Meredith Feinman and Couper Webb

Brown Bear vs. Plankton

Brown Bear (multi-cellular):• Lives in forests and mountains • Biome: Alaskan and northwestern

Canadian tundra

Phytoplankton (single celled):• Organisms float on or live near the surface of

water• Biome: Marine

Brown Bear range

Habitat

Brown Bear-• Europe- mostly found in mountain woodlands• Siberia- forests • North America- tundra, alpine meadows and

coastlines• main requirements- areas with dense cover for

shelter during the dayPhytoplankton-• live mostly in the ocean • phytoplankton use photosynthesis to produce their

energy, they must live in the well-lit surface layer (the euphotic zone)

Climate Requirements-Brown Bear

• The species' main requirements are areas with dense cover in which they can have shelter by day.

Phytoplankton

• depend on the availability of carbon dioxide, sunlight, and nutrients ex: nitrate, phosphate, silicate, iron and calcium

• factors influencing phytoplankton growth rates- water temperature and salinity, water depth, wind, and predators

• When conditions are right populations can grow explosively known as a bloom.

Brown Bear:• Omnivores• Diet- nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, and roots, animals such as

rodents, moose and fish.• In the fall a brown bear may eat as much as 90 pounds in one day

Phytoplankton:• Get all energy from sunlight (photosynthesis)

Both are dependent on water, brown bear for food, phytoplankton for habitat.

Predator/Prey:

Brown Bear:• Humans are only predator • Prey: other smaller animals from rodents to moose and fish

Phytoplankton: • Eaten by whales, shrimp, jellyfish, and other fish• Not a predator because they use photosynthesis

Cell Structure:

• Bear: Eukaryote, no cell wall

• Phytoplankton: Can be both, cell wall present

Reproduction:

• Phytoplankton: sexually and asexually• One at a time• Population can double in 1 day• Reproduce more frequently in the spring

• Bear: sexually• Females- four-and-a-half to seven • Males- eight to ten year• Litter size: 2, once a year

Classification:Brown Bear-• Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata• Class: Mammalia• Order: Carnivora• Family: Ursidae• Genus: Ursus• Species: arctos• Common name: Brown

Bear

Phytoplankton:• Kingdom: Protista• Phylum: Chrysophyta• Class: Phaeophycea• Order:• Family:• Genus:• Species: • Common Name:

Phytoplankton

Environmental function:

• Phytoplankton: bottom of food chain, essential for everything above it

• Source for almost 50% of our oxygen

• Brown Bear: population control- fish + rodents

Average size:Brown bear:• Size: 5 to 8 ft. (1.5 to 2.5 m)• Weight: 700 lbs. (318 kg)• Solitary animals

Phytoplankton:• microscopic, smallest can measure less than 2

micrometers• Not able to move themselves , move wherever

water takes them (they go with the flow)• Pack (blooms)

Defense mechanisms:

• Bears- do not really need defenses, have claws and teeth if attacked by another bear

• Phytoplankton- do not have any known defense mechanisms but scientists are further researching this

“Interesting” facts about Phytoplankton

• base of the aquatic food web, feeding everything from microscopic, animal-like zooplankton to multi-ton whales.

• Certain produce powerful bio toxins, making them responsible for harmful algal blooms- blooms can kill marine life and people who eat contaminated seafood.

• Winds distribute phytoplankton when they drive currents that cause deep water, loaded with nutrients, to be pulled up to the surface.

• The word phytoplankton comes from the Greek words phyto (plant) and plankton (made to wander or drift).

• Some phytoplankton can "fix nitrogen" and can grow in areas where nitrate concentrations are low.

Facts about brown bears:• Brown bears can climb trees to eat or escape

predators, but only when they are cubs. As they become adults they become too heavy for climbing.

• In the wild, the brown bears can reach 20 to 30 years of age.

• They have been clocked at speeds of 30 miles per hour

• They dig dens for winter hibernation• In fall a brown bear may eat as much as 90

pounds of food each day, and it may weigh twice as much before hibernation as it will in spring.

Questions?

What do phytoplankton use to produce energy?

How many offspring does a female brown bear produce each year?

Are brown bears omnivores, herbivores, or carnivores?

What is an example of one thing that eats phytoplankton?

Name one continent that brown bears live in?

Sources cited • "Brown Bears, Brown Bear Pictures, Brown Bear Facts - National Geographic."

National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. • "Plankton." NatureWorks. 2015 New Hampshire Public Television. Web. 13 Apr. 2015• "Chesapeake Bay Program." Bay Blog RSS. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. • "Brown Bear." Bear Trust International. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. • "A Science Blog for Families." Fueling Discussions about Science in Families. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. • "Plankton." Plankton. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.• "Brown Bear - Ecology & Habitat." WWF -. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.• "A to Z of Oz Marine Life." A to Z of Oz Marine Life. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.• "What Are Phytoplankton? : Feature Articles." What Are Phytoplankton? : Feature

Articles. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. • "Brown Bear - Ecology & Habitat." WWF -. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. • "What Are Phytoplankton? : Feature Articles." What Are Phytoplankton? : Feature

Articles. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. • Harvey, Elizabeth L., and Susanne Menden-Deuer. "Predator-Induced Fleeing

Behaviors in Phytoplankton: A New Mechanism for Harmful Algal Bloom Formation?" PLoS ONE. Public Library of Science. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

Pictures:• www.photobiology.info • http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/bear/wsWILD017-1024x768.html • http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140514061115/spongebob/

images/2/26/WtP31.PNG • www.superhunt360.com• www.fg-superfoods.com• spongebob.wikia.com• jellystonehillcountry.com• pixgood.com• www.sbmania.net • play.google.com • http://imgbuddy.com/yogi-bear.asp• facepunch.com• mewarnai.us