extreme insects erwin

8/8/2019 Extreme Insects Erwin

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/extreme-insects-erwin 1/7

IPY-ROAM is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program 1

Extreme Insects: Entomology in Antarctica

Terrestrial Ecology Group

Teacher Pre-Activity Introduction and Preparation

National Science Standard Alignment within this Activity

Grade Levels 5-8

Life Science – Content Standard C

Populations and Ecosystems

- Populations of organisms can be categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem. Plants and

some micro-organisms are producers--they make their own food. All animals, including humans, areconsumers, which obtain food by eating other organisms. Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi,

are consumers that use waste materials and dead organisms for food. Food webs identify the

relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.

- The number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and abioticfactors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition. Given

adequate biotic and abiotic resources and no disease or predators, populations (including humans)

increase at rapid rates. Lack of resources and other factors, such as predation and climate, limit thegrowth of populations in specific niches in the ecosystem.

Grade Levels 9-12

Life Science – Content Standard C

The Interdependence of Organisms

- Energy flows through ecosystems in one direction, from photosynthetic organisms to herbivores to

carnivores and decomposers.

Teacher Notes

Insects provide an important role in any ecosystem. Understanding the role of insects in anecosystem allows students to understand the significance of the interrelatedness of the different

organisms which make up an ecosystem. You can begin by introducing students to entomology (the

study of insects), asking what an insect is and asking them to describe what role insects play in

nature.




For images that might be useful in facilitating this activity, be sure to check out the Image Gallery onthe IPY-ROAM Web site located at the following URL:

http://sel.utep.edu/IPY-ROAM/educ_images.html

For movies that might be useful in facilitating this activity, be sure to check out the Movies Gallery

on the IPY-ROAM Web site located at the following URL:

http://sel.utep.edu/IPY-ROAM/educ_movies.html

Teacher Post-Activity Materials

Answers to Questions

1.What is Entomology?

The study of insects.

2.What is an Insect?

The class Insecta of the Phylum Arthropoda is difficult to characterize because there are so many

exceptions however insect features include.

• The insect body is divided into three main parts, the head, thorax and abdomen.

• Insects have no internal skeleton, instead they are covered in an external shell (exoskeleton)

that protects their soft internal organs.

• No insect has more than three pairs of legs, except for some immature forms such as

caterpillars that have prolegs. These are appendages that serve the purpose of legs.

• The typical insect mouth has a pair of lower jaws (maxillae) and upper jaws (mandibles)

which are designed to bite. There are many variations to this structure, as many moths and

butterflies have tubular sucking mouthparts, many bugs and other blood-sucking insects havesucking stabbing mouthparts and some adult insects simply don't have functional mouthparts.

• Insects have one pair of antennae located on the head

• Most insects have one or two pairs of wings although some insects such as lice, fleas,

bristletails and silverfish are completely wingless.




3. What role do insects play in an ecosystem?

Insects fill a wide range of niches in an ecosystem. They aerate the soil, pollinate blossoms, and

control insect and plant pests; they also decompose dead materials, thereby reintroducing nutrientsinto the soil. Burrowing bugs such as ants and beetles dig tunnels that provide channels for water,

benefiting plants. Bees play a major role in pollinating fruit trees and flower blossoms. Gardeners

love the big-eyed bug and praying mantis because they control the size of certain insect populations,such as aphids and caterpillars, which feed on new plant growth. Finally, all insects fertilize the soil

with the nutrients from their droppings.

3. What kinds of adaptations to insects in Antarctica have which allow them to survive in such

a cold environment?

Many of the mites of antarctica avoid freezing by a physical process known as "supercooling",whereby their body fluids are maintained in a liquid state in temperatures below their normal

freezing point. Species such as the oribatoud mite ( Alaskozetes antarcitcus) and the springtail

(cryptopygus antarcticus) have a constant struggle to maintain this unstable condition. The presenceof food material in the gut provides some particles around which ice will form, so, in order to

survive, they must strike a balance between freezing and starving. Their ability to synthesize

glycerol, an antifreeze, enables them to survive temperatures of – 35°C.

4. Where are insects found in Antarctica?

Insects are mostly found in the warmer regions of Antarctica such as on the Antarctica Penninsula

where there are also some grasses, mosses and lichen, however mites which are actually part of theclass Arachnida (spiders), has been found as far south as 85°

Extensions

Students can collect insects in various different ecosystems to compare the diversity and variety of

insects found. Some different areas where students may want to look for insects would be along thebanks of a river, stream or lake, in a wooded area, or in a grassland.

.




Extreme Insects: Entomology in AntarcticaTerrestrial Ecology Group

Student Laboratory Activity

Introduction

Insects

Ten years ago there were approximately 750,000 named insect species. Today, that number is over

1,000,000. And according to a recent article in Scientific American, entomologists estimate that thereare likely over eight million different species of insects on Earth. When you compare that to 4,650

named and 4,809 estimated mammal species or the 72,000 named and 1,500,000 estimated fungi, itis easy to see that insects "out-populate" any other living taxonomic group on Earth.

Insects can be found in every environment on our planet. While a select few insects can be found insuch harsh environments such as Antarctica the majority of insects are found in the warm and moist

tropics. Insects have adapted to a broad range of habitats, successfully finding their own niche,

because they will consume almost any substance that has nutritional value.

Insects perform a vast number of important functions in our ecosystem. They aerate the soil,

pollinate blossoms, and control insect and plant pests; they also decompose dead materials, therebyreintroducing nutrients into the soil. Burrowing bugs such as ants and beetles dig tunnels that provide

channels for water, benefiting plants. Bees play a major role in pollinating fruit trees and flower

blossoms. Gardeners love the big-eyed bug and praying mantis because they control the size of certain insect populations, such as aphids and caterpillars, which feed on new plant growth. Finally,

all insects fertilize the soil with the nutrients from their droppings.

Insects in Antarctica

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The worlds lowest temperature ever recorded was in

Antarctica at a temperature of -89° C (-129° F). In spite of the harsh climate of Antarcita 67 species

of insects have been recorded, and most are less than 2 mm long. Most of them are parasites, like licewhich live in the feathers and fur of birds and seals, where they are protected from the harsh climate

for much of the time. Collemola (springtails) are the only free-living insects. They feed on algae and

fungi, and remain dormant in winter.

Mites, which belong to the spider family, are the commonest land animals. One of them, which isonly 0.3 mm long, is the world’s most southerly indigenous animal. It has been found as far south as

85°. Many of the mites avoid freezing by a physical process known as "supercooling", whereby theirbody fluids are maintained in a liquid state in temperatures below their normal freezing point.




Species such as the oribatoud mite ( Alaskozetes antarcitcus) and the springtail (cryptopygus

antarcticus) have a constant struggle to maintain this unstable condition. The presence of food

material in the gut provides some particles around which ice will form, so, in order to survive, they

must strike a balance between freezing and starving. Their ability to synthesize glycerol, anantifreeze, enables them to survive temperatures of – 35°C.

Israel del Toro, who goes by the nickname Izzy, is a member of the Terrestrial Ecology group and heis an avid Entomologist. Using the methods that Izzy used to collect and examine the diversity of

insect life in Antarctica you will also be examining the insect diversity in the ecosystem that you live

in.

Purpose

The students will learn about the importance of the role of insects in the ecosystem. They will learn

about the diversity of different types of insects in the ecosystem and they will learn the methods of Entomology.

Things You Need

Medium sized clear plastic container

Piece of plywood or similar material cut to fit inside container

Cans with tops and bottoms cut outMesh screening to cover bottoms of cans

Funnels which can fit around the cans

Vials with rubbing alcohol

Heat lampMicroscopes

Insect identification book

What To Do

Cut plywood to fit inside plastic container.

Cut holes in the plywood which are big enough to allow the narrow end of the funnel to fit through

but not the entire funnel.

The narrow end of the funnel should fit into the vial (filled with alcohol) which will be placed belowthe plywood. (See photographs)

Go out into school yard and have students fill cans with soil, packing down soil in the can tightly.

Place cans into top ends of funnels.

Place heat lamp over the top of the cans.




The heat from the heat lamps will force all insects in the soil to move away from the heat – Downand into the vials with alcohol.

Wait a few hours or overnight. Empty the vials with insects into a Petri dish or other device whichwill contain the insects to examine them with either a hand lens or microscope.

Identify and count the various types of insects found.

Fill out information in the table provided below.

Compare the types, number and diversity of insects found in your schoolyard to those found by Izzyin Antarctica.

Data Tables

Types of Insects found# of insectsfound

Data tables from Israel

Questions to Answer

Once you finish collecting and identifying the insects from you schoolyard answer the following

questions to come up with some conclusions about insect diversity in different ecosystems.




1. What types of insects did you find?

2.Did you find more or less insects in terms of diversity and pure numbers, per given unit of

soil (one can) than Izzy found in Antarctica?

3.What would explain the difference in the amount and/or diversity of insects that you found

versus what Izzy found?

What Is Going On?

Diversity of all living organisms is greatest towards the equator and becomes less as you movetowards the poles. Why is this? Simply put there is a great quantity of energy at the equator as a

result of greater and more consistent levels of sunlight, which through photosynthesis helps to

produce greater quantities of plant life which is the basis of all ecosystems.

Where Does This Happen in Real Life?

Insects are important! In his book The Diversity of Life, renowned entomologist Edward O. Wilson

discusses the importance of insects and land-dwelling arthropods in the ecosystem, saying that "if

[they] all were to disappear, humanity probably could not last more than a few months." Most otherlife forms, like amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals would also become extinct because of the

domino effect that would occur in the food chain.

extreme insects erwin

Documents