1. Topic 4 How Organisms interact Pg 38-48
Review: Biotic: living parts of an ecosystem (all living organisms - plants, bacteria, insects) Abiotic: non-living parts of an ecosystem(ex. air, water, soil)

3. Think it out
What are the different biotic and abiotic components of this ecosystem?

4. Roles of organisms in an ecosystem
Niche: an organism's role in its ecosystem. This can explain why they act and interact the way that they do.

5. Roles of organisms in an ecosystem
Producer: produce food energy from the sun for themselves and make life possible for all other organisms on Earth (ex. plants and algae, what else?)

6. Roles of organisms in an ecosystem
Consumer: consume (eat) the food made by the producers or other organisms. Examples: ?

7. Roles of organisms in an ecosystem
Decomposers: an organism that breaks down material and litter.

8. Roles of organisms in an ecosystem
Herbivores - Type of consumer. Animals that eat only plants. Animals that eat producers and fill the plant-eating niche (Deer and squirrels.)

9. Roles of organisms in an ecosystem
Carnivores- Type of consumer. Animals that eat other animals. animals that eat other consumers and fill the meat-eating niche (lynx and wolves) Predators are consumers that kill and eat other animals called prey.

10. Roles of organisms in an ecosystem
Omnivores-Type of consumer. Animals that eat both plants and animals, both producers and consumers (ex. Skunks, raccoons, humans, bears and foxes)

11. Food Chain
Food chain: A model that shows how energy stored in food passes from organism to Organism. Who it’s what/who Prairie Slough Food Chain

12. Think about it
What would happen to the food chain if the frog population decreased due to a disease?

13. Energy Flow
Energy flow: the movement of energy, starting from the Sun, and passing from one organism to the next. Why don’t we gain the weight of all the food we eat?

14. Food Web
Food Webs: The connection/network of feeding relationships amoung organisms. For example: a mouse may be eaten by a snake, raccoon, or a hawk. Food webs can become big and complex fast. What eats a gofer?

15. Food Web

16. Pyramid of numbers
Pyramid of Numbers: a model of an ecosystem that represents the number of organisms at each level of the food chain (producers always at the base and are always the most populated)

17. Pyramid of numbers

18. Biomass
Biomass: Is the total weight/amount/mass of all the organisms in the ecosystem. Most biomass is in the base formed by the producers.

19. How Organisms interact
Scavengers: organisms that feed on dead or decaying plant or animal matter. They eat the dead material and break down large carcasses into smaller pieces during digestion.

20. How Organisms interact
Review: Decomposers: grow on or in dead or waste material, absorbing some of the nutrients into their own cells (remaining nutrients recycle back into ecosystem)

21. Textbook page 48 Questions: 1. 2. 4.
Review
Textbook page 48 Questions: