Modeling Ecosystem Effects of Termite Mound Patterns

Topic
Resource Type
Level
High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
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2 Users
Description

This activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from a study on how termite mounds can enhance an ecosystem’s resilience to drought.

Termites help plants grow by enriching the soil with nutrients and digging tunnels that improve water flow to roots. As a result, ecosystems with termite mounds may be more resistant to losing vegetation, especially during droughts. In this study, scientists mathematically modeled ecosystems with and without termite mounds. The figure shows the varying amounts of vegetation with increasing or decreasing rainfall, along with sudden changes in vegetation that occur at particular thresholds of rainfall.

The “Educator Materials” document includes a captioned figure, background information, graph interpretation, and discussion questions. The “Student Handout” includes a captioned figure and background information.

Student Learning Targets
  • Analyze and interpret data from a scientific figure. 
  • Describe how certain species can increase the resilience (robustness) of an ecosystem.
  • Explain how an ecosystem could have different states under the same condition, depending on the direction of past changes (hysteresis).
Details
Estimated Time
Within one 50-minute class period.
Key Terms

alternative stable state, biomass, desertification, ecological resilience, grassland, hysteresis, logarithmic scale, phase diagram, savanna, scatter plot

Primary Literature

Bonachela, Juan A., Robert M. Pringle, Efrat Sheffer, Tyler C. Coverdale, Jennifer A. Guyton, Kelly K. Caylor, Simon A. Levin, and Corina E. Tarnita. “Termite mounds can increase the robustness of dryland ecosystems to climatic change.” Science 347, 6222 (2015): 651–655. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261487.
 
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Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level

The documents for this resource meet accessibility standards in accordance with the final rule for Section 508 of the National Rehabilitation Act.
Version History
Date Published
Date Updated
Curriculum Connections
NGSS (2013)

HS-LS2-1, HS-LS2-6; SEP2, SEP4, SEP5

AP Biology (2015)

2.D.1, 4.B.3; SP1, SP2, SP5

IB Biology (2016)

4.1, C.1

AP Environmental Science (2013)

II.A, II.D, II.E

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.5

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9-12.7
Math.S-ID.3, Math.S-IC.1; MP2, MP5

Vision and Change (2009)

CC5; DP2, DP3

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