1. Ecosystems

2. Postcard Launch Lab Look at the picture on your card.
Answer the flowing questions about it.
How is the environment different from the one you live in?
What types of living organisms will you see?
How are these organisms suited to this environment? Explain.

3. Ecosystems Biotic Factors Living or once-living things in an ecosystem
Plants
Dead animals
Fungi/algae/moss
Humans
Dead plants

4. Ecosystems Abiotic Factors Nonliving parts of an ecosystem
Sunlight (energy for photosynthesis; warmth)
Temperature
Air (nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide)
Water (supports life)
Soil (plants, homes)

5. Ecosystems
Ecosystem
All the living and nonliving things in an area

6. Ecosystems
Habitat
The place within an ecosystem that provides food, water, shelter, and other biotic and abiotic factors an organism needs to survive and reproduce

7. Ecosystems
Biome
Group of ecosystems with similar climates and types of plants

8. Ecosystems
Ecosystem
All the living and nonliving things in an area

9. Ecosystems Community Population
All the populations living in the same area at the same time
Population
All the organisms of the same species that live in the same area at the same time

10. Ecosystems Species (Individual)
Closely related organisms that can reproduce

11. Ecosystems Biodiversity The variety of organisms in an ecosystem
Can indicate health of an ecosystem

14. Ecosystems Population Density
The size of the population compared to the amount of space available

15. Ecosystems Population Change
Caused by changes in the biotic or abiotic factors in an ecosystem

16. Ecosystems Overpopulation
Occurs when a population becomes so large that it causes damage to the environment
Temporary situation

17. Ecosystems
Niche
The way a species interacts with abiotic and biotic factors to obtain food, find shelter, and fulfill other needs
Cannot be shared by two species

18. Ecosystems Competition
The demand for resources, such as food, water, and shelter, in short supply
Limits population size

19. Ecosystems Invasive Species
Any kind of living thing that is not native to an ecosystem
Causes harm to the environment, the economy, or even human health

20. Ecosystems Predation Predator Prey
The act of one organism feeding on another organism
Predator
Organism that hunts or kills other organisms for food
Prey
Organisms hunted or eaten by a predator

21. Ecosystems
Symbiosis
Close long-term relationship between two species that involves exchange of food/energy

22. Ecosystems
Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit
Example:
Fish and shrimp
Fish eat tiny organisms off shrimp

23. Ecosystems Parasitism
A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed
Example:
Mosquitoes

24. Ecosystems Commensalism
A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither harmed nor helped
Example:
Moss growing on a tree

25. Ecosystems
Energy cannot be created; only converted from one form to another.

27. Ecosystems
Food Chain
A model that shows how energy flows in an ecosystem through feeding relationships

28. Ecosystems
Food Web
A model of energy transfer that can show how the food chains in a community are interconnected

29. Ecosystems

30. Ecosystems
Producers
Organisms that use an outside energy source (sun) to make their own food
Example: plants

31. Ecosystems Consumers Organisms that cannot produce their own food
Example: humans, animals

32. Ecosystems Types of Consumers Herbivores
Eats only plants or other producers
Example: panda

33. Ecosystems Types of Consumers Omnivores Eats producers and consumers
Example: bears, dogs, humans

34. Ecosystems Types of Consumers Carnivores
Eats herbivores and other consumers
Example: lion, eagle

35. Ecosystems Decomposers Breaks down dead organisms
Example: earthworms, bacteria, fungi

36. Ecosystems

37. Ecosystems
Biomagnification: Chemicals become more concentrated at each level

38. Lethal Links Read “Bad for Bees” in the Science World magazine.
List three ways pesticides are bad for organisms.
Define biomagnification in your SNB.

39. Lethal Links
Describe how the pesticide in your model first entered the food chain.
Which animals-caterpillars, mice, or eagles-had the highest amount of pesticides in their bodies? The lowest?
Use your model to explain how biomagnification occurs in a food chain. Include a diagram to show this process.