Ecosystems

Brainstorm!

What is an ecosystem?

What is an Ecosystem?

An ecosystem is all the living and nonliving things in the environment.

An Ecosystem may be very small, such as a backyard or pond.

• Ecosystems do not exist in isolation. One ecosystem is connected to another in many ways. Some connections are obvious, others are not

• An owl, for example, may make its home in a wooded forest area. That owl is very much a part of the forest ecosystem where it makes its home. However, in hunting for prey, that owl may cross into a backyard ecosystem. When this happens, ecosystems connect.

Types of Ecosystems

Prairie

Desert

Rainforest

Freshwater

Saltwater

Ecosystem Unit Vocabulary

• Ecosystem Tundra Tropical Rain Forest• Community Predator Herbivore• Abiotic factor Food Web Omnivore• Biotic factor Prey Carnivore• Population Scavenger Pollutant• Niche Food Chain Consumer• Ecology Grassland Producer• Habitat Desert Decomposer• Commensalism Taiga Carrying Capacity• Extinct Symbiosis Limiting Factor• Endangered Mutualism• Parasitism Deciduous Forest

Today’s Vocabulary!

• Ecosystem• Community• abiotic factor• biotic factor• Population• Niche• Ecology

Ecology

• This is the study of how living and nonliving things interact

Abiotic Factors

Abiotic Factors- the nonliving parts of an ecosystem(soil, water, light, inorganic nutrients and weather)

Did you know…

All organisms need water. Their bodies are 50 to 95 percent water.

Living things need minerals, such as calcium, iron, and nitrogen.

Some living things like plants and algae need sunlight to make food.

Animals need oxygen to produce energy for their bodies.

Biotic Factors

The living parts of an ecosystem are animals, plants, fungi, protists, and bacteria.

These organisms make up the BIOTIC factors of an ecosystem.

Ecosystems are made up of biotic and

abiotic components.

What are these? Biotic or Abiotic . . .

• water • sunlight • soil • pesticides • rocks • temperature • weather • machinery • buildings

Habitat

• What do you need to survive? Food, water, shelter? Animals need the same things and they live in places that can provide them. The place that supplies the things an organism needs to survive is its habitat.

• Habitat is specific place where an organism lives

Community

• Animals and plants that live in an area and share the resources

• All the biotic factors

• the resources

Niche

• Within a community, organisms all have a unique job

• This is the role they fill to keep the community healthy

• What special niche do bees have in their community?

• In a community, no two species can occupy the same niche. In other words, no two species can interact with environment in the exact same way

Population

• All of the same species in a given area• Think – the amount of one particular species

living in an area

Population

• In a forest location, you could expect to find a population of ants, chipmunks, chickadees, and grasses.

Limiting Factor

• A population in a community will grow until it is limited by some factor.

• There are many of these limiting factors in an ecosystem.

• Food and shelter are two of them.

Carrying Capacity

• When the populations of a community are using the resources of that community to the fullest extent, the environment's carrying capacity has been reached

Nature Walk: Ecosystem Poster

• Draw a picture of an ecosystem of your choice. In your picture draw and label the following:

» Biotic factors» Abiotic factors» Population» Niche» Community

Poster Example

Example of a PosterCommunit

yAnd

biotic factors

Abiotic factors (water

and oxygen)populatio

n

Ocean Ecosystem

Ecosystems Week 1 Quiz1. Abiotic factors are all of the __ components of an

ecosystem.a. Living b. nonliving c. plant d. animal

2. Biotic factors are all of the __ components of an ecosystem

a. Living b. nonliving c. plant d. animal

3. Give me 3 examples of abiotic factors

4. Give me 3 examples of biotic factors

5. A community is all of thea. Living parts of an ecosystem b. the sun, water & dirt

c. the ecosystem d. the abiotic factors

Ecosystems Week 1 Quiz6. A niche is an organism’s special ___ within its ecosystem

a. Habitat b. Food c. job d. Home

7. Draw an example of a community you might find outside

8.Population the number of the same ___ in an area

9. Draw an example of a population

10. An ecosystem is a. All of the people in an area b. All of the fish in the sea

c. All of the living and nonliving in an area d. All of the abiotic factors

Let’s Review

1. All the interacting living and nonliving things in an environment make up an ____________.

Ecosystem

2. A nonliving factor in an ecosystem is called an __________ factor.

Abiotic

3. Abiotic factors in an ecosystem include light, water, ______, temperature, air, and minerals.

Soil

4. The living parts of an ecosystem are called ________ factors.

Biotic

Let’s Review

5. Living organisms that produce oxygen and food that animals need are called _________.

Producers

6. Animals, or ________ produce the carbon dioxide that plants need.

Consumers

7. Decomposers break down dead organisms and produce ____________ that enrich the soil.

Minerals

Check what you know!You may use page B 6 & 7 in your Science Books

1. All the interacting living and nonliving things in an area describe a(n) ____________.

2. The nonliving things in an ecosystem are called _____________ factor.

3. List three abiotic factors ______________4. The living things in an ecosystem are called ________ factors.5. List three examples of biotic factors. ______6. Animals or_____ produce the carbon dioxide that plants need.7. Plants and algae are _________. They produce _______ and

food that animals need. 8. Why are there different organisms in different ecosystems?9. Why would you not find a polar bear in a desert ecosystem?

Consumers

Animals are consumers. Animals consume, or eat,

algae, plants, or other animals. Animals also give

off carbon dioxide that plants and algae need to

make food.

Producers

Plants and algae are producers. They produce oxygen and food

that animals need.

What do fungi and bacteria do?

Fungi and bacteria are DECOMPOSERS. They decompose

or break down dead plants and animals into useful thinks like minerals that enrich the soil.

Reviewhttp://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/2004presentations/Taylor/forsite/forsit

e.html

Lets see what we know!

• Lets take this quiz to review some of the old information so that we can move onto the new!

http://www.nhptv.org/NATUREWORKS/quiz5.htm

• Do you like to play games? If you do, you will need energy. Every time you run or jump, you are using up energy in your body.

• How do you get the energy to play? You get energy from the food you eat. Similarly, all living things get energy from their food so that they can move and grow.

• As food passes through the body, some of it is digested. This process of digestion releases energy.

Food Chains

• A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food.

• Some animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals

Food Chains

• A food chain is the path energy takes from producer to consumer.

• Lets see if we can put a food chain together!

• http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm

Animals that eat ONLY PLANTS are called Herbivores

Animals that eat OTHER ANIMALS are called carnivores

Animals and people who eat BOTH animals and plants are called omnivores

Then there are decomposers which feed on decaying matter

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/foodchain/producersconsumers.htm

Use pages B20 – B231. What is a food web?

2. All food webs begin with a ________.

3. Organisms that cannot make their own food are __________.

4. Animals that eat other animals are_____.

5. Living things that hunt for other living things are ________.

6. Hunted animals are called _________.

7. Meat eaters that don’t hunt are called _____.

8. Every food chain ends with a _______.

9. How are populations connected?

10. Do animals compete for food? Explain.

Explain

Why can an ecosystem support a variety of organisms?

Humans And the Ecosystem

Human well-being is highly dependent on ecosystems and the benefits they provide such as food and drinkable water. Over the past 50 years, however, humans have had a tremendous impact on their environment.

In what way do we harm our ecosystemsDeforestationReduce Habitats PollutionUse of fertilizersPesticides

Deforestation is one of the primary reasons for global warming

Humans and EcosystemsRead and complete pages 56-58 in the Science EOG book.

Humans have a huge impact on the world. Get with a partner discuss and make a list of all the things that humans do to affect ecosystems. What are

Some things that we can do to change the way we harm our

ecosystems? Use the information that you have just

read about!

What is pollution?• Pollution is the act of

environmental contamination with man-made waste

Types of Pollution

• Land• Water • Air• Noise

A pollutant is what is causing the pollution!

The End

• By Haseeb Ali