Science 7

Lesson 7: Environmental Monitoring

Corel Corporation

Have you ever watched birds? Did you use binoculars or just look out a window? Were they quietly perched on a tree branch or squabbling near a birdbath? Perhaps you have been lucky enough to spend some time observing them in their natural habitat. If so, you may be interested in the Christmas Bird Count. It takes place every year, near the end of December. Enthusuastic birdwatchers from across Canada participate in this population survey. They are given a particular area to visit for the day. They use their binoculars, bird books, and a journal to record their observations. They travel through their assigned area recording the types and numbers of birds they see and hear. The Christmas Bird Count is a simple example of ecosystem monitoring.

The Christmas Bird Count helps scientists compare data from one year to the next. It gives them the numbers, types, and locations of birds every year. In this case, they are monitoring a biotic factor. Often, environmental or ecosystem monitoring involves both abiotic and biotic factors. In the final lesson of this module, you will study some of the assessment methods. These include techniques that can be used by groups and individuals. They let you assess the environment?s long-term health and the human impact on it.

Monitoring Global Health

Keeping track of the health of Earth?s ecosystem is important. What is monitored in an ecosystem? Who does it? How is it done? What have they found? What purpose does environmental monitoring serve?

© 2002-2003 www.clipart.com

To start your fact-finding mission, turn to page 68 of the textbook. Read the introductory paragraphs of ?Topic 7: Environmental Monitoring.?

1. Define the term ecosystem (environmental) monitoring.
2. List the four basic categories of ecosystem monitoring. Explain the purpose of each category.

Short- and long-term monitoring can be done before, during, and after a change is made to an ecosystem. They can help to predict and/or assess the impacts of that change. The results of these studies can be analyzed and applied to other situations. Some species are more sensitive to change than others. These species can be used as indicator species. They provide an early warning of environmental change. Environmental monitoring helps scientists as well as other concerned groups and individuals. They can better understand the needs of organisms. They can use this to balance these needs with human needs and wants. Knowledge and awareness allow for wiser choices.

Turn to pages 69 and 70 of the textbook and read ?When Do We Monitor?? and ?Long-Term Monitoring Programs.? To continue your fact-finding mission, also read ?Did You Know?? and ?Across Canada? on page 70.

Define indicator species.

Why do some scientists find natural disasters useful?

Why are amphibians a good indicator species?

Investigation 1-L is coming up soon. You?ll have to plan for this one. You may even have to wait a few months. (It might be hard to find plants and animals under 3 feet of snow.) Discuss this investigation with your teacher or home instructor. You may need help finding an undisturbed area. You may even have to travel some distance to get to one. If you don?t have plans yet, now would be a good time to talk to your teacher or home instructor.

PhotoDisc Collection/Getty Images

Going Further

Do you have a favourite animal or plant? Would you like to help it survive? You could get involved in protecting its ecosystem or the global environment. Turn to page 69 of the textbook. Visit the website given in ?Internet Connect.?

© 2002-2003 www.clipart.com

You have learned about monitoring the health of local ecosystems. You have seen how amphibian numbers can be a part of this monitoring. Where does the data come from? Often, it is collected by interested volunteers. In the next investigation you will interpret data they have collected. You will make predictions about the health of amphibians in Alberta.

Check out your local library. You are going to need a number of reference books. They often have a good selection of the books you will need. See if they have a field guide to Albertan or Canadian amphibians. You will also need a good map of Alberta. While you are there, check for these other guides:

• an Alberta tree identification guide
• field guides for insects, plants, flowers, and birds

This would be a good time to obtain these as well!

Investigaion 1-J: What's the Change?

Read over the investigation on page 71 of the textbook. Then review the information on the bar graphs given on pages 477 and 478. Remember, you can create your graphs (or do the whole assignment) on a computer.

1. Complete steps 1 to 3 of ?What to Do.? Read the directions carefully. Hint: Draw your bar graph with all the information on the same graph. For each species, place the bars representing 1997 and 1998 numbers side by side so the data can be compared more easily.
2. Answer question 1 of ?Analyze.? For question 1.a., use the 1998 data.

Identify the following Alberta amphibians. Use your field guide and what you have learned from your investigation.

both: © John White

Skill Development?Using Classification Keys

Another important scientific and life skill is using classification keys. Keys can be used in a wide variety of ways and can take several forms. A dichotomous key is one of the simplest. A dichotomous key is a list of choices that leads you through a chain of physical features to an unknown object?s or organism?s name. At each step in the key, you are given two choices. In a properly written key that includes your unknown organism or object, one choice will be true for your unknown; the other will be false. The true statement will either send you to another pair of choices or it will provide the name of your unknown.

Carefully work through the following sample of a dichotomous key. It was written to distinguish between living things found near wetlands in Alberta. It lets you test for a fish, a spotted salamander, a wood frog, and a leopard frog. (You identified these frogs earlier using a field guide.)

PhotoDisc Collection/Getty Images

Identify each amphibian given. Use the Identification Key for Alberta Amphibians on page 73 of the textbook. List the steps you take through the key (e.g., 1(b), 2(b), 4(a), 5(b), 6(a), wood frog).

all: THEODORE HOBERG

Going Further

Another chance to get involved. Use what you?ve just learned to find out more about the amphibians that live close to your home. Start your own monitoring program. Complete ?Investigation 1-K: Monitor Your Local Amphibians!? on pages 72 and 73 of the textbook. This activity requires the supervision of your home instructor.

Practising Your Keys

PhotoDisc Collection/Getty Images

It is not easy to walk into a forest and know what species a tree belongs to. Scientists often identify organisms using classification keys. These keys allow anyone to identify many organisms. Study the dichotomous key that follows. It was written for six Alberta tree species. (You can find them on pages 144 and 145 of the textbook.) The physical characteristics of the tree must be examined closely. As you study each step, note how carefully it was chosen. Each choice clearly separates the current group into two distinct sets.

Use the key and the information on pages 144 and 145 of the textbook to identify each of the following trees. List the series of steps you followed to find their names.


1 Courtesy of British Columbia Forest Service. Reprinted by permission. 2 Courtesy of Alberta Sustainable Resources Development. Reprinted by permission.

Did you find it hard to identify characteristics from a picture? What would have made this activity easier?

PhotoDisc Collection/Getty Images

Plotting the Wilderness

ting in a large bowl on the kitchen counter. You suspect that someone is taking goodies from it. Or, maybe you have been eating more than you realize. How can you know for sure?

© 2002-2003 www.clipart.com

Well, you could count each item to get a baseline number (a starting point). You could then monitor your supply by observing the activities of those who enter the kitchen. You could also do a count of the items in your candy bowl at intervals throughout the day. This method of assessing the safety of your candy is very similar to techniques used to determine the current or long-term health of an ecosystem.

The initial count of the Halloween candy gave you baseline data. This starting point becomes the standard for the rest of your counts. Scientists often gather baseline data for permanent plots. They, too, need a starting point for predictions and future comparisons.

Turn to pages 74 and 75 of the textbook and read ?Baseline Data.? You will see how to collect baseline data. You will also see how the information can be used in an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Define the terms baseline data, permanent plot, and Environmental Impact Assessment.

Why is it important to collect baseline data?

In the next investigation you will collect your own baseline data. You?ll compare two areas in your neighbourhood. Choose one that has been disturbed by humans and one that is still a fairly natural area.

You will want to start by looking for two areas that are close to your home. A disturbed area might be a playground, soccer field, lawn, or pasture. You?re looking for an area where humans have made a significant impact. An undisturbed area might be a natural woodlot or natural grassland. Carefully read the entire investigation prior to doing it. If possible have your friends, family, or home instructor work on the investigation with you.

PhotoDisc Collection/Getty Images

Investigation 1-L: Comparing Ecosystems

Read the information on pages 76 and 77 of the textbook.

Answer the following on page 77.
1. question 1 of ?Analyze?
2. questions 4 and 5 of ?Conclude and Apply?

Answer ?Pause and Reflect? on page 78 of the textbook.

Using Science

All across Canada, studies are being done on ecosystems. Are they healthy? What makes them up? How are humans affecting them? One area being studied is in northern Alberta. The studies look at how development will affect the Northern River Basins region. A tremendous amount of data has been gathered. Now the data has to be interpreted and used to make decisions.

Turn to page 78 of the textbook and read ?Using Science in Real Ecosystems.? You will learn more about this example of science in action.

Give three reasons why the Northern River Basins Study was important.

PhotoDisc Collection/Getty Images

Answer questions 1 and 3 of ?Topic 7 Review? on page 78 of the textbook.

Looking Back

It?s your world. You can choose to be knowledgeable and aware. Your daily choices influence the health of your local and global environments, as well as the choices of those around you.

Monitoring local and global environments are important! Ecosystem monitoring can be used to gather data. The data lets the impact people have be better understood and predicted. For example, long-term monitoring often looks at changes in specific indicator species.

PhotoDisc Collection/Getty Images

In this lesson you analyzed indicator species data. You also conducted your own investigation. You collected baseline data about disturbed and undisturbed areas close to your home. The Northern River Basins Study served as a final example. It showed how concerned groups and individuals can use environmental impact assessments. They make informed, environmentally wise decisions possible.

Suggested Answers

Lesson 07

1. Ecosystem (environmental) monitoring is a system for checking the health of an ecosystem. It includes collecting data and comparing these results with observations taken at other times.
2. The four basic categories of ecosystem monitoring are
   • physical (using satellites to track landscape changes over time)
   • environmental (tracking changes in climate, temperature, and weather patterns)
   • chemical (assesses air, soil, and water quality)
   • biological (tracking changes in organisms or populations)

An indicator species is an organism that is sensitive to changes in an ecosystem. Frogs, toads, and canaries are examples of indicator species.

Natural disasters can be very useful to scientists because they can monitor the development of an ecosystem from the very beginning.

Amphibians have very thin skin that is not protected by hair, scales, or slime. They absorb much of their oxygen supply through their skin. Their eggs and young spend all the time in the water. They eat food from the water. Adults spend the vast majority of their lives in or around the water. They also eat many aquatic organisms. Amphibians are very vulnerable to toxic chemicals in their habitat. They will likely react to pollutants long before they are detected in other ways. They may die, have a decrease in reproductive success, have more mutations, or show a declining population.

Check your responses with your teacher or home instructor.

Check your response with your teacher or home instructor.

Using the dichotomous key, the best matches for each are as follows:

Tree A: 1(a), 2(a), aspen

Tree B: 1(b), 3(a), 4(b), 5(b), black spruce

Going into a treed area to examine the trees and working with branches would have made the activity easier. Photographs with more detail would make this activity easier as well.

Baseline data is information that is collected so it can be used for comparison to data gathered at a later time.

A permanent plot is an area used to collect data over an extended period of time.

An Environmental Impact Assessment is a scientific report written to explain how a particular activity might affect or has affected an ecosystem.

Check your responses with your teacher or home instructor.

The Northern River Basins Study was important because
• the lifestyle of the Aboriginal people was being threatened by the economic development in the area
• industries were affecting the health of the ecosystem
• it helped scientists assess (judge, quantify, categorize) and understand the impacts on the biotic and abiotic components in the ecosystem
• it helped scientists make recommendations of ways to reduce the human impact in the area

Textbook questions 1 and 3 of ?Topic 7 Review,? p. 78
1. Long-term monitoring is used to protect natural ecosystems by allowing scientists to recognize dangerous changes. Scientists can come up with solutions to overcome these changes.
3. There are many volunteer monitoring programs that Canadians can be involved in. They include the Christmas Bird Count, backyard bird feeder studies, the Canadian Wildlife Federation?s moth and butterfly survey or ladybird beetle survey, and amphibian surveys.

Lesson Glossary