Virtual Field Trip

1. Describe the research plots in the experiment in the Prairie Ecologist reading. What was the researchers’ main purpose for creating these plots?

2. Describe three benefits of plant diversity in an ecosystem. Include who benefits, and in what way(s).

3. In the Prairie Diversity reading, Chris Helzer describes the “cascading impacts” of the loss of one species. Explain what this means.

4. Only recently has “prairie management” become a focus for ecologists. Explain what this term means, and describe why it has become necessary.

5. How does plant diversity on the prairie affect diversity of other species?

6. Why has the amount of prairie available decreased so greatly over time?

7. What other ecosystems used to be interspersed with prairies in Missouri?

8. Name 4 ecological services prairies provide.

9. What effect, if any, would there be on the prairie ecosystem if a species were to go extinct?

10. What is important to keep in mind when selecting prairie management treatments?

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Synthesis Questions:

1. If you had had two identical plots of bare land and planted one with one species of grass, and the other with 100 different species of grasses and forbs, consider how the two plots would compare.  Explain which would be the most valuable, and why, in terms of:

2. Ability to provide food and habitat for herbivores and pollinators continuously (from beginning to end) of the growing season.

3. Appearance in extreme (hot, cold, wet, or dry) conditions.

4. Diversity of other (non-plant) species.

5. Protection against invasive species.

6. The conservation of prairie ecosystems requires a great deal of strategy and effort, yet Chris Helzer called it “a great accomplishment.” Describe both the potential dangers and the potential benefits of prairie conservation, explain whether you think it is a good idea.