Data Nugget-How Wolves Changed a River

Essential Question : How did the ecosystem change when the wolves returned to Yellowstone?

Task 1:  Create a T-Chart similar to the one below in one the on a blank page in your 
Living Earth Notebook.. You will be adding to the T-Chart as we progress through the assignment.
You will not be turning in this T-Chart but you will need it on the exam 

Task 2: Watch the video below. While watching the video, add more evidence to your T-chart notes. 

Remember our essential question is: How did the ecosystem change when the wolves returned to Yellowstone?

Task 3: Please visit https://www.livingwithwolves.org/about-wolves/why-wolves-matter
Make sure to scroll down the page to gather information
Take notes IN YOUR OWN WORDS on each side of your T-Chart ("without wolves" and "with wolves.")

Task 4: Use your notes from this unit and the evidence you gathered to answer the questions below. 

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Find another example of an ecosystem being impacted by the removal of a keystone species. In a drawing, show how the removal impacts other species. (hint: look in your notes)

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What happened to the deer (elk) when the wolves were brought back to Yellowstone in 1995?

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Wolves made the water quality of rivers, streams, and lakes better in Yellowstone.

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What happend to the Aspen Trees when the wolves returned to Yellowstone?

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What do you wonder? What questions do you have about how the wolves changed Yellowstone National Park? Type at least 2 wondering sentences. Start each sentence with "I Wonder..."

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Define trophic cascade

Using information gathered from your work this unit to help you, answer the question below about Keystone Species... You will be using the CERR format to answer

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Claim: (your answer to the question, "What effect would the removal of a keystone species, like the wolves, have on an ecological community?")

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Evidence: (use the evidence you collected in your T-Chart and the videos that backs up your claim)

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Reasoning: (explain why your evidence answers your question from a scientific standpoint. Correctly use the term "trophic cascade" in your reasoning for a bonus point)

Ecologists are actually at odds on this topic. Some say it was the wolves that cause this trophic cascade and some say it was something else.

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Rebuttal: Give at least ONE alternative reason besides the wolves, that caused this area of Yellowstone to flourish again.

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Find another example of an ecosystem being impacted by the removal of a keystone species. In a drawing, show how the removal impacts other species. (hint: look in your notes)

What happened to the deer (elk) when the wolves were brought back to Yellowstone in 1995?

Wolves made the water quality of rivers, streams, and lakes better in Yellowstone.

What happend to the Aspen Trees when the wolves returned to Yellowstone?

What do you wonder? What questions do you have about how the wolves changed Yellowstone National Park? Type at least 2 wondering sentences. Start each sentence with "I Wonder..."

Define trophic cascade

Claim: (your answer to the question, "What effect would the removal of a keystone species, like the wolves, have on an ecological community?")

Evidence: (use the evidence you collected in your T-Chart and the videos that backs up your claim)

Reasoning: (explain why your evidence answers your question from a scientific standpoint. Correctly use the term "trophic cascade" in your reasoning for a bonus point)

Rebuttal: Give at least ONE alternative reason besides the wolves, that caused this area of Yellowstone to flourish again.

Explain your Rebuttal: Explain why this alternative reason could have caused the change and not the wolves.