Laura Perdew - Biodiversity: Explore the Diversity of Life on Earth with Environmental Science Activities for Kids

Titles in the Environmental Science book set

Check out more titles at www.nomadpress.net

Nomad Press
A division of Nomad Communications
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright 2019 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use .
The trademark Nomad Press and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.

Educational Consultant, Marla Conn

Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to
Nomad Press
2456 Christian St.
White River Junction, VT 05001
www.nomadpress.net

WORDS TO KNOW

geologic time: the span of Earths history marked by major events and changes.

era: a division of geologic time.

period: a division of time within an era.

epoch: a division of time within a period.

The timeline of Earths lifespan is shown in a geologic time scale. It is broken up into chunks of time called eras . Each era is made up of different periods . Some of the more recent periods are also divided into epochs .

This geologic time scale includes important events in Earths history. Some of these events include the appearance and disappearance of different species, major changes in the earth that have caused mass extinctions, and how the planet has changed.

Step outside and take a look around. What kinds of creatures do you see? Any insects flying through the air? Any dogs, cats, birds? What about flowers and other plants? Dont forget the organisms you cant seethere are plenty of living species that are visible only with microscopes.

Humans share the earth with millions of other species. Millions! This variety of life on Earth is called biodiversity . Biodiversity includes plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms of all shapes and sizes. Biodiversity includes you! It also refers to large species such as blue whales and polar bears and giant redwood trees. There are medium-sized species such as saguaro cacti, wolves, and dolphins, as well as small speciesladybugs and tree frogs and forget-me-not flowers.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How is everything on the planet related to everything else?

WORDS TO KNOW

organism: a living plant, animal, or single-celled form of life.

species: a group of living things that are closely related and can produce offspring.

biodiversity: diversity is a range of different things. Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth.

fungi: the plural of fungus, an organism that has no leaves, flowers, or roots and that lives on dead or rotting organic matter. Mushrooms are a fungus.

bacteria: microorganisms found in soil, water, plants, and animals that are often beneficial but sometimes harmful.

microorganism: a living thing so small that it can be seen only with a microscope.

ecosystem: an interdependent community of living and nonliving things and their environment.

biotic: of or relating to living things.

abiotic: of or relating to nonliving things such as temperature, wind, precipitation, soil type, and more.

kelp: a tall, brown seaweed that grows in forests in shallow ocean waters close to shore.

This National Geographic video is a photographic introduction to the wonders of the amazing biodiversity on Earth. Check it out!

Nat Geo biodiversity video

Biodiversity includes organisms so small they can be seen only with a microscope! In fact, in every square foot there are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of species growing, squirming, wiggling, flying, multiplying, eating, and thriving.

Why is this important? Why do we care that there are so many different species, especially when we cant even see them?

Polar bears are part of our biodiverse world!

INTERCONNECTED ECOSYSTEMS

All life on Earth is interconnected. Organisms, together with their physical environment, form a community called an ecosystem. Within an ecosystem, both the biotic and abiotic or living and nonlivingfactors work together to maintain the balance of nature. If one part of the ecosystem changes or disappears, the whole system is out of balance. People call this the web of life because if one connection breaks, the whole web may be affected.

DID YOU KNOW?

The word biodiversity was first used in the mid-1980s as a shorter way to say biological diversity. Today, it is a common term.

The web of life is like a well-tuned machine. All the biotic and abiotic factors are the nuts, bolts, and gears that each play a role in keeping the machine in good working order.

For example, along the shorelines of California, sea otters eat sea urchins. Sea urchins eat giant kelp . When the number of sea otters drops, the number of sea urchins rises. All those sea urchins then destroy the giant kelp forests.

Kelp forests are also affected by changes in water temperature, light, and pollution.

A giant kelp forest

credit: Clinton Bauder (CC BY 2.0)

WORDS TO KNOW

erosion: the gradual wearing away of the earths surface, usually by water or wind.

carbon dioxide (CO2): a colorless, odorless gas. Humans and animals exhale this gas while plants absorb itit is also a byproduct of burning fossil fuels.

atmosphere: the mixture of gases that surround a planet.

Without the kelp forests, dozens of species that rely on the kelp for survival are at risk. Kelp helps protect shorelines from erosion and absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere .

Kelp forests are just one ecosystem. Other large ecosystems include deserts, forests, grasslands, wetlands, jungles, and oceans. Ecosystems can also be small, such as a cave or pond or tide pool, or even microscopic, including the ecosystem that exists under a rock. The parts within a single ecosystem are interconnected, and all the worlds ecosystems are connected to each other.

They are like pieces of a puzzle that make up planet Earth.

DID YOU KNOW?

John Muir (18381914), an American naturalist, author, and environmentalist, once commented, Whenever we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.