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Nutrient Cycling in the Serengeti

Photo of a wildebeest grazing

Topic

  • Microbiology
  • Bacteria
  • Ecology
  • Matter & Energy
  • Earth Science
  • Biogeochemical Cycles

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Card Activities

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Saved By
132 Users
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Description

In this activity, students engage with an example from the Serengeti ecosystem to illustrate the exchange of nutrients between plants, animals, and the environment. 

Many ecological concepts can be taught using the Serengeti as a case study. It is a rich and diverse habitat where much research has been done to explain how organisms interact with each other and their environment. This activity focuses on the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus using a typical savanna grass and wildebeest as examples. After a brief introductory video, students use a card activity to engage with some processes at play in nutrient cycling in the Serengeti. They then reflect on those processes through group discussion and by completing an additional handout.

Two options are provided for the “Student Handout.” The regular handout is recommended for a general high school audience. The advanced handout is recommended for AP/IB or undergraduate students.

The “Card Images” ZIP file contains individual image files for the cards used in this activity that can be used in the classroom, particularly in online courses. A document within the ZIP file contains suggestions for their use. These card images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CCC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. We would ask that you attribute these to BioInteractive and not use them for commercial purposes.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.

Student Learning Targets

  • Identify essential nutrients that organisms need — specifically carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) — and their major organic and inorganic forms.
  • Describe major reservoirs of C, N, and P, and identify the processes that move the nutrients between these reservoirs. 
  • Articulate the concept of a limiting nutrient.
  • Describe the role of microbes in nutrient cycling. 
     

Estimated Time

One 50-minute class period.

Key Terms

bacteria, carbon, detritivore, nitrogen, phosphorus, respiration, savanna, wildebeest 

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

PDF files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 10.30.19
Date Updated 04.22.20

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS2-4, HS-LS2-5

AP Biology (2019)

ENE-1.A, ENE-1.O, ENE-4.B, SYI-1.G; SP2, SP6

IB Biology (2016)

4.1, 4.3, C.2, C.6

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 1.4, 1.5, 1.6
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-1.D, ERT-1.E, ERT-1.F, SP1, SP2

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.2

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9–12.4

Vision and Change (2009)

CC5

Materials

Resource Google Folder (link)
Educator Materials (PDF) 539 KB
Student Handout (PDF) 250 KB
Student Handout — Advanced (PDF) 818 KB
Cards (PDF) 2 MB
Card Activity Instructions (PDF) 233 KB
How Savanna Plants Get Nutrients (PDF) 902 KB
Nitrogen Cycle Diagram (PDF) 1 MB
Card Images (ZIP) 2 MB

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Phenomenal Images
Wildebeest Populations
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Case Studies
Population Regulation in the Serengeti
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Data Points
Serengeti Wildebeest Population Regulation
Chart from the paper
Data Points
Patterns of Predation
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Lessons
Investigating Science Practices in Serengeti: Nature’s Living Laboratory
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Scientists at Work
Mystery of the Buffalo Boom
Photo of wildebeest silhouetted by the setting sun
Short Films
Serengeti: Nature’s Living Laboratory

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