End of Year – Science Study
Guide
Ecosystems
Ecosystems
• Ecosystem – all the living and non-living things
in an area/environment
• Biotic Factors – all the living things in an
ecosystem
• Abiotic Factors – all the non-living things in an
ecosystem
• All life starts with the major energy source,
which is the sun.
Producers
Producers are…
• A living thing that makes it’s own food
Some examples include…
• Plants, such as grasses, shrubs, and trees
• Algae and elodea (types of bacteria) can also be
producers
Their role in an ecosystem…
• Provide oxygen for other organisms
• Pass energy on to consumers when eaten
Producers
• How do producers produce energy?
Producers make their own food through
photosynthesis.
Plants take in carbon dioxide (through their
leaves) and water (from the soil) and use
sunlight to change them into oxygen gas and
sugar (stored energy).
Carbon Cycle
Plants
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide
Animals,
Humans
Consumers
Consumers are…
• A living thing that gets energy by eating other
living things
Some examples include…
• Humans, mice, rabbits, deer, sharks, wolves,
lions, etc.
Their role in an ecosystem…
• Produce carbon dioxide for plants
• Eat plants – keep plant population in check
• Pass energy to decomposers
Three Types of Consumers
Herbivores – eat only or mostly plants
• Mice, rabbits, deer, elephants, cows, zebras,
and insects
Omnivores – eat both plants and animals
• Pigs, bears, raccoons, and humans
Carnivores – eat only animals
• Sharks, lions, wolves, hawks, foxes, and cats
Energy Pyramid
Tertiary Consumers
Carnivores/Omnivores
Secondary Consumers
Carnivores/Omnivores
Primary Consumers
Herbivores
Producers
Decomposers
Decomposers are…
• Living things that get energy from breaking down
wastes and dead plants and animals
Some examples include…
• Mushrooms (fungi), worms, bacteria, and
termites
Their role in an ecosystem…
• Break down dead organisms
• Add nutrients to the soil
• Pass energy back to producers
Food Chain
• A model that shows the path of energy as it
flows from one living thing to another
Grass
Producer
Grasshopper
Consumer
Snake
Consumer
Hawk
Consumer
Fungi
Decomposer
Food Web
• Multiple food chains that show the
connectedness of species within an ecosystem
Other Organisms
Scavengers – carnivores that look for dead animals
for their food source (hyenas, buzzards)
Parasites – organisms that depend on another
organism for their survival (fleas, ticks,
roundworms)
Predator – the hunter (lion)
Prey – the hunted (zebra)
Niche – an organism’s role/job within the
ecosystem
Aquatic Ecosystems
Lakes/Ponds
• Bodies of freshwater surrounded by land on all sides
• Some organisms include: plants, algae, snails, frogs,
turtles, ducks, catfish, bass, trout and beavers
Oceans
• Large bodies of saltwater divided by continents. Have
many types of ecosystems.
• Some organisms include: seaweed, jellyfish, fish, crabs,
corals, whales, sharks, octopuses
Aquatic Ecosystems
Estuary
• A body of water where freshwater from rivers
mixes with saltwater from oceans.
• Some organisms include: shrimp, crabs, egrets,
muskrats, blue herons, and turtles.
Salt Marsh
• A flat area of land that saltwater overflows
• Some organisms include: pond lilies, cattails,
amphibians, reptiles, and crawfish
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Grassland/Savanna
• A biome with moderate temperatures and light rainfall
where grasses (not trees) are the main plant life
• Wildflowers, mostly grasses, elephants, zebras, giraffes,
warthogs
Desert
• A sandy, rocky and arid biome with little rain and plant
life (extreme heat and extreme dryness)
• Organisms: cacti, lizards, rattlesnakes, jackrabbits
• Plants and animals have adaptations to help them
retain water
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Tropical Rainforest:
• a hot, wet biome near the equator that receives lots of
rainfall
• Greatest variety of plant and animal life
• Four levels of plant life: emergents, canopy, understory,
forest floor (very little sunlight)
Taiga/Coniferous Forest
• A cool forest biome of coniferous trees in the upper
Northern Hemisphere
• Evergreen trees (spruce, fir, hemlock), moose,
wolverine, and snowshoe rabbit
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Tundra:
• large, treeless plain in the arctic regions where the
ground is frozen all year (Permafrost)
• Small plants close to the ground (cushion plants,
lichens), arctic fox, polar bears
Temperate/Deciduous Forest
• Moderate temperatures and rainfall levels based on
Earth’s rotation (changing seasons)
• Deciduous trees (lose their leaves in the fall), mosses,
shrubs, ferns, deer, foxes, raccoons, rabbits