1. What is a watershed? What is an ecosystem? How do they work? AND… What do they have to do with me?

2. Watersheds A watershed is all of the land area that drains into a particular body of water (defined by elevation) EVERYONE lives in a watershed http://www.watershedatlas.org/fs_indexwater.html Anything that happens in the watershed eventually goes to the water body (e.g. soil erosion, pollution)

3. Ecosystems A natural unit that includes living and nonliving parts interacting to produce a stable system in which the exchange of materials between the living and nonliving parts follows closed paths; all living things and their environment in an area of any size all linked together by energy and nutrient flow.

4. A lake is an ecosystem that includes all of the species living in it, plus the water, the lake bottom, and minerals and nutrients dissolved or suspended in the water.species A swamp is an ecosystem including everything that exists and lives in the swamp.

5. Food Webs A way to visualize the connections between organisms based on how energy travels through the ecosystem Energy flows in the direction the arrows point: from dinner to diner; eatee to eater

6. Trophic levels Literally means “feeding level” producers / autotrophs - make their own food consumers / heterotrophs - consumes others decomposers - break down dead organic matter RULE OF TEN: ONLY 10% of the energy makes it from one trophic level to the next! 1° 2° 3°

7. 5° consumers: snakes, hawks, owls 4° consumers: toads, insectivorous birds 3° consumers: predacious insects, spiders 2° consumers: 1°consumers: Rabbits, squirrels, mice, seed-eating birds, herbivorous insects producers: “plants” (decomposers) Try your hand at identifying the trophic levels!

8. All organisms live in watersheds Impacting the watershed, impacts organisms Impacting a single organism impacts the entire ecosystem This, in turn, impacts us too! What does this have to do with me? http://www.uvm.edu/watershed/map

9. What is a watershed? What is an ecosystem? How do they work? AND… What do they have to do with me?

10. Watersheds A watershed is ______________________ _________________ lives in a watershed http://www.watershedatlas.org/fs_indexwater.html Anything that happens in the watershed eventually goes to the ___________ (e.g. soil erosion, pollution)

11. Ecosystems A natural unit that includes _____ and ________ parts interacting to produce a stable system in which the ___________________ between the living and nonliving parts follows closed paths; all living things and their environment in an area of any size all______________________________ _____________.

12. Food Webs A way to visualize the _______________ based on how _______________ _________________ Energy flows in the direction the __________________: from _____________________; ___________________

13. Trophic levels Literally means “________________” ______________________ - make their own food ______________________ - consumes others ______________________ - break down dead organic matter RULE OF TEN: ONLY ___________________ makes it from one trophic level to the next! 1° 2° 3°

14. 5° consumers: 4° consumers: 3° consumers: 2° consumers: 1°consumers: producers: (decomposers) Try your hand at identifying the trophic levels!

15. All organisms live in _____________ Impacting the watershed, impacts _____________ Impacting a single organism impacts the ___________ _______________ This, in turn, impacts us too! What does this have to do with me?