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| Dallas Zoological Society Partnership : Texas Ecology Texas Communities and Biomes |
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Topic Overview
Quick Facts
In looking at different websites throughout the
lesson, you will find that different sources will use different terms to
describe large environments: some websites use biomes to describe large
geographical areas of living things while others use the term ecoregion, which
may be slightly more specific.
Texas
is the largest state by land area in the lower 48 states.
The deserts you find in the western part of the
state become very cool at night because there is not much water vapor in the
air to trap heat from the sun during the day.
Four mountain ranges that can be seen in West
Texas are the Franklin Mountains, near El Paso,
the Guadalupe Mountains
in Guadalupe Mountains
National Park, The Chisos Mountains in
Big Bend National
Park, and the Davis Mountains, located in Jeff Davis County.
You can find several different kinds of animals
in the Chihuahuan
Desert, including
reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals.
Sideoats Grama is the state grass of Texas; it is a grass
that grows wild on a prairie.
Native grasses on Texas prairies and savannas suffer from
fragmentation, this happens when large sections of these areas change to farms,
leaving smaller areas of land for the native plants to live and grow.
Erosion around the Armand Bayou can be slowed
down by putting plants at the water’s edge.
A watershed is a section of land that where
water runs to a nearby river or stream; citizens of the Dallas-Fort Worth
Metroplex are all part of one that empties water into Galveston Bay.
Begin the Lesson
Ask the students to make a list of places they have traveled in
Texas. It
might be helpful to have several pictures or postcards of different places in Texas available for the
students to examine. If you have a big map of Texas, and some sticky notes, have the
students fill out a sticky note that describes some plants and animals they
have seen in that area and place them in the correct location on the map. For
example, a sticky note near Tyler
might say “many tall trees.” Ask the students to describe the weather, any
plants and animals they saw. Ask the students why all of the living things are
not found in the same place.
Whole Class Introduction to the
Lesson
You will need at least one
computer with Internet connectivity and a projection device, a classroom with
more than one computer, or access to a computer lab. This introduction will
take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Ask the students to view two websites. First look at:
Read the summary of each type of biome, and then click on
“Biomes” on the right-hand menu. Ask the students to define the word “biome” in
their own words. Acceptable answers might include:
A large area where certain plants and animals
live.
Groups of living things that live within a
certain climate.
Next, ask the students to talk about different places in Texas. For the sake of
time, just divide the state into Central, South, East and West. Ask the
students to make a guess as to what kind of biome is in each area.
West Texas (Panhandle or Big
Bend): Desert
South Texas
(Coastal areas): Wetlands
East Texas: Forests
Central Texas
(Hill Country): Grasslands/Prairies
Now visit the website:
Instead of dividing the whole planet into seven different
biomes, this website divides the state into ten different ecoregions. Tell the
students that multiple terms are being used to describe the same idea: certain
areas of the planet, a country, or a state can be different than other areas.
In this lesson, we will explore Texas
to find out how different parts of the state support different kinds of living
things. Let’s keep a couple of things in mind:
Do you think that there are definite boundaries
between different biomes, or that the change from one to another is gradual? The
change is gradual.
Do biomes follow the same boundaries as state
lines or international boundaries? No. One biome could be found in several
states.
As part of the introduction, you
may want to review some of the glossary terms in advance of students going
online. At this point you can launch the WebLesson as whole-class activity
using a projection device, or you can assign students to work individually or
in teams in a computer lab.
WebLesson Sites
Introduction If you have ever taken a road trip from one city or town in Texas to another, you may have noticed some big changes between where you started and where you were going. Texas covers such a large area of land that you can find several different environments. Few other states can claim a desert, a forest, a prairie, and a beach! We know just by looking that the deserts of West Texas are different from the beaches of the Gulf Coast area. There are many characteristics that define where one environment ends and another begins. In this lesson, we will learn about those characteristics and about all of the different types of living things that occur naturally in the Lone Star State.
Scenario You have been assigned a position on a special committee to promote Texas tourism in schools. You must study different areas of Texas and choose a living thing to be a fun representative for each area, sort of like your school having a mascot. First, we need to find out how scientists divide groups of living things into different areas.
Lesson Pages
MBGnet
http://www.mbgnet.net/
Natural Features of Texas
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/texas/naturalfeatures/
The Chihuahuan Desert Region: An Overview
http://cdri.org/desert-explorer/the-chihuahuan-desert-2/
Build A Prairie, Presented By Bell LIVE!
http://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/prairie/build/sb1.html Rich Media
Terrestrial Ecoregions-Edwards Plateau savanna
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0806.html
The Nature Conservancy in Texas-Clymer Meadow Preserve
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/texas/preserves/art25158.html Rich Media
Texas Forest Museum: Life in the Forest
http://www.treetexas.com/kids/activities/default.htm Rich Media
Conclusion & Project
Conclusion From El Paso to Orange, you will pass through many different environments. These environments have been divided into sections that are called biomes, ecosystems, or ecoregions, depending on the scientist or naturalist. Even though they have different names, they can be easily recognized now that you know a few of their key features.
In the west, the deserts have some of the highest points in the state above sea level and receive little rainfall. Big Bend National Park has some very interesting desert plants such as the sotol and lechugilla. As you continue east, greater rainfall allows grasses to grow which provide food sources for mighty bison and small mammals such as prairie dogs. These small mammals provide a food source for hawks and snakes. This prairie ecosystem is not only in Texas, as the tallgrass version stretches north to Canada. Most people who picture Texas in their mind picture wide-open spaces, but that is not always the case in the eastern part of the state, where deciduous forests tower on either side of the highways. Some of these forests provide wood for furniture that may be in your house or school. People that manage forests must keep track of the age of the trees in order to maintain a steady supply of wood. Forests are important homes for owls, bears, raccoons, and songbirds. South of the Piney Woods, we can see the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico. The area between the city of Houston and Galveston Island is extremely important to small plants and animals such as sea grass and hermit crabs. Estuaries provide places for animals to raise their young in shallow water and this can attract large fish that can bring tourism to the area. Estuaries, swamps and bayous not only provide jobs, they can also protect human homes by catching extra rainwater before it floods developed areas. Remember that the fresh water emptying into this area comes from streams and rivers as far north as the Metroplex. It is good to remember that even though we live far away from some of these environments, we can do our share to help protect them. We can volunteer to help replant native plants in areas, and we can be careful about what washes off our lawns and streets into the storm drains. The people of Texas are very fortunate to live in such a large area with so many different types of biomes to explore. Yet, these special places will remain only if we are careful with the resources we use. Project Since you have met so many new living things, it is time to write a proposal to select four representatives for each of four major biomes that can be found in Texas. Choose a representative for each of the following areas:
desert area of West Texas grasslands/prairie of North-Central Texas forests of East Texas estuary of the Gulf Coast You may write your proposal in outline form. Use Roman numerals for each area. Introduce each representative by describing its location, or habitat, basic characteristics and feeding habits. Give each representative a fun name that kids are likely to remember. Glossary
continental - refers to the 48 states that are connected on the North American Continent
abundant - plentiful; a large amount
plateau - large area of flat land that is at a higher elevation than other sections of land next to it
dormant - not actively growing; using enough energy just to survive
escarpment - cliff or the steep slopes of a plateau edge
plateau - high area with a flat top that may have deep canyons
riparian - near a moving body of water such as a stream or river
fauna - animal life
perennial - plant that grows year after year without replanting
prescribed - planned
karst - limestone rock formation with caves and underground water
temperate - area that has small, regular changes in temperature
endemic - native, something that has always lived there
cultivated - used for farming and raising crops
ecosystem - living organisms and their environment
community - group of populations that live together
sequential - events that occur with a certain series of steps
annual - plants that must have new seeds planted every year
bayou - slow moving bodies of water that provide a place for plants and animals to live
invasive - plant or animal that grows or reproduces in an area where it is not native, using space, and nutrients for native plants and animals
petrochemical - products and chemicals made from oil, or petroleum
estuary - area where fresh water from a river or stream empties into salt water in a small area
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