Extra Credit --Eagle Valley Raptor Center

Volunteer at his facility August - May 1  (minimum of 4 hours volunteer work).  If you are under 18, you would need parental permission in the form of a letter to present to him upon your arrival. In the past, he has let the students bring a bird to the classroom and tell how they helped the bird. Ken will train you on how to hold a raptor bird.  At the end of your volunteer service Ken needs to provide me with a written documentation (note or email) regarding the number of service hours (4 hours minimum) for you to receive 80 pts

Contact information: 

Ken Lockwood Program Director Eagle Valley Raptor Center 927 N. 343rd St. W.

(316) 393-0710 Mobile Web site www.eaglevalleyraptorcenter.org 

Visit the arboretum's native prairie section and it's formal native plant gardens.  Take a photo of you next to the arboretum sign and write a one-page report (12 pt Times Romans font, single spaced) about what you learned and your experience and how the arboretum is preserving the cultural significant plants to Kansas

Go to:  http://www.dyckarboretum.org/ --click on education, then Prairie Conservation and Restoration to learn more

Value 50 pts    Due by May 1

Did you know that each year tens of billions of dollars are wasted on electricity for appliances in homes and businesses that aren't being used? In the US alone, unused appliances suck up over 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and cost homeowners more than $100 each year!

Not only is this a waste of money, but it's also hurting the environment since the majority of electricity still comes from fossil fuel power plants. And it's a simple problem to fix!

Take the pledge to reduce the amount of electricity you waste in your home by unplugging unused appliances, using power strips, and replacing inefficient appliances.

Go to:  http://www.earthday.org/takeaction/vampenergy.html 

Central Fly Way--extra credit work

YOU WILL NOT HAVE TIME IN CLASS TO WORK ON THIS--USE THE NIGHT LIBRARY OR YOUR HOME COMPUTER TO COMPLETE.

Two wetlands of international importance--Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge--are located in Kansas.  Nearly half of all North American shorebirds migrating east of the Rocky Mountains and up to a quarter of a million waterfowl stop at Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira to rest and feed during seasonal migrations.

Select one of these sites and create a power point slide presentation to introduce the site to your fellow students.  Your power point presentation must include:

#1) title slide (naming the site your selected to research)

#2) location and size of site

#3) type of site---salt water or freshwater wetlands and characteristics of type

#4-8 slides) sample of at least four organisms that make this a migration stop with photo of the organism and at least 3 facts about each organism

#9 slide) why it is important--why the site was designated a wetland of international importance.

#10-12) conclusion slides--what you  would like your fellow students to know about the site, feel free to link in video clips, hunting/recreational information, ways to protect and preserve.

Print a hardcopy of your power point presentation to turn in for grading. This will not be shown in class, but please keep a copy of the file---1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes will be given to best power point presentations graded.

Value:  60 points.  Due:  May 1

Extra Credit--EPA Greentips Podcasts

Podcasts are from 2008   http://www.epa.gov/earthday/podcasts/index.html

(listening for comprehension and writing assessment)

Down load and listen to at least two of the podcasts listed above and write a paper containing no less than 30 sentences about each podcast you listened to.  Value 25 points each.  Due no later than May 1.  Value:  maximum of 75 points

http://www.epa.gov/earthday/podcasts/index.html

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Clean Beaches

Water Sense

Using Pesticides Safely

Water Enforcement

Buy Energy Star Products

extra credit PrairyErth

Read the novel/book “Prairy Erth: An Epic History of the Tallgrass Prairie Country” by William Least Heat-Moon.

In this unique work, the author explores the plants, animals, and people that molded the history and ecology of a tallgrass prairie emnant in central Kansas. Write a two page book report linking information from Chapter 6 of your textbook pg 165-171 in your report. Each page should have 1" margins all sides, single spaced, 12 pt Times Roman font . Value:  75 points.  Due May 1

Extra Credit--Build a Birdhouse

Research bird and Build a Birdhouse.  Go to the site below to get the blueprints.  You provide the materials and donate your birdhouse to the OWLS area.  You must research the type of bird you wish to construct a birdhouse for providing information on the type of nesting box it prefers, proper height and placement of the box and migration/feeding patterns.  The research and bird house are due by May 1st---all materials AND the   4”x4” x 10ft post to place the bird house upon will be provided by you.  Value:  75 points  Check with Ms. Scribner BEFORE building to select the proper type of house to build.  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/nestinginfo/nestboxref/construct

What was the population of your city, town, or community 25 years ago?  50 years ago?  100 years ago?  Use the library, town hall or Internet to find out the history of population change in your town or the nearest large city.  What factors accounted for the changes?  Name at least four factors for each era of time (25 yr, 50 yr, 100 yr).

Once completed place your extra credit document into the digital drop box by May 10.  This project has a value of 50 extra credit points.

Extra Credit--Buffalo at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge

http://www.cyberkraft.com/maxwell/ (Research of native animals and writing assessment)

Travel to the wildlife refuge, see the buffalo then complete the questions below to turn in immediately following the date of your visit for 50 extra credit points.   Make it a family event!!!  Due by May 1    Remember, to take the tram tour you must make advance reservations.

1.  Name, Hour, Date of Visit, Date of report and what you saw that day (minimum six sentences)

2.  What is the mission of the wildlife refuge?

3.  What types of animals are there in the refuge?

4.  State four facts you learned at the site about two of the animals (total of 8 facts).

5.  Do you support (or not support) the idea behind wildlife refuges?  Why or Why Not?  (your explanation why must have no less than six sentences)

6.  Photos of the site are optional

Volunteer at Pro Kan Recycling

Volunteer work at the Center must be scheduled.

Pro Kan Recycling

725 E Clark . Wichita, KS . 67211 .

Open Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 1pm - 4pm

ALL prospective volunteers are REQUIRED to fill out our volunteer application form--down load the form from http://www.recyclewichita.org/volunteer.pdf

Volunteers younger than 18 must have their parent or guardian sign the waiver on the form and by providing a phone number in which the adult may be reached during the volunteers' work time. Volunteers 14 and younger must be accompanied by a supervising parent or guardian at all times when they are at the Center. 

Please review  the Pro Kan Recycling Training Power Point (see Bb power point file) before coming to the Center at your assigned time.  25 extra credit points for each hour of volunteer service up to 100 points. 

Do #1, #2, and/or #3 for extra credit points. Due April 4.  Read and discuss the NewsHour Extra article "Scientists Explain Origin of South Asia's Deadly Disaster" by going to:  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec04/tsunami_12-30.html

Answer these questions (Value 40 points):

What caused the tsunami that devastated major regions of South Asia? Where did it originate? How did it do so much damage?

Explain the origin of the term "tsunami."

Explain the difference between most beach waves and tsunami waves.

Explain how it is that tsunami waves can be so destructive.

For more in-depth treatment of this topic, you are encouraged to explore the NewsHour pages devoted to this topic.

South Asia Disaster: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/tsunami/index.html
Tsunami Warnings: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/tsunami/index.html

2.  Create a poster on one of the following topics (Value 50 pts):

a. The Physics of Waves- the poster should briefly describe the basic facts of wave motion. The Physics Classroom (http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/soundtoc.html) has manageable lessons on wave physics that can be used for reference. Some information to include:
i. the two fundamental equations for a wave (speed = wavelength/ period and speed = wavelength * frequency)
ii. the effects of wave interferenceb. How Tsunamis Work- a poster demonstrating how an earthquake cause a tsunami, and how a tsunami progresses toward a coast. Excellent information and graphics are available at the U.S. Geological Survey site: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/
c. Tsunami Aftermath- this poster should focus on the devastation caused by the recent tsunami. The poster can include testimonials by survivors and pictures of the effects of the tsunamis.
d. What We Can Do- a poster with information on organizations leading the relief efforts and how individuals can help.

3. Create a model of a tsunami.  Value:  100 pts 

The following link provides a feasible procedure: (http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects/25/297/ba2fb6f2868bf01ab540c85addda5309.html).

xcredit Should Alien Species Be Introduced?

Read the background information below, then answer the questions, include question in answer due May 1.

Deliberately or accidentally, many species of plants and animals have been transported all over the world through global trade. Native species exist in an ecosystem in a balanced relationship to one another. When species are taken from their native habitats and transplanted in new ecosystems, these species can seriously disrupt the ecosystems they invade. Transported species are commonly referred to as alien species.

Alien species are disruptive because the ecosystems they invade often have no way to control them. In balanced ecosystems, predators and prey act as controls on each other’s populations. An ecosystem may have no predator that can control the population of an introduced alien species.

Alien species may also carry diseases. Plant and animal species usually develop some resistance to diseases that naturally occur within their habitats. But they usually have no resistance to foreign diseases, and so are easily killed by them. Finally, in the absence of predators, alien species are often able to out complete native species for resources, such as food or space. Native species may then be pushed out of their habitat, and their populations may decline, sometimes to the point of extinction.

Accidental Invasions

California is a major provider of fresh produce for much of the United States. If you have ever vacationed (by car) in California you were probably stopped at the border and asked by an official if you had any fruits or vegetables in your car. The official probably asked you to give up any fresh produce you were carrying to ensure that you were bringing in no Mediterranean fruit flies. These fruit flies, called “Medfiles” for short, pose a major threat to California crops.

Medflies, native to tropical Africa, landed in Hawaii in 1910. These insects soon found their way to California’s farm fields, where they began to devastate crops. Farmers became involved in a fierce and continual battle, usually involving the use of pesticides, to eliminate these insects. The Medfly, however, still periodically turns up among the fruits and vegetables growing in California.

Other foreign species have devastated the forests of the United States. Chestnut blight, a disease that has endangered the American chestnut tree, is caused by a fungus that grows beneath the bark of the tree. It was first noted in New York in 1904. The fungus spores probably entered New York harbor under the bark of trees that were imported from Asia. By 1950, 3.5 billion chestnut trees had been afflicted with the blight.

Another way alien species have traveled to foreign lands is on cargo ships used in international trade. When cargo ships leave their home port, they often take on up to 190 million liters of water, which they keep in ballast containers. This ballast helps the ships stay balanced and stable during ocean voyages. When the ships reach their destination, they release water from their ballasts into the foreign harbor. Some of the world’s most serious alien-species problems have been caused by “stowaways” in ship ballasts. For example, scientists sampled ballast water from 159 Japanese cargo vessels that had docked in Oregon. They found 370 non-native organisms swarming in the ballast tanks, including fish, plankton, crab and clam larvae, worms, shrimp, snails, and jellyfish. All these alien species were to be flushed out of the ballast tanks and into the waters of Oregon’s Coos Bay.

The above examples describe only a few of the accidental arrivals of alien species and some of their effects on native species. These species’ introduction resulted in serious disruptions of the local ecosystems invaded. Not all alien species, however, are the result of accidents.

Sometimes alien species are introduced deliberately into an area to benefit an industry because they have a useful genetic trait. Honeybees are an introduced species, brought to the United States from Europe. The more aggressive and more productive wild African bees were imported into Brazil in 1956. Scientists hoped the honeybees and African bees would interbreed, creating a more productive, yet gentle hybrid. Because African bees come from a harsh, drought-stricken land where resources are few, they have become aggressive to protect food resources. They use an aggressive mobbing strategy to protect flowers they find. African bees have been known to mob small animals and sting them to death. That is how they became known as “killer bees.”

Since the introduction of African bees, honey production in Brazil has increased six fold. Some believe this increase is due to the higher productively of the African bees. However, the hoped-for hybrid of honeybees and African bees has not materialized.

During the experiments, some African bees accidentally escaped. The African bees have out-competed the honeybees wherever the two species met. The African bees have since expanded their range northward through South America, Central America, and Mexico into Texas and other southwestern states.

In another example of introducing alien species, a court in Brazil recently approved the breeding of Nile crocodiles at a “leather ranch” near the Pantanal River system leading to the Amazon River. The Nile crocodile is predatory, responsible for dozens of human deaths in its native Africa each year. The crocs were imported to Brazil so they could be raised to 18 months of age, of which time they would be killed and skinned. Their skins would be exported for the making of leather products. In court, the importers argued that the security around the ranch where the crocs are being bred is equivalent of that of a “nuclear installation.”

Still, ecologists are concerned about the effects on the fragile Amazon ecosystem if this dangerous crocodile manages to escape. The ecological effects of an uncontrolled predator as aggressive as the Nile crocodile would have catastrophic impacts on the Amazon ecosystem, already threatened in many places. So great would be the impact on the countless species of the Amazon, scientists are comparing the probable escape of the Nile crocs to “storing plutonium in Grand Central Station.”

The croc’s importers insist that “maximum security is (their) main concern” and that they are not introducing an exotic species because (the crocodiles) are in captivity.” The importers report that they are trying to establish a leather industry in Brazil and making a living.

Introducing Alien Species for Recreation

Many states in our nation obtain income from the sale of fishing permits and from money spent by fishers in local communities. To promote sport fishing, these states stock their lakes, streams, and rivers with fish species attractive to fishers. Often, however, these species are not native to that state. Their introduction may disrupt aquatic ecosystems and lead to the endangerment or extinction of native fish.

Federal government reports on the effects of stocking game fish indicate that two-thirds of the fish extinctions that have already occurred in the United States were due to the introduction of alien species. Of those 850 native fish species still thought to exist, more than one-third are now considered rare, nearing extinction, or possibly already extinct. Fully half of the fish on the federal endangered species list are being outcompeted by introduced species.

The effects of introduced species are often unforeseen. For instance, Montana introduced an alien freshwater shrimp into the tributaries of Flathead Lake, hoping that the shrimp would fatten up game fish. The shrimp quickly spread into the lake, where they quickly consumed most of the native zooplankton. This left little food for the native kokanee salmon, which feed on zooplankton. The salmon population crashed, followed by the bald eagle population, which depends on salmon as a food source.

Fisheries managers in most states defend their fish-stocking practices. They refute the argument of environmentalists that waterways should contain only native species. They point out that most aquatic ecosystems have already been altered and have adjusted to these alterations. Manager also point out that, because they have to compete with other states to attract sport fishers, they are forced to stock bodies of water with the most sought-after fish. The money that states collect from fishing permits and vacationers is crucial in maintaining fisheries and wildlife programs in most states. Without this money many states would be forced to severely curtail management and protection of state parks, wildlife areas, and waterways.

In addition to recreation, the introduction of foreign species can boost the economy of the country that imports the organisms. The increased production of the African bees and the skins of the Nile crocodiles can help industries prosper. These introduced species may benefit the economy as long as they can be contained or controlled so that they will not disrupt the ecosystem.

If carefully monitored, an alien species may help return the balance of an ecosystem that was disrupted by some other cause. Predator species may be imported to control a population of pests. Other organisms may be introduced to control certain types of pollution. Whether or not the alien species can be controlled is an important consideration; accidental invaders can harm an ecosystem.

1. 
   Why do officials in California monitor the transport of fresh produce in the state?
   
2. 
   How have ship ballasts created some of the world’s most serious alien-species problems?
   
3. 
   How did the introduction of African bees affect the honey production in Brazil? Why are some people concerned about using the African bee for this purpose?
   
4. 
   Why do fisheries stock game fish in bodies of water where these fish species are not normally found? What effect could these fish have on native fish?
   

5. 
   If you were a state official involved in the management of state parks, would you approve of stocking waterways with alien fish species? Why or why not? Is there an alternative that you could suggestion that would bring in the necessary income?
   
6. 
   Farmers in the southeast United States imported and planted the kudzu plant to help control soil erosion in fields. Removal crews can barely out-pace the growth rate of the plant. And the removal of the fast growing plant has negatively impacts many state maintenance budgets. Kudzu has been unstoppable and has taken over many agricultural areas, billboards and signage and even buildings. Recently, however, scientists have found that kudzu contains a substance that is an effective treatment for people who are alcohol dependent. What do you think should be done about growing kudzu plants in the United States for this purpose?
   

Read the background information below, then answer the questions include question in answer

Many people are aware of the depletion of natural resources and are trying to conserve or recycle them. But most people are not aware of the problem of declining fish populations in lakes, rivers, and coastal waters. Of the 236 fish species in United States coast waters, 67 are being overfished, and 61 are in danger of being overfished. To help protect the supply of fish and maintain the balanced ecosystem in which the fish live, the United States government, as well as governments of other nations, have imposed regulations on fishing.

Changes in the sizes of fish populations add to the problem of overfishing. If fish are present in unusually large numbers for some reason, fisheries invest in more equipment, boars and workers to harvest the surplus. Once these stocks have been used up, the fisheries have to continue to make payments for their extra boats and equipment, even though these are no longer being used. Workers lose their jobs and fisheries often ask the government for financial assistance. These problems could be avoided if fisheries would agree to hold back from intense fishing during times of surplus. This is a lot to ask of hard-working people who want to have a good financial year.

Restrictions on Fishing

Determining the maximum number of fish that can be harvested without seriously affecting the population is a difficult task. Fisheries and federal and state governments rely on recommendations from scientists. Scientists do not always agree on the causes for the decline of particular fish species, and none can predict the future of any given fish population with great accuracy.

Overfishing in the United States is not a recent problem. People were aware of the problem in the late 1800s. As early as 1932, the United States and Canada set catch limits to protect the populations of some fish species. In 1976, the U.S. Congress passed the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This law imposed stricter catch limits and shortened fishing seasons. Despite these regulations, fish populations of many different species are still declining.

In November 1993, Congress went further to regulate catch limits and fishing seasons. This new law focused on the shallow waters of the Atlantic shoreline. Traditionally, the regulation of inshore waters that extend to about 5 kilometers from the coastline was left to the states. The federal government formerly had regulated only the deeper waters beyond the range, with laws like the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Because many species of Atlantic fish migrate, laws need to be standardized for all the coastal states. This is usually not the case. The new federal law requires the coastal states to agree on fishing seasons and catch limits for species common to those states. If a state refuses to follow these guidelines, the federal government has the power to declare a moratorium, demanding a halt to all fishing in the state for those involved species of fish.

The Atlantic is not the only area that is affected by overfishing and is strictly regulated. Pacific halibut populations off the coast of Alaska had declined to a point where fishing season was limited to two 24-hour periods. During this short time 600 million pounds of halibut were harvested.