1. An ecosystem is a complete community of
biotic and its abiotic environment.
An ecosystem can be as large as the Sahara
Desert or as small as a puddle.
Ecosystems are interactions between plants,
animals, microorganisms and their
environment; working together as a functional
unit.

2. Ecosystems will fail if they do not remain in balance.
No community can carry more organisms than its
food, water, and shelter can accommodate.
Food and territory are often balanced by natural
phenomena such as fire, disease, and the number of
predators.
Each organism has its own niche or role, to play.

3. 3 groups: based on how organisms obtain their food
Energy in Ecosystems
3 groups: based on how organisms obtain their food
Producers “Photosynthesis”
are organisms that make their
own food through photosynthesis.
Example: Plants

4. Consumers “Eat” Types of Consumers are organisms that consume (eat)
producers and other consumers to get energy.
Examples: Animals
Types of Consumers
Herbivores are animals that eat only plants.
Carnivores eat mainly other animals.
Omnivores eat a significant amount
of both plants and animals.

5. Decomposers “Break Down”
are organisms that break down dead
matter or animal wastes to get energy.
Examples: Fungus and Bacteria

6. Decomposer (bacteria)
Food Chains
are diagrams that show the transfer of energy.
All food chains begin with producers.
A food chain starts with what gets eaten and the
arrows point towards what does the eating.
Food chains only go in one direction.
The food chain below is an example of one that
you might find in an ecosystem.
Producer
Primary consumer
Decomposer (bacteria)
Tertiary consumer
Secondary consumer

7. Food Web In the wild, animals may eat more than one thing,
so they belong to more than one food chain.
A food web shows how
the food chains in an
ecosystem connect to
one another.
To get the food they
need, small herbivores
may eat lots of different
plants, and carnivores
may eat many different
animals.

8. Food Web
The arrows in the diagram show the direction of energy flow in each food chain.

9. Name the parts of this food chain.
Tertiary consumer
Primary consumers 4. 2. 1. 3.
Producer
Secondary consumer

10. Breaking the Chain Organisms living in a habitat depend on each other.
If one part of a food chain dies out or is greatly
reduced, the consumers have to find alternative
food, move away, or starve.

11. Earth's Biomes A biome is a large region on Earth characterized by a
specific type of climate and the biotic things that live there.
Climate is the average weather conditions
in an area over a long period of time.
Forests
Grasslands
Deserts
Tundra
Freshwater
Marine Water
Climate Zones:
Tropical Zone
Temperate Zone
Polar Zone

12. 3 Major Types of Ecosystems
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Freshwater Ecosystems
Marine Ecosystems

13. Terrestrial Ecosystems
Temperate Deciduous Forests
Coniferous Forests
Tropical Rain Forests
Chaparral
Temperate Grasslands
Tropical Savanna
Tropical Deserts
Temperate Desert
Artic Tundra
Alpine Tundra

14. Freshwater Ecosystems
Lakes
Ponds
Rivers
Streams
Wetlands

15. Marine Ecosystems
Oceans

16. Identifying Ecosystems
I. Objective:
In this activity students will identify the characteristics of ecosystems and how different ecosystems support different organisms.
II. Procedure:
On a construction paper create a model of an ecosystem that will be assigned to your group. Drawings, pictures, cut outs and or natural materials such as grass or leaves can be used to create your model.
Fill in the following with the appropriate information:
Description: a brief summary of what the ecosystem is.
Name of Ecosystem
Average Temperature
Average Precipitation
Soil Characteristics (ex. Rocky)
Examples of Plants (at least 3)
Examples of Animals (at least 3)
Type of Biome (ex. Desert)
Example of a Place where this ecosystem is found (ex. Southern California)