Lesson 1

How living things interact with each other and their environment. New terms: ecology organism habitat

the study of how living things interact with their environment

any living thing

Imagine that it’s a cool summer day, and you’re sitting on a dock that juts out into a little pond. Look around in your imagination. How many different living things are in this pond environment? You might see frogs and toads, turtles and salamanders. You might see dragonflies skimming the surface of your imaginary pond. Hear that buzz? Is it a fly or a mosquito? Both of them can be found near a pond. If the water is clear and still, you might be able to see the fish that live underwater. And don’t forget about the plants. Plants are living things, too. Think of how many plants live near, and even in, a pond. Little plants grow right up to the ponds edge, and some plants may even grow underwater. There are also beings, so tiny you can’t see them, living in the mud and in the water. All these living things depend on each other, and on the kind of world a pond setting provides. In other words, these organisms share the pond as their habitat.

the environment where an organism lives

Animals live everywhere on earth—in every kind of terrain and every kind of climate! An animal's living place is called its habitat. Most animals are only adapted to live in one or two habitats. A barracuda, which is a salt water fish, could not live in a fresh water lake. A walrus could not live in a desert. Some animals migrate in the spring and again in the fall to find warmer environments with an abundance of food. Rainforests Polar/arctic areas Forests Rivers/lakes Deserts Grasslands/prairies Mountains Oceans Coral reefs Wetlands/marshes Caves Ponds Tide pools

Ecology is the study of the how living things interact with their environment Organisms are any living thing (people, plants, animals) Habitats are the environment where an organism lives