Ecosystems
What makes areas of
the world different
from each other?
Biotic factors– living parts of an
ecosystem
Abiotic factors– Non living parts
of an ecosystem
Two types of ecosystems
Aquatic – having to do with the
water
Terrestrial – having to do with
land
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
population
Biome - a group of similar
ecosystems that are in the same
area.
Ecosystem - the organisms in an
area, and their habitat.
Community – a group of organisms that
are living in the same area and interact
with each other.
Population – a group of the same type of
organism.
Tundra
•Near north and south poles
•Little rain fall
•Poor soil that is almost always frozen
•Grasses, shrubs, moss and lichens grow, few trees
•Polar bear, caribou, arctic wolves
Deciduous Forest/Temperate Forest
•Medium amount of rainfall
•Have many different types of trees, deciduous tree leaves change color
in fall
•Squirrels, deer, foxes,
•NC biome
Grasslands
•Small amount of rainfall
• Mostly grass
•Large and small herbivores live here
Tropical Forest
•A lot of rainfall
•Warm climate (near equator)
•Many species of plants and animals
Desert
•Very little rain
•Can be warm or cold
•Some grass, cactus, sage brush – all drought resistant plants
Producer
First level
(primary)
consumer
Secondary
consumer
Tertiary
consumer
Food Chain
Top
consumer
What
is a
Food
Web?
Food Chain – the transfer of
energy between organisms in an
ecosystem
Food Web – a diagram that
shows the relationships between
different food chains in an
ecosystem
Producer – make and use their
own nutrients (plants)
Consumer – organisms that must
eat other organisms to get energy
Decomposer – gets energy by
breaking down remains of dead
organisms. FBI Not scavengers!
Herbivore – An animal that eats
only producers (first level
consumer)
Carnivore – an animal that eats
other animals (second level
consumer)
Omnivore – eats both plants and
animals
Trophic levels – levels
on the energy
pyramid that show
what level of
consumer an animal
is on a food chain
(primary, secondary,
tertiary...top
consumer).
Top
consumer
-90
-90
-90
Energy Pyramid
A diagram that shows how much food energy is
passed from each level in a food chain to the
next.
Predator – Animal that kills and
eats other animals
Prey – An animal that is eaten by
a predator
Aquatic Ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems are categorized based on the
amount of salt in the water. (salinity)
Estuary – where freshwater meets salt
water at the coast
Estuary
• The saltiness of estuaries fluctuates, but typically
there is less salt in an estuary because freshwater
flows into the area.
Salt Marsh
Swamp
Estuaries are biologically diverse, containing many unique
organisms. The tides circulate nutrients as well as remove
waste. The freshwater also carries nutrients to the estuary.
Marine Ecosystem (Oceans/seas)
Marine ecosystems have a very high salt content.
They are warmer and have lots of sunlight near the
surface of the water, but get colder and darker the
deeper the water gets. An abundance of plants and
animals live in the ocean.
Marine Ecosystems include….
Beaches
Tide Pools
Ocean Floor
Coral Reefs