i.am.ns.10

Meadow Ecosystem

Introduction

Hi! I am i.am.ns.10 and I am a 6th grader at the [|Amigos School] in [|Cambridge] Ma. On 10/28/10 our 6th grade class took a trip to the Boston Harbor Islands, specifically [|Thompson Island] which was originally used as a place to keep children that roamed the streets. Now it is part of the [|Boston Harbor Islands national park]. It is a preserved island with many others. There is an amazing diversity of ecosystems. One of the most significant was a meadow, where many animals lived.

Location

The Boston Harbor Islands are big attractions and Thompson Island is a place with camps but still very much untouched. We took public transportation, then a boat that one of our guides; Captain Weinstein gave us permission to board named [|Outward Bound]. The surrounding landscape is mostly city with an airport. But on the island was still natural. We counted the amount of biotic life and abiotic factors for part of a project for World [|Water Monitoring Day] Biotic

The meadow was one of the ecosystems that the 6th graders visited. The biotic Creatures were in numbers. Most of the meadow was covered in thorns, which I still carry the scars to prove. Most of the plants were milkweed, which the butterflies ate. In the Middle of the meadow was a tree that was home to many animals. The most abundant animals there were crickets, grasshoppers and true bugs. The true bugs also played the role of completing the cycle of life, as well as the worms and slugs. Here’s a list of the different animals at each level of the food pyramid.

Primary: grasshoppers Crickets Butterfly

Secondary: Ladybug Daddy longlegs Ants (you can see my web here) (to see my pyramid click here) The only tertiary consumer was a hawk we saw. The abiotic data was mostly construction because the island is developed. The abiotic matter were air clouds rocks wood rope metal and a golf cart. (see picture)

On 10/28/10, the 6th grade took a trip to the Boston Harbor Islands. I learned that on an island there is a diversity of animals. I saw that even in an urban area like [|Boston] a piece of nature still lives. I learned that to keep such an area alive you need to try all you can to preserve its natural beauty.