Download slide-deck

Ecosystems and
habitats
Science
Unit: Ecosystems
Outcome
I can describe what makes an ecosystem, identify features
of habitats and explain how organisms are adapted to live
in their habitat.
Keywords
ecosystem
habitat
adaptation
biotic
abiotic
Keywords
An ecosystem is made up of all the living organisms in a place,
interacting with each other, and their non-living surroundings.
A habitat is the place where an organism lives. It must provide food, shelter
and a place to reproduce.
An adaptation is a feature that organisms have to help them live in a
particular place.
Biotic factors are the living components of an ecosystem.
Abiotic factors are the non-living components of an ecosystem.
Lesson outline
Ecosystems and habitats
Understanding ecosystems
Habitats and their features
Interactions within habitats
Adaptations and changing environments
Understanding ecosystems
Explanation
An ecosystem is made up of all the living organisms
in a place, interacting with each other and with their
non-living surroundings.
ecosystem
relates to
the
environment
how a group of things work
together
Understanding ecosystems
Explanation
Ecosystems can be of any size.
The planet is the largest example of an
ecosystem.
planet Earth
A bottle garden can also be described as an
ecosystem.
a bottle garden
Understanding ecosystems
Explanation
The living parts of an ecosystem are made up of
communities.
A community is the interaction between
populations of different organisms in a specific
area.
a rainforest community
an African grassland
community
a coral reef
community
Understanding ecosystems
Explanation
A population is the number of organisms of one type
that live in a specific area.
For example:
population of humans in a city
population of pelicans on a lake
Understanding ecosystems
Explanation
Some examples of non-living parts of an ecosystem include:
soil
rocks
water
light
litter
pollution
air
Understanding ecosystems
Check
Match the words in the boxes below to the correct descriptions.
ecosystem
The number of one type of organism in a
specific place.
community
The interacting living organisms and nonliving parts in a place.
population
The interacting populations of living
organisms in a place.
Task A
Understanding ecosystems
Sam has been asked to describe two ecosystems. These
are the ocean and tropical rainforest. Can you help
him?
Think about the characteristics of both ecosystems.
How would you recognise each ecosystem?
Think about the organisms that live there and the nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
Write a short paragraph to describe each ecosystem
to Sam.
Practice
Task A
Understanding ecosystems
Feedback
Features of different ecosystems:
Ocean
Tropical
rainforest
Living:
Lots of fish and marine animals
Plants only near the shore / surface
Living:
Lots of plants and animals
Lots of organisms living in trees
Non-living:
Salt water
Light reduces as you go deeper
Lots of open space
Non-living:
Warm
Lots of rainfall
Light reduced near the forest floor
Lesson outline
Ecosystems and habitats
Understanding ecosystems
Habitats and their features
Interactions within habitats
Adaptations and changing environments
Habitats and their features
Explanation
Habitats are the places where organisms live.
Habitats provide the conditions that organisms need to
survive.
They must provide:
food
shelter
a place to reproduce
Habitats and their features
Explanation
Habitats vary in size. The largest habitat on Earth is the
ocean.
Other large habitats include:
forests, including tropical
rainforests
polar
deserts
grasslands
tundra
Habitats and their features
Explanation
Some habitats can be very small - we call these
microhabitats.
Examples include under plant pots or rocks, in manmade temporary pools or inside a fallen tree.
under pots and rocks
a temporary pool
inside a tree trunk
Habitats and their features
Explanation
Living organisms within the community interact with each
other in a habitat.
For example:
● organisms eat other organisms to get food
● there is competition between organisms to get the best shelter
● organisms interact through reproduction
feeding
shelter
reproduction
Habitats and their features
Explanation
Habitats also contain non-living parts, which can differ in
different habitats.
For example, in different aquatic (water) habitats:
●
●
●
●
the ocean is made up of salt water
a river is often made up of freshwater which often moves or flows
a stream is made up of freshwater which often moves quickly
a lake is made up of freshwater which is often still
ocean
river
stream
lake
Habitats and their features
Which of the following statements best describes a habitat?
a
The interaction between living things in a place.
b
The place where organisms feed, shelter and reproduce.
c
The interaction between the living things and the non-living
things in a place.
Check
Task B
Habitats and their features
Look at the picture of a rock pool.
A rock pool is a habitat.
Write a short paragraph to explain how the rock pool
provides organisms with food, shelter and a place to
reproduce.
Practice
Task B
Habitats and their features
How does the rock pool provide organisms with
food, shelter and a place to reproduce?
Rocks provide a firm base for seaweeds to attach themselves to. The
seaweed is a producer. This means that there is food for organisms that
are found in a rock pool food web diagram.
Cracks in between rocks, in seaweeds and under boulders provide organisms
with shelter when the tide comes back in, and also provide places to
reproduce.
Feedback
Lesson outline
Ecosystems and habitats
Understanding ecosystems
Habitats and their features
Interactions with habitats
Adaptations and changing environments
Interactions within habitats
Explanation
Organisms interact with other living organisms in their
habitat. For example, for food and to reproduce.
Living things that affect other living things are called biotic factors.
the bear (a predator) is
catching its prey, a salmon
the salmon is living
Feeding is an example of a
biotic factor.
a bear feeding on salmon
Interactions within habitats
Explanation
Organisms also interact with the non-living things in their
habitat. For example, for food or for shelter.
Non-living things that affect living things are called abiotic factors.
the bear is interacting with
the river to hunt for food
the river is not living, it is an
example of an abiotic factor
a bear catching food in the river
Interactions within habitats
Explanation
Abiotic factors are measurable characteristics of the
ecosystem in which organisms live.
Examples of abiotic factors include:
●
●
●
●
●
soil type
light intensity
water availability / humidity
climate / temperature
altitude / levels of oxygen
light intensity
Interactions within habitats
Check
Sam has been given cards listing some biotic and abiotic
factors.
Can you help him sort them into two piles, one containing the
biotic factors and the other the abiotic factors?
light levels
temperature
disease
competition for
food
oxygen levels
Biotic factors: disease and competition for food.
Abiotic factors: light levels, temperature, oxygen levels.
Task C
Interactions within habitats
Salmon live in the ocean. They
swim upstream in fast flowing
rivers to reproduce.
Salmon eat small animals and fish in the
ocean, as well as small fish, crayfish and
worms in rivers.
Write a paragraph to explain how the salmon is adapted to both
habitats that it lives in (the ocean and fast flowing rivers).
Think about how the adaptations help the salmon to interact with
the biotic and abiotic factors, to survive in its habitats.
Practice
Task C
Interactions within habitats
Feedback
Write a paragraph to explain how the salmon is adapted
to both habitats that it lives in (the ocean and fast
flowing rivers).
Things you may have written about:
● Sharp teeth to help catch and eat prey.
● Good eyesight to help spot and catch prey.
● Muscles to help it swim fast to help catch prey, escape predators and
to swim against the current.
● Streamlined shape to help the salmon move through the water more
easily.
● Camouflaged to help it to blend into the surroundings to prevent being
spotted by predators.
Lesson outline
Ecosystems and habitats
Understanding ecosystems
Habitats and their features
Interactions within habitats
Adaptations and changing environments
Adaptations and changing environments
In order to survive in a habitat, organisms need special
features, called adaptations.
adaptations that help with
feeding
adaptations that help to live in
a habitat (e.g. desert)
Explanation
Adaptations and changing environments
Explanation
Some common adaptations help organisms to:
make their own food
move
hunt for and eat food
build shelters for
protection
avoid predation
keep warm / cool
Adaptations and changing environments
Explanation
Adaptations are inherited from parents.
When environments change it can take a long
time for adaptations to adapt.
If the environment changes too much,
organisms may become extinct.
When organisms are removed from food
webs, all other organisms in the food web
are impacted. They can become extinct or
endangered too.
Killifish are often seen
in aquariums. They
come from USA. In
the 1980s they were
able to adapt quickly
to highly polluted
water. They were the
only fish able to
survive the pollution.
Adaptations and changing environments
Check
The class have been learning about camels.
Camels are adapted to live in a desert habitat.
The class notice that camels have long eyelashes.
They talk about why this is an adaptation.
camel eyelashes
Who is right?
The eyelashes help
to keep bright
sunlight out of the
eye to help the
camel see better.
Andeep
It isn’t really an
adaptation as
many mammals
have eyelashes.
Jacob
The eyelashes help
to keep sand out of
the camel’s eyes in
a sandstorm.
Sofia
Task D
Adaptations and changing environments
Practice
1) Three different types of habitat are shown in the images below.
lemur
tropical rainforest
penguin
polar
cactus
desert
Choose an organism (animal or plant) that lives in each habitat. Write a
short paragraph to explain how each organism is adapted to live there.
An example organism for each habitat has been provided if you need help
but try and think of your own example organism if you can.
Task D
Adaptations and changing environments
2) Global warming is causing the ice in polar habitats to melt.
What impact will ice melting have on the penguin population? nts
Hint: Think about the impact on the population and also the
adaptations that penguins have to survive in the habitat.
polar
penguin
Practice
Adaptations and changing environments
Task D
Feedback
1) Adaptations for the example organisms include:
lemur
Lives in the tropical rainforest habitat.
Large tail to help balance. Claws to help grip / climb. Eyes facing
forward to help judge distance.
Lives in polar habitat.
Fatty body to help insulate against the cold. Webbed feet and
wings to help swim. Streamlined shape to help swim. Beak to catch
fish.
penguin
cactus
Lives in desert habitat.
Leaves adapted to spines to protect from being eaten. Stores water
in the stem. Deep roots to collect water.
Task D
Adaptations and changing environments
Feedback
2) Global warming is causing the ice
in polar habitats to melt.
What impact will ice melting have on
the penguin population?
The changing habitat may not provide
the penguins with food, shelter and a
place to reproduce. This means that the
population could decrease, or even become
extinct.
penguin
polar
Penguins are able to swim well and so will still be well adapted to a life in
water. However, they may be too well insulated for the warmer weather.
Summary Ecosystems and habitats
Ecosystems are made up of the interacting living organisms and non-living
things in a place.
Habitats provide organisms with food, shelter and a place to reproduce.
Living things that affect other living things in their habitat are known as
biotic factors.
The non-living things that affect living things are called abiotic factors.
Organisms have a range of adaptations that help them to live in their
habitat.
Changes to the environment may make it harder for organisms to survive in
a particular habitat.
© Oak National Academy 2024.
Produced in partnership with University of York Science
Education Group.
Licensed on the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where
otherwise stated. See Oak terms and conditions.