Ecosystem
All living & non-living things that
interact in a particular area
Components of an Ecosystem
An ecosystem is made up of:
Biotic factors
Abiotic factors
(Living organisms)
(Non-living things)
Organisms are grouped into:
Species
Group of similar organisms that can
mate with each other to produce fertile
offspring
Examples of
abiotic factors:
sunlight
temperature
water
oxygen
A species in an ecosystem is a:
Abiotic factors
make up an organism’s:
Population
Habitat
All the members of one species that live
in a particular area
Environment that provides things an
organism needs
The different populations
together make up one:
Community
All the different populations that live
together in an area
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
Niche
A species’s role in the
ecosystem
Part of a species’s niche is its energy role
Autotrophs
Produce their own food using
the sun’s energy
Heterotrophs
Energy Role
Cannot produce their own
food
(How an organism obtains energy &
interacts with other living things)
3 types of energy roles:
Producers
Consumers
Decomposers
Source of all food in the
ecosystem
Obtain energy by feeding
on other organisms
Break down wastes & dead
organisms and return raw materials
to environment
Examples:
Plants, fungi, some bacteria
Herbivores
Examples:
Caterpillars, cattle, deer
Eat only plants
3 types of consumers:
Examples:
Bacteria (mold),
fungi (mushrooms)
Carnivores
Examples:
Lions, spiders, snakes
Eat only animals
Scavengers
Feed on the bodies of
dead organisms
Omnivores
Eat both plants & animals
Examples:
Catfish, vultures
Examples:
Crows, goats, humans