Different plants and 5 Different animals

The assignment requires you to go to a local open space area to make observations about the ecosystem and

the organisms that live there. You will use those observations to identify the organisms found in

the community, make a food web, and consider how changes to the climate could alter the

community of organisms that live there. To assess the work you have done, you will need to

write up a report and include all of the information you have gathered (including photos of the

identified organisms). The report must also include all answers for all of the assignment

questions.

All steps detailed below must completed to receive full credit. If you skip any steps you will only

receive credit for the work you have completed.

1) Pick a local open space preserve or county/state park. It needs to be a park that has wild

areas with native plants and animals around. Developed community parks with mowed lawns

and cultivated trees won’t work for this assignment. Identify the kind of ecosystem you are

visiting: Desert, chaparral, mountain forest, riparian.…etc

Some options are:

Mission Trails Regional Park

Rose Canyon Open Space Park

Otay Open Space Preserve

San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge (semi-aquatic/coastal ecosystem)

Torrey Pines State Reserve / La Jolla Shores (if you want to do an aquatic ecosystem!)

Point Loma/Cabrillo National Monument

Black Mountain Open Space Park

Anza Borrego State Park

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park