Download Ecosystems - St. Joan of Arc School

Ecosystem Part 1 ~~ Study Guide
Ecosystems
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
An ecosystem is all living things from plants and animals to microscopic
organisms that share an environment.
It is formed by the interaction between biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) things.
An ecosystem can be small, like a single log, or very large, like a forest.
All living things in an ecosystem depend on the non-living things to survive.
For example, to lay its eggs, a frog depends on the water in a pond. The
living things also depend on one another. The frog rests on a lily pad. It eats
flies.
Habitats ~ the place in an ecosystem where an organism lives. Different
ecosystems have different types of habitats. A forest ecosystem has fallen
logs and trees. The logs provide a habitat for spiders and mushrooms. The
trees provide a habitat for birds and squirrels.
Ecosystems come in different sizes. It can exist in a small area such as
underneath a rock, a decaying tree-trunk, or a pond. It can exist in large
forms such as an entire rainforest. The Earth can be called a huge
ecosystem!
Biotic Factors (living)
Primary producers ~ organisms that make their own food using the energy in
sunlight. Producers on land include green plants, such as grasses and trees. In
lakes and oceans, the main producers are algae.
Consumers ~ get their energy from eating other organisms
herbivore-plant eater
carnivore-meat eater
omnivore-plant & meat eater
Decomposers ~ an organism that breaks down dead or decaying organisms: worms,
bacteria, fungi.
●
●
●
Abiotic Factors (nonliving)
Abiotic factors are all the non-living things in an ecosystem. They are especially
important because they directly affect how organisms survive.
●
●
●
●
●
●
sunlight
temperature
wind
water
soil
precipitation
Readers Theater ~ Matter Cycles!
● Matter cycles through food chains, which means that all of the matter on
Earth has been around since the beginning in different forms. This means
you are breathing the same air that dinosaurs breathed and drinking water
that George Washington drank.
Levels of Organization
●
individual-one single living organism
An individual is any living thing or organism. Individuals do not breed with
individuals from other groups. In the diagram, you will notice that Goldie, the
goldfish, is interacting with her environment, and will only crossbreed with other
goldfish just like her.
●
population-all members of the same type of organism
A group of individuals of a given species that live in a specific geographic area at
a given time. For example; Goldie and her family and friends and other fish of
Gill’s species. Populations include individuals of the same species, but may have
different genetic makeup such as hair/eye/skin color and size between
themselves and other populations.
●
community-the group of living things of different species
This includes all the populations in a specific area at a given time. A community
includes populations of organisms of different species. In the diagram,
populations of goldfish, salmon, crabs and herrings coexist in a location.
●
ecosystem-all biotic & abiotic things that interact with each other
An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a
given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living
environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere).
●
biome-large group of similar ecosystems
A biome is a very large area on Earth where plants and animals adapt to their
environment.There are 5 major biomes: desert, aquatic, forest, grassland and
tundra.
●
biosphere-the ecosystem of the planet Earth
A biosphere is all the different biomes, each blending into the other, with all
humans living in many different geographic areas. We form a huge community of
humans, animals and plants, in their defined habitats. A biosphere is the sum of
all the ecosystems established on Earth.
5 Basic Needs of All Living Things
Sunlight: This is probably the most important need for all living organisms, because it’s
the source of all energy. It provides heat for plants and animals.
Water: Water is the medium in which living cells and tissue work. Water is also a living
environment for many plants and animals.
Air: Air is made up of several gases, but the two most important gases are oxygen and
carbon dioxide. Without oxygen, animals will die, and without carbon dioxide, plants
cannot survive.
Food (nutrients): Living things need energy to function. Energy is needed to grow,
reproduce, move, and to work. Think of what will happen if you went three days without
food!
A Habitat with the Right Temperature: Too cold or too hot? Every living organism
needs the ideal temperature to survive either on land or in water.