Activity 1:  Ecocompetition (GLEs:  1, 2, 4, 14, 18, 41, 50, 51)

CC:  Sometimes plants and animals modify the space that they live in for their benefit. This often produces competition for resources. Instruct students to research the beaver and the adaptation that it has for modifying a stream to create its den, how these changes are beneficial to the beaver and other animals but are harmful to others, including man. (A good resource is found in the Louisiana animals section at http://www.alligatorfur.com.) Other animals that may be researched are the nutria and fire ant. Students should conclude that animals are capable of modifying their environment to meet their needs and that an animal's presence in an ecosystem may have positive or negative effects on the other members of the ecosystem.

Some suggested websites for the students' research are:

Friends of Blackwater NWR - Nutria Fact Sheet