Download Ecosystems: Everything Is Connected

Ecosystems: Everything Is
Connected
In nature, things that we would never
think were connected can be linked to
each other
?
Everything is Interconnected…
We learned the hard way
DDT use in Borneo
An ecosystem is all of the organisms
living in an area together with their
physical environment
An rainforest and a coral reef are examples of
ecosystems
Ecosystems don’t have clear boundaries
Things move from one ecosystem to another.
Birds migrate from Michigan to Mexico
In order to survive, ecosystems need
five basic components
• Energy
• Mineral nutrients
• Water
• Oxygen
• Other living things
An ecosystem is made up of both living
and nonliving things
Biotic factors are the living and once
living parts of an ecosystem.
Biotic factors include dead organisms, dead parts of
an organism, and the organism’s waste products
Abiotic factors are the nonliving things in
an ecosystem
Abiotic factors include air, water, rocks, sand, light
and temperature
Scientists organize living things into
various levels.
An organism is an individual living
thing
A species is a group of organisms that
are closely related and can mate to
produce fertile offspring
All black widow spiders belong to the same
species (Latrodectus mactans)
Members of a species may not all live
in the same place.
Field mice in Florida won’t interact with field mice
in Maine.
Populations are members of the species
that live in the same place at the same
time
Members of a population will interact with one
another.
An organism doesn’t live alone and
neither does a population
Every population is part of a community – a group
of various species that live in the same place and
interact with each other
All organisms live in particular
places
The place an organism lives is called a habitat
Every habitat has specific characteristics
that the organisms that live there need
to survive
If any of the factors change, the habitat changes
Organisms tend to be very well-suited
their natural habitats
Living things can’t survive long away from their
natural habitats
An individual organism’s way of
life is called its niche.
Organisms may share a habitat, but they do
not share a niche.
The community in an area along
with the abiotic factors make up
the ecosystem or biome
All the biomes on Earth make up
the biosphere.
The biosphere is about 16km (10 miles) thick
and is the layer of life surrounding the Earth.