Exercise 1: Biodiversity in Chicago (4th ed.
Lab Book - Online)
Name: Alexa Yousif
____________________
01 03
1.1
A) Look at the collection of images of local Silurian fossils (see Exercise 1 image file).
List three different organisms that you can identify in the fossils (refer also to Figure 1-A
in your lab manual). *Note: these images are of fossils found in limestone around Loyola’s campus. For
example, you can find fossils in stone benches and the limestone revetment boulders along Lake Michigan.
cephalopoda sponges Brachiopoda
B) What do these local Silurian fossils tell us about the history of the Chicago region?
Tells us more about previous lifetime inchkago
1.2
A) Look at the photos of different natural areas in Chicago labeled A-H (See Exercise 1
image file). For each photo, list in the table below which community it represents. These
are described on pages 4-5 of your lab manual and each natural area type will be used only
once.
Letter Natural Area
A Woodland
B
lane
C Marsh
D Prairie
E Dunes
F River
G Swamp
H
savanna
B) What clue(s) did you use to distinguish a marsh from a swamp?
marsh moreopenspaceofwaterflow
swamp_morewoody
C) What clue(s) did you use to distinguish a prairie from a savanna?
prairie grassland
savanna Moretreesspreadapart
1
Exercise 1: Biodiversity in Chicago (4th ed. Lab Book - Online)
Watch the following video discussing the use of a dichotomous key
([Link] Then review pages 5 and 11-16.
1.3
The exercise 1 image file contains images of clippings from six trees. For each of the six
trees, use the dichotomous key in your lab manual (pgs. 11-16) to identify the tree. List the
distinguishing characteristics from your key to identify the tree from you key (for e.g., leaf
arrangement on the stem, etc.), the common name, the genus species name, AND whether the
tree is native or non-native to the Chicago region. Those common tree names listed in
CAPITAL LETTERS are native to the Chicago region.
*Note: If you come to the common name for a group of trees such as “birches” or “willows” you
may stop there and can list just the genus name instead of genus species. This is because it can be
difficult to determine the actual tree species for these specimens.
If you prefer, for distinguishing characteristics you may write the numbers of the steps you took
rather than the descriptive words.
Distinguishing Common Genus species Native to the Chicago region
Tree
characteristics name name (Y or N)?
Needleleavesinbundle
1 Whitepine PMUSSTRODUS Yes Native
of5
Bundlesimplealternate
2 [Link]
[Link]'cy emfs
pne9n Putruesmiades
Broadcompound BlueAsh Fraxinus
3 oppositepinnate quadrangulata Yes native
5tleaflets
Broadsimpleopposite
µ 4 lobedyuacyfewteeth SugarMaple Acetraccharum
[Link]
Broadsimplealternate
5 Ginkgo GinkgoBiloba NOnonnative
fanshape
NeedleshapenotneedlesEasternWhite
6 Thujaoccidentalis yes native
flattenedtfanshape Cedar