Chapter 3 Lesson 1 What are ecosystems?

An ecosystem is all the living and nonliving things in an environment and the many ways they interact. Is a bike an ecosystem? No-parts interact with each other in a different way Is a desert an ecosystem? Yes it is made up of living and nonliving things that interact in a complex way, it has parts that work together for a purpose

Kinds of Ecosystems-Different climates produce different ecosystems, different ecosystems support different organisms with different adaptations Types of ecosystems-deserts, grassland, tundra, forest, oceans …then click the placeholders to add your own pictures and captions.

Organisms and their Environment Community- different populations that interact with each other in the same area Habitat-the area or place where an organism lives in an ecosystem Niche-The specific role or job an organism has in its habitat, each species in an ecosystem occupies a particular niche Ecosystem-There are different habitats in an ecosystem Community- Different populations in the same area Population- All the members of one species living in an area Habitat-The place where an organism lives in an ecosystem

Chapter 3 Lesson 2: How does energy flow in ecosystems? Producers are plants because they make their own food Consumers are organisms that don’t make their own food and eat other organisms Herbivores-Consumers that only eat plants Carnivores-Consumers that only eat meat Omnivores-Consumers that eat both plants and animals Scavengers- Consumers that eat dead plants and animals Organisms have adaptations that help them in their niche (a cow has 4 stomachs to help it digest grass)

A Food Chain A Food Chain- The energy stored by producers can be transformed along the food chain Organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten-this always begins with energy from sunlight Producers are the next link followed by omnivores Predators get their energy from hunting and eating Small things that make a big difference- Decomposers (insects, bacteria and fungi) digest the waste/remains of dead animals and help break them down into minerals and nutrients that are put back into the soil, air and water Whatever affects the decomposers affects the soil, this affects the producers that grow in the soil and the consumers that eat them too

A Food Web A system of overlapping food chains is called a food web  In any ecosystem, producers and consumers can be eaten by more than one kind of organism.   Some predators eat more than one prey. Anything that affects the size of a population of organisms affects the food web. Disease, storms, pollution, and hunting are events that can affect a food web A Food Web