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Exploration questions: ecosystem function

Grab your notebook or computer and write out your answer to each of the following questions. Then compare your answer to the suggested answer found in the “Answers to exploration questions” article. Have fun! Hint: the information needed to answer these questions can be found in the video and the articles.
  1. After watching the first tutorial, your friend turns to you and says, “Oh, I see! All interactions within an ecosystem network are the same importance, because all species have the same interactions with other species.” Do you agree or disagree with your friend’s statement? Explain why in a few sentences.
2.     Which of the following network diagrams illustrates the most stable ecosystem? Explain your answer in a few sentences.
3.     The table below shows the data your team collected while documenting the biodiversity on three islands. Based on these results, which of the islands should be categorized as having the greatest biodiversity, using the criterion of species richness? Explain your answer in 2-3 sentences.
4.     Based on what you saw in the video, explain in 2-3 sentences why the whale in the whale fall scenario is similar to the Google server, in terms of their importance to their networks.

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