1. No Mind Stretcher- Copy this entire slide onto a sheet of paper! Purpose : To simulate Carrying Capacity- the availability of habitat components and the number or animals the habitat can support. Fundamental Habitat Components: Food, Water, Shelter, and Space Even with these essential components some animals do not survive! Other Limiting Factors include disease, predator and prey relationships, weather conditions, accidents, environmental pollution, and habitat destruction. Nature is never in “balance”, but is constantly changing!!!

2. How to Play: All #1 students will go to one boundary line/the rest of you go to the other (outside) 10 Rounds- Record # of deer in each round Face outwards until teacher says “Oh Deer!” At that point, turn and face each other and hold the symbol for one component (food, water or shelter) DEER ONLY…Walk to find a partner with the same component IF you match up, then you survived and reproduced! Your “component” partner now joins the deer side. IF you didn’t find the component you needed, you died and must join the habitat side.

3. Create A Graph: 1. On the x axis, label it YEARS and record the number of years that data was collected (1, 2, 3, 4…to the last round). 2. On the y axis, label it DEER Population. Make sure your graph has a title! YEARS Deer Population

4. Year 1: 29 Year 2: 49 Year 3: 16 Year 4: 32 Year 5: 46 Year 6: 22 Year 7: 12 (flood) Year 8: 24 Year 9: 42 (wolves introduced) Year 10: 20 Year 11: 16 Year 12: 14(drought) Year 13: o

5. Year 1: 15 Year 2: 30 Year 3: 42 Year 4: 26 Year 5: 38 Year 6: 36 Year 7: 37 Year 8: 32 Year 9: 34 Year 10: 28 Year 11: 32 Year 12: 13 Year 13: 18 Year 14: 32 Year 15: 37 Year 16: 32 Year 17: 24 Year 18: 20 Year 19: 6

6. Write a Conclusion in the top section of the second page for Oh Deer! Remember you are writing a paragraph or more. Be sure to include the words carrying capacity, equilibrium/balance, habitat and limiting factors. Use specific evidence from your graph. 1.Summarize the activity and what the game demonstrated. 2. How did the population of deer change from one year to the next? 3. Were there any limiting factors? (something that limited the amount of deer that survived that year) If so, what were they, and how was the population affected by them?

7. 1. What do we call the place where an organism lives? 2. What four things does a good habitat provide? 3. What are two biotic factors in the habitat of a field mouse? 4. Why do you find different kinds of organisms in different habitats? Mindstretcher

8. 1. What do we call the place where an organism lives? 2. What four things does a good habitat provide? 3. What are two biotic factors in the habitat of a field mouse? 4. Why do you find different kinds of organisms in different habitats? Habitat Food, water, shelter, and space Grass or other plants, insects, snakes, gophers, hawks, owls Different organisms need different things to survive. Some organisms can survive in a desert, but others cannot. Mindstretcher