Area 4 Envirothon

Expectations

Students are expected to:

• Identify wildlife species that are common in Ohio ecosystems

• Use a taxonomic key to identify wildlife species

• Describe how a given organism is adapted for survival in its particular environment

• Describe how energy flows through ecosystems

• Discuss the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in food chains/webs and give examples

• Define and give examples of these types of symbiotic relationships: parasitism, commensalism, mutualism

• Distinguish between native species and invasive species

• Distinguish among endangered, threatened, and extirpated Ohio species and describe methods that could be used to improve their status

• Identify factors affecting population size and population growth

• Discuss the effect of limiting factors in controlling population size and give examples

• Discuss the significance and life cycles of major insect pollinators, as well as some of the problems their populations are facing

• Identify some diseases that are currently affecting Ohio wildlife

• Discuss practices that governmental agencies and the public can employ to conserve and protect wildlife

• Identify significant governmental laws, policies and acts that have been passed to protect endangered and threatened species