Estuaries, Worksheet AnswerKey and Review!!
Next Topic: Estuaries!
Estuaries!
Estuaries are the most productive
ecosystems on earth… (p. 168-9)
• Fresh-water rivers meet the salt-water ocean,
making water that’s SLIGHTLY salty (or
BRACKISH).
• Erosion from the river, carries soil, rocks and
minerals as the river flows.
• Dead plants, animals and
other things flow in the
river as well.
Why are estuaries so productive??
• All of the minerals, soil, rocks and dead plant /
animal matter (along w/ the DECOMPOSERS
that break them down) are DEPOSITED in
estuaries, where the flow of the river STOPS!
• Estuaries are so productive because they’re
FULL of NUTRIENTS!
• How does this help their productivity?
• Think about PRODUCERS, consumers, and the
energy pyramid…
Grass – A pioneer species
1) Grass grows very QUICKLY.
We find it in Stage 1, because the area is very
open. There’s plenty of nutrients available in
the soil, and plenty of sunlight too.
Grasshopper sparrow
2) A sparrow is a bird. The grasshopper sparrow
eats grasshoppers, which live in the grass. As
the grass goes away, so do the grasshoppers!
There’s no more food for the birds, so they
leave!
Features of a Climax Community
3) By stage 4, trees have taken over.
4)
A climax community is usually made of large,
slow-growing trees. They are very tough, and
can grow in the shade (without much sun)
where pioneer species like grass and small
plants usually die! The trees are now stealing all
the sunlight, water and soil space from the
grasses and other plants beneath them.
Short-Tailed Shrew
• 5) The shrew survives all 4 stages because it
eats seeds, fungi (mushrooms), worms,
insects, and other small mammals. It lives
through all 4 stages because it eats
EVERYTHING!
• The shrew is one of very few venomous
mammals!
Biome Review
• Look at the Biome Worksheet
– The climate of an area effects the type of animals
that live there.
• What type of animals are best suited to
survive in each Biome? How does it relate to
the climate of each one?
• E.x. the extreme COLD of the Arctic Tundra
• The extreme HEAT and DRYNESS of the
desert?