Transcript Ecosystems

Ecosystems
Lesson 3 and 4 Notes
• 1. Algae and water plants help keep a
healthy exchange of gas in the water.
• 2. Animals, plants, and other living
things, such as algae and bacteria, are
always using oxygen.
• 3. Respiration is the process all living
things do to use oxygen.
Ecosystems: General
• 4. Plants, algae and some bacteria will use
the sun’s energy, water, and carbon dioxide
(CO2) to make their own food in a process
called photosynthesis.
• 5. Because green plants and algae carry
on photosynthesis to produce their own food,
they are called producers.
• 6. Since animals cannot produce their own
food, they must eat other organisms to get
energy. This is why animals are known as
consumers.
Ecosystems: Aquatic Plants
• 7. Algae comes in all sizes, from
microscopic to gigantic (like the 150-ft long
brown kelp). They come in a rainbow of
colors: green, golden, brown, and red.
• 8. Duckweed are the smallest flowering
plants. Duckweed is good at removing water
pollutants from sewage and excessive
fertilizer. Duckweed has no leaves and no
stem. It consists of leaf-like fronds attached
at the center.
Ecosystems: Mosquito Fish
• 9. Mosquito fish are territorial, meaning
they will fight off other types of fish.
• 10. A young mosquito fish is called a
fry.
• 11. The lateral line is made up of
sensitive nerve endings that detect
pressure in the water.
Ecosystems: Mosquito Fish and
Guppies
• 12. The gravid spot is a black spot that
appears on each side of the female just
above the rear fin.
• 13. Mosquito fish and guppies are livebearers, meaning their fry are born
alive and fully formed.
Ecosystems: Snails
• 14. Snails belong to a class of animals
called gastropods.
• 15. Gastropod simply means “stomach foot.”
• 16. Snails have a head with a set of
tentacles with eyes.
• 17. The snail’s mouth is on the underside of
the head. The snail has a tongue with tiny
teeth that file down the snail’s food. This is
called the radula.
Ecosystems: Snails
• 18. Most snails reproduce by laying eggs.
Look for a small jellylike mass containing
tiny, developing snails.
• 19. The snail uses the mantle to make its
shell. This organ secretes the shell.
• 20. Pond snails are scavengers. They eat
the soft tissue of dead plants and animals.
Pond snails will also eat algae and live
plants.