Ecosystems: Living Things Interact

SCOS Objectives
Science Objectives: Competency Goal 1: The learner will build an understanding of the interdependence between plants and animals. 1.01 Assess a variety of ecosystems (communities of organisms and their interaction with the environment) 1.02 Determine the function of organisms within the population of the ecosystem (producers, consumers, decomposers) 1.03 Evaluate the variety of organisms an ecosystem can support 1.04 Relate the role of light, temperatures, and soil makeup to an ecosystems capacity to support life 1.05 Evaluate the major source of energy for ecosystems (sun) and how it is passed from organisms through the food webs 1.06 Assess the interaction of organisms within an ecosystem Technology Objectives: 1.12 Recognize and explain the advantages and disadvantages of using multimedia to develop content area projects/products 1.14 Demonstrate knowledge of Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines by explaining selection and use of resources in content projects/assignments 2.11 Use menus and branching to modify/ create non-linear projects/products in content areas

Essential Question: How do living things interact?

Ecosystems include
the organisms that live in a particular area and their physical surroundings organisms interacting with each other by sharing and competing for resources organisms interacting with their physical environment
Bottom Line: Ecosystems can be found wherever organisms are living and interacting!

Relationships
Physical Environment all the non-living things in an area, such as weather, landforms, air, and water Individual a single organism in an environment (ex. one rabbit in a field) Population individuals of the same kind in the same environment (ex. all the rabbits in a field) Community all the populations of organisms living together in an environment (ex. everything that lives in the field)

Pop Quiz
What are the two parts of an ecosystem?

A community and its physical environment

Habitats and Niches

Habitat from the Latin verb meaning to dwell. An organisms habitat is where it lives in an ecosystem. Niche a certain role that each population has in its environment. (Ex. Both eagles and owls feed on mice, but owls hunt at night while eagles hunt during the day.) In a healthy ecosystem, populations are interdependent they depend on each other for survival!

Limiting Factors
The environment determines the type of ecosystem that will develop in an area. Factors include: Soil conditions Temperature Rainfall Plant Life Amount of Food

Review
1. 2. 3. A single organism in an environment is called an _______. In a healthy ecosystem, each population contributes to the ______ of the other populations. The amount of food is a ________ that affects population density. A ______ is a place where a population lives in an ecosystem. A population has a role, or _______ in its environment. The sizes of animal populations are determined by the kinds and numbers of __________ in an ecosystem.
niche individual limiting factor plants survival habitat

4.
5. 6.

How Energy Is Transferred in an Ecosystem

The sun provides the energy for almost every ecosystem on Earth. Producers use the sunlight to make food they need from carbon dioxide and water (ex. plants). Consumers all the animals in a community (ex. all the animals that are eating)

Food Chains
Food chains show how the consumers in an ecosystem are connected to one another according to what they eat. Starts at the bottom with the producers (usually plants). The next level consists of herbivores animals that eat only plants. They are eaten by the next level of animals on the food chain the carnivores (meat eaters). The chain continues with more levels of carnivores that eat one another. It all ends with decomposers (such as mushrooms and bacteria) that break down the tissues of dead organisms. Whatever is left over returns to the soil and helps start the cycle over again by giving nutrients to the producers!

Example of a Food Chain in a Prairie Ecosystem

Grasses and wildflowers = producers

Grasshoppers eat the producers = first level consumers

Snakes eat grasshoppers = second level consumers

Hawks eat snakes = third level consumers

Mushrooms decompose the dead hawk

Anything left over returns to soil and the cycle continues.

How do organisms compete and survive in an ecosystem?

Click here to learn more about Competition

Use of Resources

Click here to learn more about Cooperation

Competition

Cooperation

Sharing

Symbiosis

Competition
Because organisms might have limited resources, there might be competition, or a contest , among organisms for these resources. Organisms may compete for food, water, sunlight, or shelter If an organism competes successfully for resources, it is more likely to survive and reproduce! This is why there are PREDATORS and PREY!

Predators vs. Prey

PREDATORS are the animals doing the hunting While PREY are the animals being hunted

Cooperation
In many ecosystems, organisms live together and share resources. A great example of this is the African plain. Giraffes eat from the highest branches of a tree, antelopes eat from the middle branches, and rhinos eat from the lower branches. A long-term relationship between organisms is called symbiosis. Either one or both organisms benefit from this arrangement. A good example of this is the clown fish that lives in a sea anemone. The clown fish gets a safe place to live while attracting food for the sea anemone.

Assessment Time
Develop 5 multiple choice questions from the material presented in this PowerPoint presentation.

References
Harcourt Science Fifth Grade Textbook, 2000 Microsoft Clips