What is ecology about, anyway? Ecology is the relationship of living things to each other and to whats around them.

So, if you are learning about what kinds of relationships fish have with other animals (including us!) and plants in their neighborhood, then you are learning about ecology. The word ECOLOGY comes from Greek words meaning study of the household. That means that ecology is the study of the household of living things: their neighbors and neighborhood. Ecology includes not only how living things interact with each other, but how they interact with their physical environment: things such as climate, water, and soil. Learn more about these interactions in the Biomes section of this website. Ecologists are the scientists who study ecology. They are curious and like to learn about living things by observing them, seeing what happens, and recording what they find. This is all part of the scientific method. The Learn About Ecology section of this website introduces the study of ecology, describes careers in ecology, provides interviews with ecologists and gives an overview of the Kids do Ecology Program and website. It includes a discussion of endangered species, provides links to additional resources, and answers frequently asked questions. Some ecologists study a specific species or habitat. They might study the behavior of a single species to see how it interacts with other organisms and the environment. Or, an ecologist might study many different species that either depend on each other (a food web, for example), or compete with each other for food and space. There are many fields of ecology with lots of things still to be discovered. What are biomes? Biomes are regions of the world with similar climate (weather, temperature) animals and plants. There are terrestrial biomes (land) and aquatic biomes, both freshwater and marine. Would you like to know what the weather is like in different biomes around the world? How about the types of plants and animals that live in these biomes? Here you will find all sorts of information about the world's biomes. How many biomes are there? There is really no completely right answer to this question. Some people say there are only 5 major types of biomes: aquatic, desert, forest, grassland, and tundra. Others split biomes further. Forests are separated into rainforest, temperate forest, chaparral, and taiga; grasslands are

divided into savanna and temperate grasslands; and the aquatic biome is split into freshwater and marine. AQUATIC BIOMES

TERRESTRIAL BIOMES:

Freshwater Freshwater wetlands Marine Coral reef Esturaries

Tundra Rainforest Savanna Taiga Temperate forest Temperate grassland Alpine Chaparral Desert

Games

Awesome Animals Biome Word Search Peculiar Plants Wacky Weather Words Savanna Crossword Puzzle Answers to the Savanna Crossword Puzzle

Links to more information: Kids Konnect: Biomes Enchanted Learning: Biomes ThinkQuest: Biomes Major Biomes of the World NASA - Mission: Biomes World Biomes

The Classroom Program of KDE provides an inquiry-based approach to science that is fun and meaningful. NCEAS ecologists and teachers in Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria schools work with 5th grade classes to design and conduct

scientific experiments in ecology. Students learn the scientific method by doing it, from experimental design and hypothesis, data gathering and analysis, to reporting results and conclusions. Scientists also talk with students about what ecologists do, how they became interested in becoming ecologists, and how students can train for a career in ecology. Articles on this topic are included on the web site. Your class will be visited 3 times by an NCEAS scientist. During those visits, your scientist will:

Discuss science, ecology, and what she or he does Help your class design a practical ecology experiment that your class can complete in partnership with the scientist Visit your classroom to help supervise the experiment, discuss the results, and help produce a poster for a final poster session and to be published on your classs web page

Your class will:

Learn the scientific process from start to finish with your scientist Participate in final poster session at NCEAS Write up a short final report about their experiment

If you would like to apply for the program or have questions about the program, please contact us. Partner with Other Schools The GLOBE Program Connects students, teachers and scientists from over 100 participating countries to support hands-on learning to benefit the environment GLOBE ONE A partnership between students and scientists to collect data to answer an environmental research question Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration and Seasonal Change Join 11,000 other schools in tracking fall migration patterns and seasonal change. Square of Life: Studies in Local and Global Environments A fun way to explore your schoolyard and trade data with other schools.