Ecosystem Interactions

Ecosystem: Living and non- living things that interact in an environment

Terrestrial Ecosystems LAND

Freshwater Ecosystems Lakes, streams, and marshes ons/thumb/5/57/ _IMG.JPG/220px _IMG.JPG

Marine Ecosystems Salt water Includes Estuaries Photo by CBF Member Steve Aprile,

Estuary – Where land and fresh water meet the sea Estuary Ocean Nutrients wash into the streams when it rains Then flow into the estuary Ocean water mixes in with the freshwater

Chesapeake Bay Largest Estuary in the U.S. (3 rd largest in the world) Nutrients washed in from the land support life Organisms must be specially adapted to the ever-changing mixture of salt and fresh water.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed: All water in Ashburn eventually flows into the Bay.

Chesapeake Bay Fast Facts: Home to 2,700 species of plants and animals Averages only 21 feet deep Annual rest stop for migrating birds One of the most productive habitats on Earth ½ of its water comes from the Atlantic Ocean, the other ½ from rivers and streams

Over 17 million people live in the watershed The watershed loses 100 acres of forest per day to development Baltimore Washington, DC Ashburn

Underwater Plants: There are 80,000 acres of underwater grasses The shallow water lets the sunshine through Nutrients are constantly flowing in from streams Grasses provide shelter, oxygen and food for animals Grass roots hold soil in place

Underwater Plants: PRODUCER – Make food with energy from sun. CO 2 WS GO CONSUMER – Eat other organisms to get energy. GO CO 2 W + ATP DECOMPOSER – Break down dead organisms’ cells

Web Notes

WHAT IS A CHAIN? A series of objects connected one after the other. FOOD CHAIN – list of food from the producer to the final consumer.

WHAT IS A WEB? -Interwoven pattern. -complicated relationship FOOD WEB – all of the interrelated food chains in an ecological community.

The arrow always points in the direction of energy flow. POINT TO WHO IS GETTING THE ENERGY!

PRODUCER The base of all food webs. Energy comes from the sun.

CONSUMER -- Eats other organisms for energy. PRIMARY – eats producers SECONDARY – eats primary consumers TERTIARY – eats secondary consumers QUATERNARY – eats tertiary consumers

100% 10% 1% 0.001% A LOT of Energy is lost when you transfer the energy from one level to the next – as much as 90% or more per transfer!.1%.01%