ACORN LAB

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ACORN LAB

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ACORN LAB. What is a Pest?. A plant, animal, or microorganism that has a negative effect on another organism. Background Information. Acorns are an important winter food for squirrels, blue jays and woodpeckers. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of ACORN LAB

Page 1: ACORN LAB

ACORN LAB

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What is a Pest?

• A plant, animal, or microorganism that has a negative effect on another organism.

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Background Information

• Acorns are an important winter food for squirrels, blue jays and woodpeckers.

• Many insects feed on the nuts of North American trees, including acorns, the nuts produced by oaks.

• Some nut insects destroy so many nuts that it is difficult for trees to reproduce.

• Acorn insects play important ecological roles as food for insect-eating animals or as pioneers that hollow out acorns for other insects to use as homes.

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Common Acorn Insects

Acorn Weevil

(Snout Beetle)

Acorn Moth

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Acorn WeevilShort-Snouted Weevil

• Snout is one-half or less than its body length.

• Feed on acorns lying on the forest floor.

• Bite off bits of acorn meat from between cracks in the shells.

• Females lay eggs between cracks in the shells.

Long-Snouted Weevil

• Snout is equal to or greater than the length of its body.

• Feed on acorns still attached to oak trees.

• Can chew or drill into the shells to feed on the meat inside.

• Females lay eggs in the holes drilled into acorns during feeding.

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Acorn Moth

• Identification – forewing gray to grayish-brown with pale line

bordered distally by dark band (sometimes absent); black dots on forewing; hind wing shiny gray with dark veins and fringe of long hair-like scales

• Season – adults fly from April to September

• Food – larvae feed inside acorns and chestnuts

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Insect Larva

Acorn Weevil– short– fat– no legs– white– grub-like

Acorn Moth– long– thin– has legs– yellowish– caterpillar-like

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Larva Photos

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Acorn Weevil in Action

• http://www.natgeoeducationvideo.com/film/492/acorn-weevil

• http://www.arkive.org/acorn-weevil/curculio-glandium/video-00.html

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The Scientific Method

1. Problem/Question

2. Research

3. Hypothesis

4. Experiment

5. Conclusion

6. Report Results

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Problem / Question

• Which content; moth larva, weevil larva, mold/fungus, feces, or untouched meat will be most common in acorns?

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Research

• We will be using our prior knowledge, past experiences, and present knowledge of pests to determine which content may be the most common in acorns.

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Hypothesis

What do you expect to find most often in the acorns and why?

• Sample: Untouched meat will be the most common content inside the acorns. The acorns were collected in September before many of the adult insects began lying eggs in them.

• DO NOT START A HYPOTHESIS WITH . . . “I think”, “I predict” or “My hypothesis

is”!

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The Experiment

• Independent Variable: Acorns

• Dependent Variable: Contents

• Constants: What was kept consistent/same?– List at least 5 factors.

• Control Group: Untouched Acorns

• Experimental Group: Infested Acorns

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Other Experimental Factors

• Materials – How much? Use metric units.

• Procedure – List numerically. Be detailed.

• Results: Data Table – Used to organize data.

• Results: Graph – Used to visualize and analyze data.– Bar/column graph, line graph or pie chart

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Data Table: Characteristics of Acorns and Their Content

Data Collection

AcornDrawing &

Description ofAcorn

Length ofAcorn (cm)

Circumference of Acorn (cm)

Mass ofAcorn (g)

Float? (Yes or No)

AcornContents

1

2

3

4

5

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Data Analysis(Sample Data Table)

Acorn Contents

Moth Larva

Weevil Larva

MoldFungus

FecesUntouched

Meat

Individual % 15 8 60 33 20

Period % 18 10 54 21 45

Team % 6 2 75 15 25

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Data Analysis(Sample Graph)

What is Inside an Acorn?

01020304050607080

Acorn Contents

% O

f Aco

rns

Individual %

Period %

Team %

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Analysis & Conclusion

• Make a statement revealing whether the data collected provided support for or against the hypothesis.

• Explain the data collected including specific numerical or observational data from the experiment.

• Provide a reasonable explanation for the data and attempt to make connections based on the data collected.

• What future experiments could be done based on the data collected or how could the experiment be extended to collect more data?

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