Week Eight
Lesson 8: Dragonflies, Mosquitoes & Chemicals... and a little bit on how they tie in together.
S7L4. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to examine the interdependence of organisms with one another and their environments.
a. Construct an explanation for the patterns of interactions observed in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships among and between organisms and abiotic components of the ecosystem. (Clarification statement: The interactions include, but are not limited to, predator-prey relationships, competition, mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.)
- Many organisms around the world are affected by different obstacles everyday. Dragonflies are just one of the many. Every creature on Earth, small or big, has an essential role. They are what what make up the environment, inhabit our ecosystems and build life.
- Dragonflies and mosquitoes have a predator/prey relationship and both hold important contributions to their ecosystems.
- In order for dragonflies to thrive, they need a certain environment, which include:
Freshwater, streams, ponds, lakes, marshes, & other wetlands
An adequate underwater habitat for their aquatic stage of life
- But dragonflies can sustain life in other ecosystems and various environments, and are not just limited to the listed above. They are essential to control the population of many different types of pests. Out of these pests, mosquitoes are one of the main parts of their diet.
- Dragonflies and mosquitoes encounter each other in their early and late stages of life.
- Their relationship with each other in different ecosystems:
In a underwater ecosystem, dragonfly larvae can eat mosquito larvae if both are introduced to the same aquatic environment.
In a terrestrial ecosystem, once both organisms emerge into the adult stage, dragonflies continue to predate on mosquitoes.
- Similar to dragonflies, mosquitoes also need an underwater environment for their aquatic life stages. Mosquitoes are abundant in humid and warm places with access to water. They have a more negative impact on humans than the environment.
- Both mosquitoes and dragonflies benefit the environment by acting as pollinators. But, chemical elements such as pesticides are abiotic factors that affect mosquitoes and dragonflies along with the environment. If chemicals are introduced to a dragonflies/mosquitoes ecosystem, it can greatly harm both organisms.
Vocabulary: Words to Know
Abiotic: non-living chemical and physical factors that affect the environment, living organisms, or function of ecosystems.
Abundant: plentiful, or available in large quantities.
Adequate: acceptable in quality and quantity.
Aquatic: relating to water
Chemical: a compound/substance that has been artificially created
Dragonfly: a long bodied predatory insect with two pairs of long transparent wings
Environment: the surroundings or conditions where a plant, animal or person lives and functions
Ecosystem: a biological community of interacting organisms and their environment
Inhabit: to live or occupy in a place/environment
Mosquito: a slim, long legged fly; females feed off of human blood to reproduce
Organism: an individual animal, plant or life form
Predator: and animal that naturally preys on others
Prey: an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food
Pest: a destructive or irritating insect/animal that attacks crops, food, people
Pesticides: a substance used to get rid of insects or other organisms
Predate: the interaction between predator to prey; when a predator hunts prey
Terrestrial: relating to or an inhabitant of the earth
Wetland: lands consisting of marshes or swamps
Short response question:
- How do dragonflies and mosquitoes interact in different ecosystems? What is the relationship between them? What are other factors that affect them?
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