Don’t Crowd Me!

1. Don’t Crowd Me! Homeschool Web Activity June 2013 Houston Zoo

2. Island Life • In the most recent edition of “Homeschool Happenings”, we learned about animals who have island homes • While many people have a vision of an “island paradise” in their minds, are there any problems that can come from calling an island home?

3. Island Life • Yes! There are problems that can come from living on an island • One of the issues that may arise is a lack of space since islands typically have a lower carrying capacity than the larger mainland

4. Carrying Capacity • What exactly is carrying capacity? • Carrying capacity refers to the number of individuals a certain habitat or area can support given the resources that are available

5. Carrying Capacity • All animals need certain things to survive and they must get these things from their habitat • Animals need • Food • Water • Shelter • Space

6. Carrying Capacity • No matter where you are on planet Earth, there will be some resources that are in short supply • For instance: • In a desert water is very scarce and hard to find • In a rainforest space is limited • In the mountains food might be hard to come by

7. Carrying Capacity • On an island resources can be even more limited • There is only so much food, water, shelter and space that can be found on an island • All the animals that live on that island must compete for these resources

8. Home Life • Think about your home • Everyone might have their own bed, a place to put their clothes, enough food to eat and water to drink, as well as an area they can go to and relax

9. Home Life • Now imagine that 5 people moved in • What would happen? • What would happen if 10 people moved in? • How about 30 people?

10. Home Life • Just like an island, your home has a carrying capacity: a certain number of individuals that can live there and still find everything they need • Once you go above that number, life becomes very difficult!

11. Zoo Life • Here at the Houston Zoo, our exhibits have carrying capacities as well • We have to look at the needs of our animals (such as space, food, shelter, and water) and make sure that they can get all these things from the exhibits in which they live

12. Zoo Life • We have limited resources in our exhibits and this limits the amount of animals we can put in those exhibits

13. Zoo Life • Not only do we have to always keep the carrying capacity of our exhibits in mind, but we also have to take into consideration the individual animals • Some animals are solitary and don’t live in groups in the wild, so we let those animals have their space and keep them alone in the exhibit

14. All Habitats • Remember: whether you are discussing an island, your home, or an exhibit at the Houston Zoo, they all have a carrying capacity • All these places have a certain number of individuals that can live there and still gain everything they need • Once the number of individuals pass that number, life gets harder and harder

15. Your turn! • Now that you have learned about carrying capacity, it is time for some fun!

16. Your turn! • Print out the Rainforest Carrying Capacity Game and instructions • As you play the game, think about how it shows you what we learned about carrying capacity