers to consumers to decomposers
food web- shows how all food chains in an ecosystem are connected
predator-carnivore that hunts for food (eats other animals)
prey-animal that is hunted for food (gets eaten)
competition-struggle between organisms for food, water
small plants and flowers compete with larger trees for sunlight, water, and nutrients
earth is one giant food web

The setting: Chatanooga Tennesee, 1931, USA.
The baseball game is the NY Yankees against the Chatanooga Lookouts.
Jackie Mitchell was a girl on the Chatanooga team.
She was 17 years old.
girls did not play major league baseball
the newspaper said that she would "swing a mean lipstick" instead of a bat, and that she was no better than a "trained seal" behind the plate
Jackie was a pitcher (throws the ball)
Jackie played ball with her father since she was young
throwing balls like a girl was an insult
when she was eight, Dazzy Vance from the Brooklyn Dodgers taught her how to pitch
when she was pitching at the game, the crowd was waiting for her to make a mistake
Jackie strikes out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, two of the best baseball players
Babe Ruth says he'll never play with a woman again
the crowd cheers for Jackie

What biome has trees that lose it's leaves each year?
What does the word "taiga" mean?
What language does "taiga" come from?
In the _______________ the ground is frozen all year.
A ___________ has extreme temperatures.
A __________________ has burnt grass, which makes the soil good for farming.
A ________________ has it's own kind of ________________, __________________, and ________________.
A ________________ also has it's own ___________________ and patterns of _______________.
A _________ __________________ is hot and humid with tall leafy trees.
A __________________ is a mild climate ____________________.

A biome has it's own kinds of plants, animals, and soil. It also has it's own patterns of temperature and rainfall.
Grassland-main plants are grass, not much rainfall.

Prairie-mild climate grassland. Sun burns grass in the summer which makes rich soil good for farming.

Deciduous forests-trees lose leaves each year. Cold winters, warm summers, trees broad leaves keep sunlight from reaching ground. Ground is covered with leaves that decay to make the soil rich, covered with flowers and ferns.

Canopy-tops of trees spread over the forest like an umbrella, receive most light
understory-dense layers of damp leaves
floor- too dark for many plants to grow

Taiga-Russian word for "forest", cool forests in upper regions of the north, lakes and ponds, formed by glaciers, conifers grow here, winters long and cold, animals have thick fur to protect them from cold, melting snow provides water for animals.

Tundra-cold dry, no trees, ground frozen all year, little rain, long icy winters, summers short and cool, plants grow close to the ground and use shallow roots to get water, animals have extra layers of fat to stay warm, some birds fly south to find warm weather in winter.

Freshwater Ecosystem-streams and rivers have flowing water. Lakes and ponds have still water which makes it easier for algae and plants to grow.
Wetland-ecosystem where roots of plants grow below water.
Estuary-ecosystem where ocean and freshwater meet
Algae can grow in the ocean on the surface where there is plenty of sunlight to grow.