Review of Unit 6 Review of Ecosystems Lesson 48

Congratulations. We have finished Unit 6 Ecosystems Congratulations! We have finished Unit 6 Ecosystems. Now it is time to review what we learned.

Take out your K-W-L chart in your notebook and as we review, write what you learned from this unit on Ecosystems. Write it in the What I Learned section.

Ecosystems can be categorized into two major types: aquatic ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems.

The key to the meaning of terrestrial ecosystems lies in the word “terrestrial”, which generally means anything occurring on land.

Aquatic ecosystems, or water-based ecosystems, may be fresh water (lakes and ponds) or saltwater (oceans, estuaries and saltwater marshes).

Forests have many trees (with needles or with leaves), shrubs, grasses and ferns, and a variety of animals.

Forests usually get more rain than grasslands Forests usually get more rain than grasslands. Diverse types of animals can be found in forests, depending on their type.

Temperatures in the forests may vary depending on where the forest is located.

The deciduous forest is full of plant life such as trees, shrubs, bushes, ferns, grasses and moss. All these plants together are the primary producers of this ecosystem.

Primary consumers such as Rabbit and deer browse on the shrubs, grasses, and the leaves on the lower limbs of trees in the Deciduous Forest.

Rodents such as voles, squirrels, wood mice, and ground squirrels eat plants and their seeds and are primary consumers.

Birds such as the cardinal eat seeds and berries, and many birds eat insects as well. They are primary consumers.

The fox and owl prey on rodents, birds and rabbits The fox and owl prey on rodents, birds and rabbits. They are secondary consumers.

Bears can be considered tertiary consumers since they do eat small animals and carrion, which are dead animals. They also eat grass, berries, and mushrooms.

In the tropical rainforest the tertiary consumers consist of the python and the jaguar. They do not eat plants but get their energy from eating animals who eat plants.

In the tropical rainforest the secondary consumers consist of vampire bats, iguanas and frogs.

In the tropical rainforest the primary consumers eat only producers (plants). The primary consumers are macaws, monkeys, fruit bats and grasshoppers.

The producers (the plants) of the rain forest include: orchids, seeds, banana trees, coconut trees and bamboo trees.

The decomposers found in both the deciduous forest and the tropical rainforest consist of fungi and earthworms.

Clear cutting of forests is also a threat to the deciduous forest and the tropical rainforest ecosystem. Trees are cut for timber and land cleared for agriculture.

Also acid rain, caused by industrial and vehicle emissions, damages the leaves of trees and causes them to produce smaller and fewer seeds

Grasslands have fertile soil and are covered with tall grasses.

The Temperate Grasslands have only 10 -20 inches of precipitation a year. They receive less rain than the forests.

Temperate grasslands are located in North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Temperatures vary depending where the grasslands are located.

Grassland producers include Big Blue Stem Grass, Prairie Dropseed, Buffalo Grass and Side Oats Gamma.

Some of the Primary Consumers of the Temperate Grasslands are the Bison, The Greater Prairie Chicken and the Prairie Dog.

Grasshoppers and other insects are also primary consumers found in the Temperate Grasslands.

Red Fox feed on anything they can catch such as birds, snakes, rodents and insects found on the Temperate Grasslands. They are secondary consumers.

Grassland fires are common Grassland fires are common. The fires kill the trees but the grasses survive due to their strong root system.

Farming and livestock have taken much of the Temperate Grasslands because the grasslands have rich soil and positive environmental conditions.

A lake is a large body of freshwater surrounded by land and a pond is a smaller body of freshwater.

Ponds are usually shallower than lakes and the temperature of the water usually stays the same from top to bottom.

Plants and algae usually grow along the edges where the water is shallow. These producers (plant life) include algae, cattails, and lily pads.

Small organisms such as arthropods and plankton get their energy from these producers. They are primary consumers.

Larger animals such as beavers and turtles also get their energy from these producers. They are primary consumers.

Fish get their energy from plankton and isopods and frogs get their energy from insects and arthropods. They are secondary consumers.

The heron gets its energy from frogs, turtles and fish The heron gets its energy from frogs, turtles and fish. Herons are tertiary consumers.

The biggest threat today to lakes and ponds is agriculture and industry. Farms and factories use chemicals to help crops grow or factories run. Those chemicals run off into lakes and ponds disrupting the balance of life.

Oceans are large bodies of saltwater divided by continents.

Oceans can have different types of ecosystems depending on the conditions (sunlight, temperature, depth or salinity) of that part of the ocean.

Most organisms live where the ocean is shallow (from the shoreline to the continental shelf) because sunlight can reach deep and the water is warm, making food abundant.

There are plenty of photosynthesizing producers ranging in size from microscopic algae to huge kelps and other seaweeds.

Some examples of organisms that live in the shallow ocean are drifters such as jellyfish or plankton.

Also, you can find swimmers in intertidal zones such as a variety of fish.

You can find crawlers such as crabs, starfish and sand dollars in intertidal zones.

Plankton (drifters)are eaten by numerous forms of filter feeders such as mussels, clams, and barnacles which filter seawater in their search for planktonic food sources.

Some organisms live in the open ocean, near the surface.

Plankton floats in the upper regions of the water Plankton floats in the upper regions of the water. There are different types of plankton such as phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Some organisms swim to the surface to find food or for air (whales, turtles, sharks) while others live closer to the bottom (certain fish, octopus, tubeworms).

In our next lesson we will review how to classify organisms.

Good Job Today! And remember to….

See you next time!