1. Entry Task: Lab Notebook 9/29/14
In at least 4 sentences, describe what you think biodiversity means.

2. The Great Salt Lake Ecosystem
Learning Target: I can describe the environment and biodiversity of the Great Salt Lake.

3. Where is the Great Salt Lake?

4. Environment of the Lake
There are salt flats that surround this lake.
The salt then leaches into the lake making it SALTY!!
It is saltier than the ocean.
It ranges from 5-27%.
The ocean is 3.5%
There are 2 rivers that dump water into the south side of the lake.
What kind of water is river water?
What does that do to the salt content of the lake?
TURN & TALK: How might the amount of rainfall received further affect this lake?
Cooking soups… what if it’s too salty? What do you do to fix it?

5. Salinity Calculations
Salt concentration can be measured in:
Percent Salinity
Parts Per Thousand (= % x 10)
Salt concentration can be inferred as:
Density of Water
Density of water = 1 gram / cm3 = 1 g / mL
If density is greater than 1 g/mL, there is something dissolved in the water (i.e. salt)

6. Biodiversity of the Lake
Many organisms live in or near the lake.
Northern Harrier is a bird.
It eats the Avocet, another bird.
Avocets eat Brine shrimp and Brine fly.
Eared Grebe also eats Brine fly.
Brine fly eats Cyanobacteria and Diatoms.
Brine shrimp also eats Cyanobacteria, Diatoms and it’s the only one that eats Halobacteria.

7. Biodiversity of the Lake
Cyanobacteria is a bacteria. It doesn’t eat because it makes it’s own energy from the sun.
Diatoms are algae. They also make their own energy from the sun.
Halobacteria are Archaea. They also make their own energy from the sun.

8. Vocabulary Review (Part 1)
Network: Used to diagram a system consisting of factors (nodes) and the relationship between those factors (edges)
Nodes: Factors in a network
Edges: The relationship between nodes
Network
Edge
Node
Node

9. Vocabulary Review (Part 2)
Biotic factors: living things
Abiotic factors: non-living things
Ecosystem: the biotic and abiotic factors in a given place
Biotic Factors
Abiotic Factors
Plants
Water
Fish
The Sun
Bacteria
Rocks
Birds
Salt

10. New Vocabulary Words Biodiversity
Turn to your vocabulary section of your journal and add these words. Skip a line in between each word.
Word
Definition
Biodiversity
How many different kinds of organisms there are in a given place.
Food Webs
A diagram showing who eats what
4th only on first word
Food Web
Energy
Northern Harrier
Avocet

11. Your Task
You will work in your table groups to create a food web of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
There is a checklist of tasks that you must make sure you show on your poster.
These are initial ideas so if you don’t know, make an educated guess! You don’t have to be right, just thoughtful!

12. Exit Ticket: Progress Check

13. Why is the GSL so salty?