Learning Intentions:
Ecosystems are connected and interdependent, and any change in environmental living or nonliving things can have an effect on the entire system.
Success Criteria: By the end of this unit you will be able to:
• Analyse the living and non-living components of an ecosystem
2 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

Learning Intentions:
Ecosystems are connected and interdependent, and any change in environmental living or nonliving things can have an effect on the entire system.
Success Criteria:
Analyse the living and non-living components of an ecosystem
• I can identify living and non-living things that affect environments
• I can describe an ecosystem and an environment
• I can use various methods to collect information from an ecosystem
3 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

• Environment
• Ecosystem
• Living thing
• Non-living thing
• Interdependent
• Microorganisms
• Ecologist
• Quantitative
• Direct Observation
• Tree Screens
• Pitfall Traps
• Water Sampling
• Scats
• Hair Analysis
• Quadrat
• Transect Line
• Invertebrate
4 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

• What is an environment? Brainstorm a definition of environment in your book. Be prepared to share your answers.
An environment is all the living and non-living things within an area.
Living things are all the: plants, animals, fungus and other organisms within a given area
Microorganisms are also an important part of the ecosystem
Non-living things include: temperature, rocks, soil, rain levels, sunlight, acidity levels of soil (pH), and saltiness (salinity) of water, altitude
Australia has many different types of environments: ocean, seashore, rivers, forests, etc. Hot humid environments like Queensland and cold, snowy environments like the High Plains.
Each of these have unique living and non-living things
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• An ecosystem includes all the living things and all the non-living things AND
how they interact with each other.
• Key idea: each organism has a unique interaction and relationship with every other organism and the environment.
• Think pair share:
• Think of an organism, then try to identify two other organisms that either rely on it, or it relies on.
• Pair with your neighbour. Share your ideas, and together try to think of two more organisms who interact with your original organisms.
• Be prepared to share your answers with the class.
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• An ecosystem involves the relationship between these organisms and their surroundings.
• For example, plants produce their own food, and animals consume that food.
Some animals also eat other animals- that is they are predators eating prey.
• In order to survive organisms also need non-living things: heat, light, air, water, minerals and places to hide.
• All organisms rely on all the resources of an environment, such as the Sun, air, water, soil, shelter and food in order to survive.
7 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

Create a Venn Diagram using the template provided. One side should be labelled Living & one Non-Living
Place the following items into your Venn Diagram:
• Aluminium
• Bread
• Clock
• Clouds
• Colour
• Cotton fabric
• Fingernail
• Fish
• Glass
• Grapes
• Grass
• Pen
• Pipe
• Pork chop
• Salad
• Sand
• Snail
• Tree
• Water
• Whale
• Wooden ruler
• Paper
• Dead bird
• Air
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• Ecologists are people who study relationships between organisms and their physical environment. They use a number of field techniques to determine which organisms live where in their ecosystem.
• Scientists may want to check on the health of a species in a particular area. To do this they need to count the number of individuals of that species.
• Some quantitative techniques for finding and counting animals include:
• Tree screening, pitfall trapping, water sampling, track analysis and hair analysis
• Some quantitative techniques for finding and counting plants include:
• Quadrats and transect lines
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• The simplest method of finding out what animals and plants live in an environment is to look around you.
• For example, if you just stop along a bush track, you will be able to count quite a large number of different plants. Listen and look around and you are likely to observe small birds, beetles, insects or frogs.
• This method of data collection is called direct observation.
• You can increases the range of direct observations by using a microscope or a pair of binoculars.
10 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

• A tree screen is a method that uses a funnel installed around the trunk of a tree, or in the foliage, just below the canopy.
• A fast-acting natural insecticide, such as pyrethrum, is sprayed into the tree canopy, which kills the insects quickly and their bodies drop into the funnel.
• Scientists can then identify and count the insects they have collected. This method is conducted as a sample of a larger area, not done on every tree.
• This can be useful for answering specific scientific questions, for example if trees are dying, insect sampling might reveal an increase in sap-sucking insects as the cause.
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• A pitfall trap is used to collect ground-dwelling animals that live in a particular location and are hard to find.
• A hole is dug in the ground and a container is inserted so that its top edge is level with the ground. Insects, reptiles and other small animals crawl and fall into the container.
• A pitfall trap is particularly useful for studying nocturnal animals. The trap would be opened during the evening and checked the next morning. Any animals inside the trap would be identified, measured, photographed and returned to their natural environment.
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• Scientists might want to study aquatic invertebrates in an ecosystem. To do this, they take a number of samples of water from the river, lake or sea, as well as collecting other invertebrates with a fine net.
• Some tests can be performed on location, water can be tested for factors such as pH, salinity, temperature and clarity.
• Invertebrates can be identified, documented and returned to the natural environment. Their numbers can indicate the overall quality of the water.
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Wombat Scat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m52Rdp_b5dQ&feature= youtu.be
• It is possible to infer the presence of an animal by what they leave behind.
• Observing animal scats (poo) is a useful method for identifying shy, rare or nocturnal animals. It can also yield important information about the animal’s diet.Most animals have distinctive scat.
• Animal tracks also give a good idea of what animals are living in a certain area.
You can use scats and tracks to identify an animal. The amount of each can also give you an idea of the number of individuals.
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• Hair analysis is a simple method in which a piece of sticky tape is strucng across the entry of a burrow or nesting box.
• As animals brush past the tape, loose hairs stick to it.
• Scientists analyse the hairs to help identify the species and the number of individuals using the burrow.
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• Plants don’t move as animals do. Different techniques are used for measuring plants within a certain area.
Quadrat:
• A quadrat is a regular shape, usually a square, of a certain size
(depending on the plant size- for small species, a smaller square, etc.)
• A quadrat can be measured out in string, wire, plastic pipe, even a hula hoop will do.
• Ecologists then count the number of plants within the quadrat and use this sample to estimate the amount of plants in a much larger area
Transect Lines:
• A transect line is a straight line through an environment of interest. All plant species that touch the line are counted
16 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

Name five living and five non-living factors for each of these environments:
• Ocean
• River
• Swamp
• Desert
Distinguish between an environment and an ecosystem
Identify and describe an appropriate method that could be used to investigate each of the following:
• Insects that live under the bark of a particular tree
• Animals that forage around a particular area of forest
• Animals that visit a schoolyard at night
• The number of algae plants that grow on the sea floor
17 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

List at least two things that you can infer from the picture below. State one thing you cannot infer from it. Be prepared to discuss your answers:
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• You can use the knowledge and skills from this topic to:
• Select a suitable environment for investigation
• Identify non-living resources in the environment
• Select suitable observation strategies you can use to identify living things in the environment
• Ask yourself- do you want to use someplace near your house, or the beach location while at camp for your study? There is ample time to do this on camp, but you need to be READY!
19 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

Learning Intentions:
Ecosystems are connected and interdependent, and any change in environmental living or nonliving things can have an effect on the entire system.
Success Criteria:
Analyse the living and non-living components of an ecosystem
• I can identify living and non-living things that affect environments
• I can describe an ecosystem and an environment
• I can use various methods to collect information from an ecosystem
20 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit

• Environment
• Ecosystem
• Living thing
• Non-living thing
• Interdependent
• Microorganisms
• Ecologist
• Quantitative
• Direct Observation
• Tree Screens
• Pitfall Traps
• Water Sampling
• Scats
• Hair Analysis
• Quadrat
• Transect Line
• Invertebrate
21 4/12/2020 Ecosystems Unit