Analyzing a Natural Community
(Adapted from: Barbara Krumhardt and Danielle Wirth, Experiences in Environmental Science)
In this activity you’ll be developing your observation, identification, and naming skills as you analyze a natural community. You should choose a place in your local area. It does not have to be a park or an official "natural" area. It might be an area near your home, work, or campus. If you are able to visit a county or state park you may find rangers/guides who would be able to help you with identification and naming. For all the answers that require you to name a species, please use both the common and scientific name (why scientific names?) for the species. You can find scientific names from field guides, or by searching the internet. Ideally, for safety reasons, you should not carry out fieldwork on your own - find a friend to accompany you.
Materials
- Field Journal
- Field Guides
Activity/Questions
- Describe, in detail, the place you chose to analyze. Give the name of it and the location and describe the ecosystem.
- For example: Green Lakes State Park, Fayetteville, New York. This park has two merimictic lakes, Green Lake and Round Lake. There are open grassy areas interspersed with forest. The forest is northern hardwood. Some of the forest areas are in the early successional stage and other parts are in the late successional stage.
- Name a population that’s present in your community.
- List as many members of the community as you are able to observe, using common names and scientific names. (Members of the community include both animals and plants).
- List the organisms (common name and scientific name) in a typical food chain that would be part of this community (start with a producer, then primary consumer, then secondary consumer, and then tertiary consumer, if one is present).
- Name 2 herbivores and 2 carnivores you observed (or would expect to find).
- Name two different predator/prey combinations you observed (or would expect to find).
- Choose one of the organisms from #4 and research its natural history. Write a summary and consider the following questions:
- What is its range?
- What does it eat?
- Is it a native species?
