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1. Activity 1: Watch the videos below and decide whether they are an example of primary or secondary succession. Write your answer under each video (less than 100 words for each response) 1. Write an explanation for your answer on whether it is primary or secondary succession (include evidence of each type of succession). 2. Predict how the communities may continue to change if a similar disturbance is NOT seen within the ecosystem within the next 100 years. Video #1: 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic-J6hcSKa8 Deforestation is an example of a secondary sucession. As humans continue to destroy forests, we are desturbing the stable communities that existed prior to our distruction. Deforestation is an example of a sequence of changes that are happening to an already existing community which is an example of secondary succession. If deforestion halts withing the next 100 years we will see that many plant and animal species will survive and we would save the oldest ecosystem that is irreplacible. Video #2: 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=ZvpZ0pNWxAU The new Hawaiian Island, Loihi is an example of primary succession because Loihi is a giant active volcano and as volcanos erupt and lava destroys everything in its path, it forms new land. Primary succession occurs in regions where there is no soil or living organisms. If volcanoes stopped erupting, the formation of new land would halt which is a necessity to many life forms. Video #3: 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=loI584OFVpE Glaciers are an example of primary succession. As glaciers retreat, rocks are left and there is no soil or life. Primary Succession begins in areas that are essentially lifeless which is why retreating glaciers are an example of cause of primary succession. If glaciers stop melting (retreating) we would avoid having the sea-level rising over 200 feet when all glaciers melt, shrinking land area causing unimaginable detrimental effects to all life. Video #4: 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ804ztWPNs The locust plague is an example of secondary succession because these insects would mass product and consume all crops in their paths as well as fence posts, leather and wool off of sheeps. Prior to locusts, there was an existing community that was severely disrupted by the locust making the locust plague an example of a cause of secondary succession. Considering that the last locust outbreak was in 2003-2005, if that doesn’t happen again in the next 100 years it will spare the different countries billions of dollars because of the lack thereof crop damage. Activity 2: Pick one of the species identified above and find some additional information about these species (what is their ecological niche, where are usually found in landscapes, do different animals or plants rely on them). Write at least 200 words about each species and identify the sources where you found this information (please do not use Wikipedia!). Use government or education resources - look for sources with .edu or .gov addresses. Milkweed plays an important role in the life cycle of a monarch butterfly. Milkweed is a plant native to most of the eastern US and eastern Canada. A decrease in milkweed, the population of monarch

butterflies would decrease drastically which is a direct negative correlation. This is because adult monarchs lay their eggs in milkweed that eventually caterpillars hatch from and eat the milkweed during their development. An example of an ecological niche is that of a monarch butterfly because the adults lay their eggs in the milkweed, then the monarch larvae consume the milkweed and then adult monarch butterflies pollinate plants which is crucial to the environment. Monarch butterflies exclusively lay their eggs on milkweed. The relationship between milkweed and monarchs is an example of coevolution, the monarchs use the chemicals in the milkweed that they consumed at caterpillars as a deterrent for predators, the chemicals in the milkweed make monarchs taste bad to its predators. If milkweed went extinct, the extinction of monarch butterflies would soon follow. The extinction of monarchs would have a large negative impact on human food systems because they are pollinators, they are essential in maintaining a balanced food web and are critical in sustaining humans. Monarchs also have a great economic value, thousands of people each year travel to the Mexican state of Michoacan, also bordering the state of Mexico, in the forested mountains west of Mexico City to see trees completely covered in butterflies and without them the economy would definitely take a hit. https://monarchjointventure.org/resources/faq/why-is-the-monarch-population-decline-important https://sciencing.com/ecological-niche-definition-types-importance-examples-13719219.html https://www.mexperience.com/travel/outdoors/monarch-butterflies-mexico/ https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/asclepias_syriaca.shtml

Activity 3. Final Project update It's important that each week each of you are communicating and working with your group members on your final project. Please provide an update on the work you and your group have completed for the final group project this past week. This week you will need to decide on a weekly meeting time and choose a topic for your project. As for my final group project, I have struggled to get in contact with my group but on my own I have done research on my own topics to create an experiment. The one that I am interested in the most is seeing if the mineral based sunscreen that is much better for the environment is just as good in protecting our skin as the chemical sunscreen is....