This unit was about ecology and how different factors and decisions affect the biological lives of different species. The parts of this unit include energy movement, food webs, succession within ecosystems, and conservation biology. Energy move throughout the ecosystem through the use of the food web. The layers of the food web include: primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers. They also consist of herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, and decomposers. The health of an ecosystem changes greatly based in a number of factors, including population, birth and death rate, and succession. Succession in the process in which new species will enter the ecosystem after the destruction of itself. A major theme of this unit was how everything about ecology connects to our everyday lives and how our ecosystems are threatened and that we should do something about it. One thing I want to learn more about are the solutions to many problems facing our environment and how everyday people can do their part in solving them. I wonder about why our government hasn't passed more laws concerning the well being of our planet and why we ignorantly continue to allow our plant to be destroyed. The content within this unit was easy to understand as the majority of it was big picture thinking or review from previous years, but it challenged me in more of a personal way in how all of the things i have learned affect me everyday and the impact they have on my life.
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The main project we worked on in this unit was the Conservation Biologist project, in which we looked at the in-depth problems facing a specific biome. My group consisted of Andrew Gao, Sam Tiles, and Pranay Jalan and we focused on the African Savanah and the poaching problems facing this region. It was fun collaborating with others as I had the ability to bounce back ideas and have people to review my work and offer constructive criticism on my work. It also allowed my to focus more on my individual part knowing that others were taking care of theirs. It was a little hard mixing the multiple personalities, and the team contract was more of a burden to fill out rather than a tool to ensure proper collaboration, but it helped me learn how to deal with others and properly work together to achieve a common goal.
Link to Project:
African Savanah Conservation Biologist Project
After taking the self assessment test to identify my preferred method of conflict management, I found that I was generally assertive, while my secondary response was to be aggressive or passive aggressive. I should try to be more passive at times, as that will help my assertiveness and tone down my aggression when working with others.
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