Menagerie from the Mind

4th Quarter Project

Directions and Tips

Project Scenario

• You are a naturalist who has discovered a small, previously unknown island that has been isolated from the rest of the world for millennia.

• Animals and plants that no human has ever seen before inhabit the island!

• The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has asked you to develop an exhibit describing your discoveries to zoo visitors.

• You have complete creative control to design the exhibit, but it must capture the interest of visitors and teach them about the island.

Assignment

Your exhibit (a neatly compiled display) may take many forms. It is up to you to decide how to fulfill the requirements of the project, which are listed as follows:

Assignment cont’d

1. Describe the climate of the island you’ve discovered (tropical, temperate, etc). Use a world map to pinpoint the island’s location in one of the oceans, far from the nearest known land. Give the island’s latitude and longitude.

Tip: where your island is located will determine its climate, and therefore what types of habitats could exist on it, and what types of organisms could live in those habitats. For example, if your island is located in the tropics, you should not have tundra-type organisms living on it.

Yorktown Island 135° W 5° N

X

Assignment cont’d

2. Make a 3D (three-dimensional) model of the island, showing all of the habitats available for life. This should display the island’s topography (surface shape and features) and elevations (height above sea level).

Example:

Highest point (Mt. Patriot): 467 ft. above sea levelAverage elevation of rainforest: 221 ft. above sea level

Assignment cont’d

3. Invent at least 3 producers. For each producer, you need the following items visible on the exhibit:

– Picture (in color, at least 5x7” in size)• NO PRINTING! You must create these

pictures yourself.

– accurate classification from kingdom through family and a created scientific name (genus & species)

– description of habitat, and growth requirements (e.g., grows only in acidic soil)

Tips for classification: keep in mind your invented new species are related to known species on Earth! start from a real plant, then change a characteristic or two.

notice the clades: you may also encounter unranked, tribe, etc. ; this is acceptable as long as you are using reputable sources to classify.

you do not need to include sub- or super- prefix designations (subphylum, superfamily, etc.)

• Kingdom: Plantae• clade: Angiosperms• clade: Monocots• clade: Commelinids• Order: Zingiberales• Family: Musaceae• Genus: Musa • Species:

M. acuminata (change this)

You will only change the species nameKingdom thru genus remain the same

Wild Banana Musa acuminata

Assignment cont’d

4. Invent eight animals (there must be at least one from each of the following classes: fish, insect, amphibian, bird, reptile, and mammal). For each animal you need the following items visible on the exhibit:

– Picture (in color, at least 5x7” in size)• NO PRINTING! You must create these pictures yourself.

– accurate classification from kingdom through family, and a created scientific name (genus & species)

– identify its method of getting food (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore) and its trophic level

• note: there must be 1 tertiary consumer (carnivore that eats another carnivore), 2 secondary consumers (carnivores that eat herbivores), 2 omnivores (eats both herbivores and producers) and 3 herbivores (eats producers)

– identify at least 2 other organisms it eats– describe its habitat– describe at least 2 adaptations that help it survive in its

habitat

Example(just like your producers, remember your animals are related to

known species on Earth)

• Kingdom: Animalia• Phylum: Chordata• Class: Actinopterygii• Order: Perciformes• Family: Scaridae• Genus: Cetoscarus • Species:

C. Bicolor (change this)

Bicolor Parrotfish C.bicolor

You are only changing the species nameKingdom thru genus remain the same

Assignment cont’d

5. Choose a different animal for each of the following requirements:

– extra adaptations – choose one of your 8 animals, for which you will illustrate and describe each of the following adaptations in detail (finds and eats food, protects itself and young, builds homes, travels, communicates, blends into surroundings)

– body systems – choose one of your 8 animals, for which you will illustrate and describe one of the following body systems (digestive, respiratory, circulatory, sensory, nervous, or skeletal)

Assignment cont’d

6. Food web - Produce a food web that shows feeding relationships between the plants and animals on your island, and connect each animal with the organisms it eats by using arrows that point from the organism being consumed to the organism eating (“food goes in here”). It should have the following:

– illustrated with small pictures (2x3” approximately)

– common names under each organism

Tip: You may want to keep the food web in mind while creating your new organisms, as it will determine what types of organisms you create. Remember, there must be 1 tertiary consumer, 2 secondary consumers, 2 omnivores and 3 herbivores, plus your 3 producers.

Assignment cont’d

7. Essay– write a short (1 page typed, single–spaced) essay to address the following:

• What will happen to the island and the animals/plants on it?

• Who will decide what will happen?• How will the island and the animals/plants

be protected?• Who will enforce your plan?• Use real-life examples to support your

points

Real-Life Example:http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/borneo_forests/

This enormous stick insect, Phobaeticus chani, found near Gunung Kinabalu Park, Sabah, in the Heart of Borneo measures 56.7cm or over half a meter in length. Despite its size, very little is known about its biology and ecology.

Barbourula kalimantanensis is known only from two locations in the middle of the Kapuas River Basin. It is the only known

lungless frog, and breathes through its skin. (this is a good example of how you might invent new characteristics; it is

novel, but still plausible)

Thrixspermum erythrolomum, an orchid, was described from Gunung Trus Madi, Malaysia’s second highest mountain at 2,642m, close to Gunung Kinabalu. This mountain is well known to support a diverse range of unique flora and fauna. The discovery adds further to Borneo’s reputation as a mysterious secret garden.

Preparation

• In the process of planning, you need to assign each component of this project to someone in the group. In doing this, make sure that the point distribution among all members is relatively equal. Your group will receive an extra rubric to fill out and turn in before starting. Please complete the “person responsible” column for EVERY item.