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Ecology: Interaction
and Interdependence
in Living Systems
15 Interdependence among Organisms in the Biosphere
16 Decision Making in a Complex World

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What happens when developers cut down the trees along a riverbank? The
trees are gone, you say. But what effect does the loss of these trees have on the

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rivers ecosystem? How has a web of dependence been altered? In this unit, you
will explore the concepts of interaction and interdependence in living systems.
You will also investigate the issue of human influence in the biosphere.

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By the end of this unit, you should understand that
a community of organisms interacts with the abiotic environment to
form ecosystems,

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ecosystems are complex, but it is possible to analyze them,

population size is affected by carrying capacity,

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ecosystems can be modified by human actions, and

human actions follow from decisions.

You also will continue to design and conduct experiments, evaluate

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explanations, and explore the relationship between public policy and scientific
investigation.

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We do not inherit this land from our

ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
Haida Indian saying

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Interdependence
among Organisms
in the Biosphere

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Life in Havasu Canyon. Life in a forest. Life on a bustling city street. Life in the

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oceans. Life in a refugee camp in Africa. Life on a farm in rural Ohio. How do the
organisms within each of these settings depend on one another for survival? How can
such interdependence be described? What factors influence their interdependence?

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In this chapter, you will learn about the interdependence of organisms in various
ecosystems within the biosphere. First, you will seek evidence of communities and

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interactions in your own school yard or neighborhood. Next, you will study interactions
in ecosystems throughout the world. You will further explore ecosystems by considering
the types of resources that exist in them. You will then analyze the influences those
resources have on communities of organisms. To apply your understanding of

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communities and resources, you will analyze patterns of population growth in a real
group of people who lived on an island off the coast of South America. Finally, you
will evaluate your understanding by describing how your critter will use resources and

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interact with other organisms in a particular ecosystem.

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ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITIES

Engage

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Observing the World around Us
Explore

Interactions in the World around Us

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Explore

Explain The Pasture Story

Elaborate Mystery on Easter Island

Evaluate Critters and Interdependence

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Engage Observing the World around Us

Explore Imagine crawling out of bed in the morning. You flip on a light and your CD
player and stroll to the bathroom as your CD player plays in the background. For
breakfast you eat a bowl of cornflakes. Its an especially cold morning, so you fix
yourself some hot chocolate. The television is blaring with news of an overnight fire
in the nearby national forest. Its getting late. So you pack your lunch, fill the bird

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feeder outside your window, and rush off to catch the bus.
The interactions in that scenario are typical for some teenagers. In this activity, you

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will make observations and consider what interactions you see in the natural world.

PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

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Go outside as your teacher directs. In your journal, record the following
observations and answers to the questions:

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1. Look carefully at the organisms around you. How many different types of
organisms do you see? Look for 2 or more organisms that are interacting with
each other.

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2. Use your drawing skills to create a quick, 2-minute drawing of 2 or more
interacting organisms that capture your attention. Add labels or a brief
explanation for the interaction.

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3. Close your eyes. Spend a few minutes listening for sounds made by living
organisms. Write a brief description for how 1 organism used sound to
interact with other organisms.

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4. Focus on the smells of the natural world. How many different odors can you
detect? What might be the function of the odors you smell? Write a brief
description for how 1 odor you smelled may be evidence for an organism

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interacting with other organisms in its community.
5. Name and describe or draw 2 different organisms around you that are likely
prey for other organisms. Explain how taste might influence how an organism

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interacts with potential predators.
6. Name and describe or draw 2 different organisms that have a distinguishing
texture. Write a brief description for how each texture may encourage or
discourage other organisms to touch it.
7. Name and describe or draw 1 organism that you observe to be living in
isolation from other organisms.

Analysis
1. Think about the organism you observed and recorded in step 7. Explain
whether you think it requires any interactions with other organisms to survive.
2. During this activity, do you think that you overlooked any major groups of
organisms? Explain your answer.

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Interactions in the Explore

World around Us
Why might an ecologist study a certain area? There are a variety of reasons. Say you
were an ecologist studying the area in this chapters engage activity. You would attempt
to describe and understand the interrelationships that exist between organisms and

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their environment. First, you would gather information about the organisms and their
environment. Then, you might compare this area to different regions to look for

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similarities, differences, and patterns. Finally, you would try to explain the patterns you
observed. You might run experiments to test your hypotheses.
In this activity, you will practice thinking like an ecologist. You will look for patterns

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and explanations for the interactions you observed in the engage activity. You also will
have the opportunity to compare your observations with a series of DVD images from
around the world that represent a wide variety of interactions in many different settings.

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Figure 15.1 Some
ecologists analyze
Materials the complexity of
an ecosystem by

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DVD and player (watch as a team) concentrating on the
changes in quantity
and quality of one
PROCESS AND PROCEDURES particular component

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of the ecosystem.
1. With your partner, discuss the observations you recorded during the engage
activity. Consider the following. Be prepared to share your ideas with the rest
of your class.

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a. What types of interactions did you see between organisms where only
1 organism appeared to benefit from the interaction? What types of
interactions seemed to benefit all organisms involved?

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b. Give examples of odors that lead to interactions between organisms.
Explain whether your examples attract or discourage interactions.
c. Name and describe interactions that are influenced by taste and sound.

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d. Name at least 5 populations and 3 nonliving components that are part of
the area where you made your observations.
e. Compare and discuss your answers to the engage Analysis questions.
2. Participate in a class discussion about your observations and answers as your
teacher directs.
As you share ideas with your classmates, consider how you might describe the ecosystem
where you made your observations.
3. In your journal, use your own words to write a definition for the term ecosystem.
4. Obtain a copymaster with 4 tasks. Record the assigned examples from the
DVD segment Images from around the World.
In your journal, make a simple table to help you take brief notes about examples you
see in the DVD while you watch (see Figure 15.2).

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Figure 15.2 Sample table for a sample task.

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5. Watch the DVD segment. Pay particular attention to interactions that involve
humans. Provide examples of the influences assigned on your task cards.

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Briefly, record examples in your table.
6. Discuss your DVD observations with your partner. Prepare to share your

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examples with the rest of your class.
How many different ecosystems did you and your partner recognize?
7. Participate in a class discussion. Focus on identifying the interactions in the
ecosystems shown in the DVD segment.

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1. Read the scenario Early Morning Reflections on page 625. Think about the
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interactivity examples from that reading, your observations from the engage
Topic: biosphere
activity, and the images and in the DVD. Write one or two logical conclusions
Go to: www.scilinks.org that you can make from those examples about the interactions taking place in
Code: human3E624
the world.
2. The term biosphere refers to the portion of the earth where organisms
naturally live. It begins in the lower atmosphere and extends deep into the
earths crust. Do you think that humans have more or less influence on the
biosphere than other organisms? Explain your response.
3. Do you think that humans have a responsibility to monitor how they influence
the biosphere? Explain your response.

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Early Morning Reflections
Dear Senator Wilks,
I just returned from an interesting stay at a ranch in
northern Nevada. I would like to share with you some
reflections about my visit to your part of the state.
The landscape of northern Nevada is spacious and stark.
Yet there is still something splendid about the place. I spent
the weekend with my good friend and his family at their
ranch on the Marys River floodplain. I was inspired by their
down-to-earth approach to life and
genuine concern for the fragile river
ecosystem that is part of their vast
7,000 acre ranch.
Marys River winds its way
through the ranch. As my friend
showed me around, I noticed a group
of willow trees lining the riverbank.
But farther upriver and downriver,
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there were almost no willows. I
wondered why this was. When I asked,
I saw a faint smirk cross my friends
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face, followed by a touch of sadness.
He told me that back in the 70s, many
of the farmers along the river began cutting down the willows
because they thought they sucked up too much water. They
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thought that by cutting down the willows, they would
increase their crop yields. My friend explained that it may
have worked that way for a while, but there were unintended
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consequences when the river flooded. It flooded in 1983 and
1984, after the willows along the river on most farms had
been long gone. My friends family never cut the willows,
and their ranch had the least damage of any along the river.
Others, where the willows were cut, had great damage. The
willows, along with the native hay meadow vegetation,
helped stabilize the riverbanks and the floodplain soils.
Together they reduced erosion and other flood damage. But
my friend said there was even more to the story. To show me
what he meant, he took me down to the riverbank.
The variety of lush vegetation that I saw in addition to
the willows amazed me. I tried to figure out why there was so
EXPLORE: Interactions in the World around Us
much vegetation there. I saw beaver dams built across the
river at various places and although I didnt see any beaver, I
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did see two otters.
Soon my friend began to fill in between the lines. He
explained that the willows and other vegetation along the river
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provide material with which the beavers can build their dams.
With the dams in place, the water becomes somewhat deeper
just upriver from the dam. The amount of groundwater
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increases in these areas as well. This
additional water is what supports the
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lush vegetation. As he talked, I made
mental notes of all the evidence I saw.
My friend explained that the willows
and other overhanging plants also
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shade the river so that it stays cooler.
This keeps the level of oxygen higher.
I started nodding my head. I was
beginning to get the picture. Willows
for shade. More oxygen in the water.
Deeper water levels. With these things,
the river could support more life,
including aquatic plants and fish. This
affects the entire food chain to the level of the beaver (an
herbivore) and the otter (an omnivore that loves fish).
Without the willows, the ranchers lost out during the
spring floods. But the beaver also lost out because without
willows there was no material for building dams. Without the
dams and the shade from vegetation, the river was too
shallow and warm to support much aquatic life either. So the
fish lost out. Without the fish, the otter lost out too because it
had almost nothing to eat.
The river environment surrounding this ranch is quite
barren, especially to the west. But my friend and his family
have been stewards of the river and the landand their
stretch of the river is fertile and beautiful. I would like to
encourage you to consider how the government can reward
and encourage good stewardship.
Sincerely,
Jada Cameron
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Explain The Pasture Story

In the previous activity, you studied some of the complex interactions that take
place in a variety of ecosystems. One organisms actions influence those of another.
Populations influence each other as well. Humans influence other humans, other
species, and the nonliving components of the ecosystems where we live. In some
situations, we feel that we can control the influence that other humans have on our

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lives. In most situations, the decisions made by other people in our communities have
significant influence on our lives. In this activity, you will study a dramatization of

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farmers grazing cows on a shared pasture. This will help you think about the factors
that influence how individuals share resources.

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Materials

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The Commons CD (1 per team)
computers with CD-ROM drives (1 per team)
Copymaster Pasture Profits (2 per team for each simulation run)

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PROCESS AND PROCEDURES
1. Work in teams as your teacher directs. View the video The Pasture Story on

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The Commons CD.
2. With your teammates, discuss what happened in the video and why.

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3. Go to the Pasture Profits simulation on The Commons CD. Work with your
teammates to assume the role of a dairy farmer who, along with another dairy
farmer, grazes cows on a commonly owned pasture.
Divide your team into 2 groups. Have each group make the decisions for 1 of the

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dairy farmers. Read the opening screens of the simulation carefully. Follow the
instructions provided.
4. Print individual and summary reports at the end of each simulation round. Graph

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the 4 sets of data on the summary report onto the Copymaster Pasture Profits.
Follow your teachers instructions to try 1 or more management options for the
pasture. Work with your group to graph the results from each simulation run.
5. Analyze your graphs with your teammates. Discuss the following questions:
a. Which management option scenario(s) protected the pasture?
b. What is the relationship between the amount of food available per cow and
the number of cows?
c. What is the relationship between the amount of food available and
production of milk per cow?

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d. The maximum number of cows that the pasture can support without
destroying its ability to renew itself is called its carrying capacity. Using your N S TA

graphs, determine the carrying capacity for cows on the simulated pasture.
Topic: carrying capacity
You may want to look at other teams graphs for additional information. Go to: www.scilinks.org
Code: human3E627
e. For each different management option available in the simulation, explain
what, if any, change takes place in the carrying capacity.

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6. Read the background information provided in The Abundant Earth on the
enrichment level of The Commons CD (see Figure 15.3). In your own words,

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explain what a natural resource is. Record your explanation in your journal.
7. Participate in a class discussion of steps 5 and 6 as your teacher directs.

Analysis

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With your team, consider the following questions. Record your answers

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in your journal.
1. List three examples of resources in the modern world that humans
use like the commonly owned pasture in the video. Explain how
people manage each example.

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Figure 15.3 Navigating in
2. Write a paragraph that summarizes the challenges you and your The Commons CD. Bring up
the content map for the
teammates faced in maximizing personal profits on a pasture owned
segment being used. (The up

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in common. In your summary, include a response to this question: Is arrow in the lower right corner
it easier to make decisions about how to best manage the pasture if of the screen loads the content
you know what the rate of resource consumption and carrying map.) Click on any piece of the
puzzle in the content map to

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capacity are for the pasture?
jump to that part of the CD.
3. Explain the difference between biotic and abiotic resources.
4. Are renewable resources more likely to be biotic or abiotic? Explain your answer.

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5. What is the relationship between resources and carrying capacity in a
particular ecosystem?
6. In what ways is the simulation Pasture Profits a realistic model of a pasture

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owned and used in common? In what ways is it unrealistic?
Record and explain at least two realistic and two unrealistic aspects of the model.

Mystery on Easter Island Elaborate

Elabotate

Islands are intriguing ecosystems to study because they are somewhat isolated.
Isolation makes the islands resources easier to measure. It is especially interesting to
study the patterns of population growth for land animals that are confined to an island.
Such is the case for a human population who lived on Easter Island from AD 500 to
the present. This activity will give you an opportunity to examine the mystery that
surrounds Easter Island. You will study data about the history of its human populations
and reflect on some of the interactions that took place in that ecosystem.

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THE MYSTERY
Noted writer Jared Diamond called Easter
Island the worlds most isolated scrap of

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habitable land. Easter Island is located in
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(2,000 miles) west of South America. The
Topic: habitat

Go to: www.scilinks.org
Code: human3E628
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island has an area of about 166 square
kilometers (64 square miles). Its subtropical
location gives it a mild climate. And its
volcanic origin provides fertile soil.

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Despite its mild climate and fertile soil,
when Europeans first reached the island in
1722, their first impression was of a barren
wasteland. The island was without a single
Figure 15.4 Easter Island is located
more than 3,218 kilometers (2,000
miles) west of South America. It is

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tree or bush more than 3 meters (10 feet)
tall. There were no native animals larger
than insects. The people had no real
source of firewood to warm themselves.
roughly triangular, with sides of 18,
18, and 24 kilometers (11, 11, and
15 miles). How would you calculate
the surface area of Easter Island?

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Chickens were their only domestic
animals. Yet, the evidence indicates that at one time in its history the island offered
abundant food and building materials. This was when the first Polynesian colonists
arrived, some 1,400 years earlier. So what happened?

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The first colonizers traveled to the island in double canoes. They arrived at the
roughly triangular island in approximately AD 450 (see Figure 15.4). When these first
colonists came to the island, it was covered by a forest dominated by a now-extinct

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species of giant palm tree (see Figure 15.5). These abundant palm trees were an
important resource for the colonists. In fact, ancient Easter Islanders created rock
art showing images of palm trees and other important island resources such as
birds, fish, turtles, and dolphins (see Figure 15.6).

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Figure 15.5 This Chilean palm is Figure 15.6 Petroglyphs at
similar to the now-extinct species of Orongo.
giant palm that was abundant when
colonizers first moved to Easter Island.

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The giant palm is similar in appearance to the Chilean wine palm. We can look
at the Chilean palm and make inferences about the characteristics of the Easter
Island palm. The Chilean wine palm is one of the largest palms in the world. It stands more
than 20 meters (about 65 feet) tall and has a trunk diameter of 1 meter (about 3 feet) or
more. The trunk has a characteristic bulge, and the large leaves are featherlike.
South Americans use the palm sap to make honey and wine.
What happened to the population of colonizers on Easter Island? Why did the

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giant palms that once covered the island become extinct? Visitors to Easter Island
have been asking these and many other questions about the mysterious island for
hundreds of years. For some questions, we can only speculate answers. However,

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evidence from archaeological digs and inferences based on population studies
provide important clues for uncovering Easter Islands history.

Materials
The Commons CD (1 per team)
computers with CD-ROM drives (1 per team)

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PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

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1. With your teammates, study the graph in Figure 15.7. Answer questions aj.

Population Growth on Easter Island

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10,000
9,000
8,000

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7,000
population

6,000

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5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
400 800 1200 1600 2000
year (AD)

Figure 15.7 Population growth for the first Easter Island colonizers.
Researchers Paul Bahn and John Flenley used historical studies and population formulas
to infer population graphs for Easter Island during its first settlement.

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a. What was the approximate size of the colonizing population in the

year 450?
b. What was the size of the population in the year 850?
c. What was the difference in the number of people between 450 and 850?
d. What was the average annual increase in the number of people between
450 and 850?

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e. What was the difference in population size between the years 850
and 1250?

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f. What was the average annual increase in the number of people between
850 and 1250?
g. What was the average annual increase in the number of people between

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1250 and 1600?
h. During which 1 of the following 3 periods was the increase in the human

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population greatest: 450850, 8501250, or 12501600?
i. What was the greatest number of people found on Easter Island between
450 and 2000? In approximately what year did this happen?

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j. By the mid 1700s, only 2,000 Easter Islanders were still alive. The
population continued to decline to approximately 100 people during the
next century. This was due in part to the slave trade and epidemics brought

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by Europeans. What is the average annual decrease in the number of
people between 1600 and 1950?
2. Refer to the vegetation charts and information in Figure 15.8. Write a brief

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description of the Easter Island ecosystem. Include at least 3 examples
of biotic and 3 examples of abiotic resources that likely influenced the
colonizing population.
3. At one time in history, hundreds of giant

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stone statues overlooked the Easter Island
landscape. Hundreds more were being
carved in quarries, moved along roads, or

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waiting to be erected. Ruins of these
monoliths remain on the island today.
Study the Easter Island segment on The Commons CD. You will learn more
about the islanders, the mysterious statues, the land, and the vegetation.
N S TA
4. Discuss with your partner the changes that took place on Easter Island after
Topic: population
Go to: www.scilinks.org colonization. In your journal, write 1 or 2 paragraphs that summarize the
Code: human3E630 changes in vegetation on Easter Island between 950 and 1980. Explain what
you think caused those changes.
Consider the interactions and interdependence that took place between the people as
well as between humans and the shared biotic and abiotic resources.
5. Participate in a class discussion of steps 14.

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Figure 15.8 Easter

Island vegetation
distribution
between AD 950
and AD 1980.
Biologists study
ancient pollen and
spore samples to

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determine the
historical vegetation
distribution.

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Analysis
Read the essay Interdependence Involves Limiting Factors and Carrying Capacity

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PAGE 650
(page 650). Use it as a resource for the following questions:
1. Think about the growth in human population between 1000 and 1600.
Compare that with the rate of growth during the first years that the colonizers
were on the island. What might account for this large increase?
Figure 15.9 These
2. What factor or factors finally limited the growth of the human population? monoliths (called moai)
What other factors might limit the growth of a population? Give at least three were carved with stone
specific examples. tools from compacted
and hardened volcanic
3. Work with a partner to redraw the population growth graph in Figure 15.7. ash. They stand up to
Color-code your graph so that each significant trend in the rate of growth is 11 meters (about 35
a different color. feet) tall and weigh
up to 77 metric tons
Create a legend that shows what type of growth rate happened during each different-
(85 short tons).
colored period.

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4. The maximum number of people that the island can support without
destroying its ability to renew itself is called its carrying capacity. Add a line
to your graph that shows where you think the islands carrying capacity for
people was when the colonizers first landed on Easter Island. Label this line
initial carrying capacity. Why did you draw your line there?
5. What evidence is there that the number of people on the island exceeded its
carrying capacity?

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6. Add another line to your graph. Show where you think the islands carrying
capacity for people was after 1690. Label this line later carrying capacity. Why

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did you draw your line there?
Write your explanation in your journal.

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7. What does this study tell you about unchecked population growth?
8. Think about the relationship between the islands population size and
resources-available-per-individual. How is that similar to the relationship

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between the number of cows and the common pasture from the previous
activity? What do each of these relationships demonstrate?

Evaluate Critters and Interdependence

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Its time to evaluate what you have learned about interdependence among living
organisms and the complex interactions that take place in communities and

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ecosystems. You will work in teams to create a story that describes interactions
among various organisms and resources in a particular habitat. Those organisms will
include your critter, other classmates critters, humans, and other native organisms.

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Materials (per team, size will vary)

pencil and paper descriptions and diagrams of your critter

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colored pencils and markers DVD and player (watch as a class)

PROCESS AND PROCEDURES

Part A Resources and Ecosystems
N S TA
Topic: ecosystem
Go to: www.scilinks.org
Code: human3E632
1. Watch the DVD segment Ecosystems of the Earth. In your journal, record the
name of each ecosystem. List at least 4 significant factors presently found there.
Remember, include both biotic and abiotic factors.
2. Participate in a class discussion that your teacher guides. You will summarize
the interactions and resources that characterize each of the ecosystems
depicted in the DVD.
Think about the main ideas of this chapter and how they relate to those ecosystems.

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Part B Critters in Ecosystems

1. Join with classmates who had the same habitat card as you in the activity
First Encounter with the Critter in Chapter 3. Introduce your new teammates
to your critter.
Be sure to describe all the features of your critter in detail. Respond to any questions
that your teammates might have.

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2. Imagine that you, your teammates, and each teammates critter are living
together in the assigned habitat from Chapter 3. Consider what interactions
might take place between the different populations.

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3. With your team, hold a brainstorming session to generate ideas about the
following:

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Possible interactions among the organisms that inhabit this ecosystem

The biotic and abiotic resources that might exist

The interdependence that might exist

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Adaptations that might evolve

How humans from a variety of cultures might interact with other organisms

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in this environment
4. Obtain a rubric for this critter story from your teacher. Discuss the criteria
with your teammates.

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Ask your teacher to clarify any questions that come up during your discussion that
your team cannot answer fully.
5. Individually, write a story that features some of the ideas that your team

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suggested. Make sure it follows the criteria outlined in the rubric.
Remember, your teacher will assess what you have learned from this chapter by
reading your story.

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Analysis

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Reflect on the process you used to think about and write your story. Participate in
a class discussion of the following questions:
1. What was the most challenging part of writing your story? Explain.
2. Which of the major concepts in this chapter did you have the most difficulty
incorporating into the story? Explain.
3. You wrote about the interactions and interdependence of your organism with
other organisms. You also wrote about the limiting factors at work and the
carrying capacity of the environment. Which was easier to write about?
Explain why.
4. What adaptations did you consider adding to your organism? Explain why you
did or did not add them.

EVALUATE: Critters and Interdependence Unit 6: Chapter 15 633