Ecosystems
MY BIOME VACATION
You will need to pick a partner.
** “NO INTERNET AT HOME” IS NOT AN EXCUSE
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You need to make sure that at least one of you has access to a
computer and the internet outside of school.
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I also have media passes available for before and after school, as
well as during lunch if need be.
You need to pick a biome together from the following
slide. Each pair must do a different biome.
You will be responsible for:
• A slideshow with the facts on the following slide about
your biome to present to the class.
• A scrapbook, video, or diorama created as an account
of an imaginary vacation you “took” to your chosen
biome.
• Homework activities and extension questions done
based on your chosen biome.
At Least 5 Slides:
• Averages
• Average Temperature
• Average Rainfall
• Seasons
• Locations
• Examples
• Plants
• At least 5 species
• At least 1 tree, one shrub, and one grass
• Animals
• At least 8 species
• At least 2 of each: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary
consumers
• At least 2 food chain examples
• Most notable effects of humans on this biome
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Savannah
Tundra
Taiga
Desert
Temperate Forest
Chaparral
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Grasslands
Rainforest
Alpine
Coral Reef
Marine
Estuaries
What is an ecosystem?
• All the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) parts of an
environment as well as the interactions among them
• Ecosystems may be aquatic (water) or terrestrial (land).
• Interactions may include:
- producers (obtain energy by making their own
food; plants -photosynthesis)
- consumers (obtain energy by consuming their
food)
- decomposers ( get energy by breaking down dead
organisms and the wastes of living things); bacteria,
fungi (mold, mushrooms,etc) ,worms, termites,etc.
Abiotic & Biotic Factors
• Abiotic Factors
(nonliving)
-
water
- shelter
sunlight - soil
rocks
- nutrients
oxygen/air, nitrogen
temperature/climate
space, salinity, pH
• Biotic Factors
(living)
- Food
- grass
- trees
- animals, insects,
- plants
- bacteria, fungi
For Wednesday:
• Start on your project! (Due 11/24)
• Create food web for your chosen biome
(needs to include different level consumers)
(The greatest
amount of energy
is available at the
producer level.)
(With producers and consumers, 90 % of the energy available at each level is
consumed/lost to the environment. Only 10% move up to the next trophic level.
If removed from the food web, which organism (s) would have the greatest impact on the overall food web? Explain.
Energy Pyramids
• Energy pyramid shows how much
energy is available at each step of
the food chain/web.
• Most of the energy the primary
consumer gets from the producer
is used by the consumer.
• Most of the energy lost in this
pyramid is lost as heat to the
atmosphere.
• Whatever energy is left is
available for the next consumer.
(if there is one)
• The picture to the right is an
energy pyramid.
The sun provides energy
To sustain producers
which are the foundation
of all ecosystems.
Produce food through
photosynthesis
http://www.brainpop.com/games/foodchaingame/ “Food Chain Game”
Energy Pyramids
• The amount of available
energy decreases as you
go up the food chain.
• It takes a large number of
producers to support a
small number of primary
consumers
• It takes a large number of
primary consumers to
support a small number
of secondary consumers
• The # of organisms and
the amount of energy
decreases as you move
up the pyramid.
Organism (single one of species)
Mushrooms
Coyotes
Polar Bears
Prairie Dogs
Snakes
Elephants
4 Populations (same species)
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Elk Population
Elephant Population
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Cacti Population
Gorilla Population
Communities (many populations)
What communities are present in each of these ecosystems?
Marine (aquatic) Ecosystem
Terrestrial Ecosystem
Freshwater & Terrestrial Ecosystems
Aquatic (estuary) Ecosystems
Ecosystems make up the biosphere.
Earth is the only planet on which life exists. It consists of three components Lithosphere
(Land), Hydrosphere (Water) and Atmosphere (Air). The life supporting zone of the
earth where atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere meet, interact and make life possible,
is known as biosphere.
Organism Interactions
• There are 3 main types of
interactions among
organisms. They are
competition, predation, and
symbiosis.
Competition
• Different species can share
the same habitat. Different
species can also share
similar food requirements.
• For example Lions and
Hyenas are both flesh
eaters that live in the
Serengeti. They must
constantly compete for
limited resources.
• Mudskippers Video
Competition
• Penguin Thieves
• Giraffe Fights (8th Grade)
Predation
• An interaction in which
one organism kills and
eats another is called
predation. The organism
that does the killing is the
predator. The one that is
killed is the prey.
• Komodo Dragon Video
• Baby Sea Turtles vs.
Predators (8th Grade)
• Bison vs. Wolves (8th
Grade)
Symbiosis
• Symbiosis is a close
relationship
between two or
more species
wherein one of
them benefits!
Symbiosis-Mutualism
• A relationship in which
both species benefit is
called mutualism.
• At this very moment you
are participating in a
mutualistic relationship.
Bacteria called
Escherichia coli in your
stomach. They help you
digest foods that
mammals can not
normally digest and you
give them a place to live.
Symbiosis Pictures
Symbiosis-Commensalism
• Commensalism is a
relationship in which one
species benefits and the
other species is neither
helped nor harmed.
• Least common type of
symbiosis
• Red Tailed Hawk can build
it’s nest in a cactus. The
hawk gets shelter but the
cactus gets no benefit.
• Commensalism Plant Video
• Symbiosis and Competition
Video (NUTS)
Symbiosis-Parasitism
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Parasitism involves one
organism living on or inside
another organism and
harming it.
Common parasites are ticks
and leeches. These parasites
have adaptations that enable
them to attach to their host
and feed on its blood.
Unlike a predator, a parasite
does not usually kill the
organism it feeds on.
Bird Parasitism Video 7th
Grade
Parasites in a Caterpillar 8th
Grade
Ecology Crash Course Video
8th Grade
Population Density
- the number of people/organisms living per
unit of an area (e.g. per square mile); the
number of people relative to the space
occupied by them
_ how full an area is: the concentration of
people or things within an area in relation to
its size
Limiting Factor
• - environmental factors that limit population
sizes in a particular ecosystem
Limiting Factors in an Ecosystem
• Density-dependent Factors
- operate more strongly on large populations and
disease
- triggered by increases in population density
(crowding)
* Competition for food, water, shelter & space
* Predation
* Parasitism
* Disease
Population Density: measures the number of individual
organisms living in a defined space
High Population Density
China’s Qingdao Huiquan Beach
China’s Qingdao Huiquan Beach
Low Population Density
Compare this picture to the previous one. If these were animals,
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How may the spread of disease and parasites be affected by the population
densities?
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How may competition for food, water, space and shelter be affected?
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• What is the relationship between the hare population and the lynx population?
• What role does competition play in this predator/prey relationship?
• Why is competition important in an ecosystem?
Density-independent Factors
• Limiting factors that occur regardless of how large
the population is and reduce the size of all
populations in the area; mostly abiotic
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weather changes
human activities (pollution, urban sprawl, etc.)
natural disasters (i.e. fires)
A change in an abiotic or biotic factor may:
- decrease the size of a population if it
cannot acclimate/adapt to or migrate from
the change.
- increase the size of a population if that
change enhances its ability to survive,
flourish or reproduce.
The Water Cycle
Water Cycle Terms
• Accumulation – process in which water pools
in large bodies (i.e oceans, lakes, etc)
• Condensation – process in which water vapor
in the air turns into liquid water. (cloud
formation)
• Evaporation – process in which liquid water
becomes a water vapor. (gas state)
• Precipitation – process in which water (in form
of rain, snow, sleet, or hail) falls from the
clouds
• Subsurface Runoff – rain, snow melt, or other
water that flows in underground streams,
drains, or sewers
• Surface Runoff – rain, snow melt, or other
water that flows in surface streams, rivers, or
canals
• Transpiration – process in which some water
within plants evaporates into the atmosphere.
The Earth has a limited amount of
water. It has followed the same paths
since our Earth was created.
Where does it all go?
• 64% of the water that falls to the planet either
evaporates or transpirates
• 25% runs off
• ??? % does that leave?
• 11%
• And where does it go?
• Soaks into the ground.
The Nitrogen Cycle
This cycle has Nitrogen passing
from our atmosphere to living
things and then back to the
atmosphere.
Nitrogen
-an essential part of our bodies chemistry.
-helps make up our atmosphere (78%)
-N2 cannot be used in the gaseous state, so it
must be converted to a usable form before
we, or any other living thing can use it
…. Quick summary…..
• Plants absorb ammonia and other Nitrogen
compounds and change it into usable proteins
• Living organisms use these proteins
• Waste is produced
• Bacteria change the waste/proteins into
ammonia & Nitrogen gas (nitrogenfixation)
• Repeats
The Carbon Cycle
Used by all living creatures on this planet
to transfer Carbon
Used during respiration and
photosynthesis