Download Chapter 2 Notes Lessons 1 Living things in an ecosystem help each

Chapter 2 Notes
Lessons 1
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Living things in an ecosystem help each other to meet their needs.
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Organisms depend on each other for food, shelter, and protection. See hardcover page 48 to see how the
stinging ant and the acacia tree are interdependent.
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Every living thing has a role to play within its ecosystem.
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Plants play the role of producers; animals depend on producers for food.
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Shelter is a basic need of living things that is often met with the help of other organisms. Our 3 hermit
crabs, for example, found shelter in shells that were no longer being used.
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Some living things help other living things reproduce.
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Animals, wind, and water carry pollen. Moving pollen from one part of a flower to another, or from one
flower to another, helps plants meet their needs.
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Some animals help plants reproduce by carrying their seeds to new locations.
Lesson 2
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Living things have adaptations that help them survive in different habitats.
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Predators are animals that hunt other animals (prey) for food.
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Camouflage and mimicry are physical adaptations that can protect or hide an organism from predators or
prey.
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Camouflage is coloring or markings that help an organism blend in with its surroundings. Mimicry allows an
animal to look like another kind of plant or animal.
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Behavior adaptations, such as hibernation, can help animals survive.
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The archer fish, on hardcover page 59, catches insects by shooting them down with a strong jet of water.
He’s got excellent aim!
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If an organism’s habitat changes, it may or may not be able to meet its basic needs. We talked about the
animals (coyotes, rabbits, etc.) that lived in Porter Ranch before the Wal-Mart Shopping Center was built.
After the shopping center was built, many animals were displaced. Some animals may have been able to
adapt and still meet their basic needs, but others may not have been able to meet their basic needs.
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Some organisms adapt better to changes than others do.
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When forests are cut down, the loss of habitat means that some animals cannot meet their needs.
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When all members of a species die out the species is extinct.
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Extinction can occur when a species is unable to adapt to changes in its habitat or because a species loses its
habitat.
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Human activities have caused some species to become extinct.
Lesson 3
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All organisms need things from their environment to survive.
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A resource is something found in nature that is useful to organisms.
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Organisms may compete for resources such as food, water, air, shelter, and sunlight.
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A balanced ecosystem is one in which there are enough resources for all its living things.
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Populations of predators and prey are linked.
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The introduction of a new species can change an ecosystem’s balance.
Tasmanian tiger, also called the thylacine, went extinct in 1936 after the death of the last known surviving individual at a
Tasmanian zoo.