WHAT ARE ECOSYSTEMS?

Where Things Live Living things need a place to live and grow.

Fish live in water.

Birds live in trees and fly through the air.

Plants grow where there is soil, water and sun.

Main Idea and Details

ENVIRONMENT The living and nonliving things that surround a living thing make up its environment.

What do living things get from their environments? Many living things share their environments and its resources. Food Water Oxygen Space

Parts of an Ecosystem An ecosystem is made up of all the living and nonliving things in an environment.

Different types of organisms live in an ecosystem. A group of organisms of the same kind living in the same place is a population.

All the population that live in an ecosystem at the same time form a community.

All members of a community live in the same ecosystem but they do not all live in the same part of the ecosystem.

Where Plants and Animals Live Habitat is a place where plants and animals lives.

It is a place where they can meet their needs It is a place where they can meet their needs. Animals get food, water, and shelter from their habitat,

Organisms and their Habitats Some organisms can survive only in certain habitats. For example, a polar could not find the water it needs in a desert.

Classify Living and Nonliving things Fish Water lily Plants Animals People Air Rocks Cave Soil water

Use the following tree map to write a lesson summary.

Lesson 2 What are some types of ecosystems?

Types of Ecosystems Deserts are very dry ecosystems. Desert plants and animals can survive with very little water.

Desert Plants Desert plants, such as cactus, have thick stems that store water. The roots of a cactus lie just below the soil and spread far from the plant.

Grassland Ecosystems Grasslands are dry, often flat areas of land that are hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They get more rain and snow than deserts but less that most other ecosystems.

Plants The main plant in a grassland ecosystem is grass. There are not many bushes in the grassland. Trees are found only by rivers and streams.

Saltwater Ecosystems Saltwater ecosystems are oceans. Oceans cover about three –fourths of Earth’s surface, so there are more saltwater ecosystems than any other.

Sharks, sea turtles, corals and octopus are all ocean animals. So are whales and seals.

Freshwater Ecosystems Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams have fresh water. Lakes and rivers are closely tied. Some lakes are the source for some rivers. Important rivers, most often, originate from lakes. Some rivers end in lakes. Since both rivers and lakes are freshwater and flow in and out of each other, they share similar characteristics and many species reside in both habitats.

Forest Ecosystems Forest are ecosystems in which many trees grow.

Tropical Rain Forest A tropical rain forest grows where it is hot and wet all year long. Animals such as jaguars and monkeys live there.

Deciduous Forest What's A Temperate Deciduous Forest Like? One of the most interesting features of the temperate deciduous forest is its changing seasons. The word "deciduous" means exactly what the leaves on these trees do: change color in autumn, fall off in the winter, and grow back again in the spring. This adaptation helps trees in the forest survive winter.

Drawing Conclusions Suppose all the plants in one ecosystem died. What do you think would happen to that ecosystem? Why?

Freshwater Ecosystems Review Ecosystem What I look like Hot and dry Desert Rains every day and has many trees and plants Rain Forest Deciduous Forest Enough rain for trees to grow. They lose their leaves in the fall. Freshwater Ecosystems Made up of rivers, ponds, lakes and streams and my water does not have much salt

Try this! Choose an ecosystem. Make a drawing of it. Write a descriptive paragraph about it. Include the following details: Name of the ecosystem Type characteristics of this ecosystem Label animals and plants found there.