Download Wetland Ecosystems

Wetland Ecosystems
A Unit Overview
Mr. E. Larson
Essential Questions
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Can you describe the living and non-living components
of a wetland ecosystem?
Can you identify the interactions among the components
of an ecosystem?
Can you recognize and describe a variety of wetland
ecosystems?
Can you identify some plants and animals found in a
wetland?
Can you recognize and describe lifecycles of some
plants and animals?
Can you identify and describe adaptations made by
plants and animals for life in the wetlands?
Essential Questions
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Do you understand that all plants and animals have an
important role in the wetlands?
 Can you identify the roles of different organisms in the
food web? Producers, Consumers and Decomposers?
 Can you draw a food chain and food web diagram?
 Can you identify how different organisms breathe?
 Can you identify the impact humans have on the
wetland?
 Can you identify ways humans can preserve and
enhance the wetlands?
 Do you understand how the environment effects the
wetlands?
What is a wetland?
 Wetlands
are areas that are too wet to be
considered land but not wet enough to be
considered lakes. They have poor
drainage for the soil and no clear banks or
beds like lakes. Wetlands can be
permanent (there all year like ponds) or
temporary (there once in a while like
puddles)
A more scientific definition
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A wetland is an area of land which is saturated
with water long enough to have poorly drained
soil. There needs to be significant interaction of
living and non-living things, which contribute to
the conditions of the water, land, and soil. The
depth of the water does not exceed 6 meters.
They do not have well defined beds and banks.
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There are five main types of wetlands found in
Alberta; bog, fen, swamp, marsh (slough), and
pond.
Bog
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A bog is the most
common type of
wetland found in
Northern Canada.
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They are acidic. They
are primarily made up
of water but have a lot
vegetation.
Fen
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They are similar to
bogs, but they are not
acidic.
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They are fed by rain
water and are
primarily made up of
mosses.
Swamp
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In a swamp, the water
is standing or gently
flowing between trees
and wooded areas.
 They are also known
as wetlands forests or
wooded wetlands.
 They may form along
the shores of rivers or
lakes.
Marsh (slough)
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These are wetlands that
have standing or slowmoving water.
Soft stemmed plants
surround them. Plants
have their roots in the
water and their stems and
leaves out of the water.
They are found in grassy
meadows with shrubs or
trees nearby.
Pond
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A body of water that is
smaller than a lake.
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A pond is smaller,
shallower and has
more vegetation in
and around it.
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They can be natural
or man-made.
How is a lake different from a
wetland?
 A pond
is usually an older lake. Lakes
gradually get older over time.
 As
they get older, they have more
vegetation growing in and around them.
 They
also become shallower, as the water
begins to evaporate over time.
Ecosystems
 An
ecosystem is made up of all of the
living and non-living things in an area.
 Living
things are all plants and animals in
an area.
 Non-living
things include air, soil, water,
sunlight, rocks, chemicals in soil, dead
matter and wind, etc.
Wetland Ecosystems
 All
living and non-living things in an
ecosystem interacts. A wetland
ecosystem is all biotic and abiotic
components that are found in and around
a wetland
 Abiotic
means non-living things, Biotic
means living things.
Classification
 All
living things can be classified into two
categories. Plants and animals.
 Plants
are called producers
 Animals
are classified into either mollusks,
crustaceans, insects, arachnids, fish,
amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Plants
 A plant
is an organism that takes energy
from the sun and converts it into food.
Plants are producers, which means they
produce their own food.
 Plants
include all vegetation, basically
anything that is green. Plants include all
plant life and trees.
Types of Trees
 Trees
are classified into two categories.
 Coniferous-
which are trees that keep their
leaves all year round.
 Deciduous-
which are trees that loose their
leaves in the fall.
Coniferous Trees
Deciduous Trees
Animals
 All
animals can be divided into these
categories:
 Mullusc
Amphibian
 Crustacean
Reptile
 Arachnid
Birds
 Fish
 Mammal
Mollusks (Molluscs)
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A mollusk is an
animal that does not
have a backbone. It
has a soft body
without segments and
usually has a hard
shell covering its
body.
 Examples are squid,
octopus, clams, snails
Crustaceans
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A crustacean is an
animal that does not
have a backbone. It
has jointed legs, a
hard shell (an
external skeleton) and
two sets of antennae.
 They include lobsters,
crabs, shrimp
Insects
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An insect is an animal
that does not have a
backbone. Its body is
divided into three
parts. A head, thorax,
and abdomen. It has
six legs and usually
two or four wings. It
has one set of
antennae.
Arachnids
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An arachnid is an
animal that does not
have a backbone. It
has eight walking
legs, no antennae or
wins. Usually its body
is divided into two
parts.
 Spiders are
arachnids.
Fish
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A fish is a coldblooded animal that
has a backbone. It
uses gills to breath
oxygen in water.
They have fins and
usually scales.
Amphibians
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An amphibian is a
cold-blooded animal
with a backbone. It
begins its life living in
water, breathing with
gills. Later in life, it
grows lungs and can
live on land.
 Examples are Frogs,
toads, salamanders
Reptiles
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A reptile is a coldblooded animal that
has a backbone. Its
body is covered in
scales. It has lungs
and breathes air.
 Examples are lizards,
snakes, turtles,
alligators and
crocodiles
Birds
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A bird is a warmblooded animal with a
backbone. It lays
eggs and has
feathers covering the
body. It has wings
and is able to fly.
Mammals
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A mammal is a warmblooded animal with a
backbone. Females
have a gland to
produce milk to feed
their young. They are
mostly covered in
hair. There are many
types of mammals,
from beavers, rats,
wolves and foxes.
More Classification
 All
living organisms can be classified into
three main categories:
 Producers
 Consumers
 Decomposers
Producers
 Producers
are organisms that produce
their own food.
 Most
producers are plants
Photosynthesis
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This the process in which plants produce their
own food. They take in the sun’s light, use water
and carbon dioxide to produce food energy (a
sugar carbohydrate) and oxygen.
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Plants produce oxygen for us to breathe.
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They use chlorophyll to produce food, it is the
green part of the plant.
Consumers
 Consumers
are organisms that have to eat
other organisms to get energy. They
cannot produce their own food.
 Consumers
are grouped into three
categories. Herbivores, Omnivores and
Carnivore.
Herbivores
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These are consumers
who only eat plants.
Carnivores
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Carnivores are
consumers that only
eat other consumers.
They only eat meat.
Omnivores
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Omnivores are
consumers that eat
plants, but they also
eat other consumers.
Food Pyramid
Decomposers
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Decomposers are
organisms that break
down dead material
into nutrients.
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Decomposers are
organisms like
worms, fungi, moss,
lichen, maggots.
Parts of a Pond
 Emergent
Zone- all plants that grow
outside of the water.
 Submerging Zone- all plants that grow
under the water
Life Cycles
 A life
cycle is the stages in an organisms
life.Most organism start as an egg- move
to young, then to an adult.
 Other
organism go through
metamorphosis- which is a change from
young to adult, where the body changes
form. Example a butterfly.
Life cycle of a Butterfly
Life Cycle of a Frog
Life Cycle of a Dragonfly
Plant Life Cycles
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Most plants go from seed,
to plant.
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The plant is physically the
same, but at it grows
older, it grows larger.
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Basically, a young plant is
a smaller version of a
adult plant
Adaptations
 Many
organisms have special adaptations
so that they can survive in the wetlands.
 An
adaptations is a change in an
organisms body that helps them survive in
and around the wetlands.
Types of Adaptations
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Locomotion- the act or power of moving from
one place to another.
Structural Support- act or power of holding it up.
Stomata- small opening on leaves that give off
gases.
Nocturnal- animals that are active at night
Pincer- a claw
Predator- animal that eats other animals
Parasite- an organism that lives in or on other
organisms.
Identify the adaptation
Animal Adaptations
 Beaver-
tail to help build dam, swim. Teeth
to chew down trees. Oily fur that is
waterproof.
 Trout- Fins for swimming, gills for
breathing
 Mosquito- mouth that is like a needle to
pierce skin and suck up blood
 Crow- hollow bones for flying. Pointy
beak to find food.
Plant Adaptations
 Plants
have adaptations too. They grow
taller to reach sunlight.
 Some
have larger leaves in darker areas
or wetter environments for photosynthesis.
 Some
plants grow long, shallow roots
Food Web
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All organism need to get energy to survive.
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Plants (producers) get energy from the sun and
from water.
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Consumers get energy from what they eat.
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Decomposers get energy from the what has
died.
Food Web
Food Web
Food Chain
 All
organisms are connected in a food
chain or web.
 An
animal relies on another organism to
survive
Food Chains
Examples of a food Chains
 mosquito
 Leech
 frog  Snake
 Red Winged Blackbird  Fox
Conservation
 Why
is it important to conserve the
wetlands? They are a very important part
the Earth’s ecosystem
 What
does conservation mean?
Conservation means to preserve or save.
Benefits of the Wetlands
 The
Wetlands filter pollution from the land
and soil
 The
wetlands provide oxygen for a wide
variety of organisms.
 The
wetlands provide for many, many
organisms.