Polar Ecosystem

Team: 97

School: Melrose

Area of Science: Ecology

Interim: Team Number: 97
School Name: Melrose Schools
Area of Science: Ecology
Project Title: Polar Ecosystem

Problem Definition: This year our team plans to model a Polar Ecosystem and show how even the smallest changes can eliminate species. We will use Killer whales, Polar bears, Leopard seals, Emperor penguins, a few different types of fish, and small particles for the fish to eat. We will take into account the temperature so we can monitor ice thickness and water temperature. We will also attempt to use the correct number of animals that are in the area today.
Problem Solution: We intend to use Starlogo TNG to model a polar ecosystem to show how a small change can affect an entire species or ecosystem. This will require us to make a model exactly like a polar area. We will have different regions consisting of ice, land, and open sea. This will restrict the animals to the region that they inhabit in real life. We will use math equations to show how the species interact.

Progress to Date: So far we have began our programming and have our model running as intended, except for a few minor flaws. We are continuing our research and are finding out things that will dramatically change the quality of our experiment.

Expected Results: We will want to show how the changes in ecosystem affect the species and how the variables, such as ice thickness and water temperature, will affect the number of animals. If we can get all of the components to work in unison we will have a very successful model of the ecosystem and it will represent a polar ecosystem very well.
Citations:
1. http://wikipedia.org/ 2.http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Polar-bear
3.Biology fifth edition by John W. Kimball published by Addison Wesley 1983
4.Biology New edition by Miller Levine published by Apprentice Hall 1993
5.http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/seals/leopard.shtml

Team Members: Brian Hemminger, Quinton Flores, Kira Anderson, Nicole Levasseur

Sponsoring Teacher: Mr. Daugherty

Team Members:

  Kira Anderson
  Brian Hemminger
  Nicole Levasseur
  Quinton Flores

Sponsoring Teacher: Alan Daugherty

Mail the entire Team