Transcript ECOSYSTEMS

CHAPTER 10
 An
ecosystem is all the living things and
nonliving things in a given area
 Examples of ecosystems:
• Forests, deserts, grasslands, rivers,
beaches, and coral reefs
 Abiotic
factors: the nonliving parts of an
ecosystem
• Ex. Sunlight, temperature, air, water, soil
 Biotic
factors: the living OR once-living
things in an ecosystem
• Ex. Bacterium, dead organisms(fallen leaves),
decayed plant matter in soil, people, animals,
trees, etc
 Habitat: the
place within an ecosystem
that provides food, water, shelter, and
other biotic and abiotic factors that an
organism needs to survive and
reproduce
 Population: All the organisms of the
same species that live in the same area
at the same time
 Community: ALL of the populations living
in the SAME area at the SAME time
 How
can you determine if an area contains
too much of something?
You could calculate the population
density!
 Population
Density: the size of a
population compared to the amount of
space available
• POPULATION DENSITY:
number of individuals
unit area or volume of space
 How
does a niche differ from a habitat?
 A habitat is a PLACE within an ecosystem
that provides abiotic and biotic factors
that an organism needs to survive and
reproduce.
 A niche is the WAY a species interacts
with abiotic and biotic factors to obtain
the needs to survive
 Competition: describes
the demand for
resources such as food, water, and
shelter, in short supply in a community.
 ** Competition limits population size
 Overpopulation: occurs
when a
population becomes so large that it
causes damage to the environment
 Predation: the
act of one organism, a
predator, feeding on another organism,
its prey.

Ex. Dragonfly capturing a fly-Dragonfly is the ????
And Fly is the????
 Symbiosis: a
close, long term relationship
between two species that usually involves
an exchange
 Mutualism: a
relationship in which both
organisms benefit
 Commensalism:
a relationship in which
ONE organism benefits but NEITHER is
harmed
 Parasitism:
relationship in which ONE
organism benefits and the other is
harmed
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Producer: An organism that uses the sun to
produce its own food…ex. Plant
Consumer: An organism that cannot make their
own food. Consumers obtain food by eating
producers and other consumers… ex. Humans
Food Chain: A model that shows the flow of
energy in an ecosystem through feeding
relationships
Food Web: a model that shows the transfer of
energy in food chains and communities that are
interconnected
 REMEMBER! You
are envisioning this
ecosystem in your own head…
 Some
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things to think about:
What biotic and abiotic factors can you
assemble to create a functioning ecosystem?
What types of organisms could live in your
ecosystem? (You will NEED to research this)
Would it be aquatic(water)?
Terrestrial(land)?
What needs would have to be met for your
organisms in your ecosystem to survive?
What would your ecosystem look like?
Imagine and write about it!
 DRAWING/ILLUSTRATION WITH
EXPLANATIONS
 MODEL
(SHOEBOX?)
 POWERPOINT WITH
PICTURES/ILLUSTRATIONS
***YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
PRESENTING AND EXPLAINING
 DUE MONDAY, MARCH 4TH
RESEARCH ABIOTIC AND
BIOTIC FACTORS THAT
COULD LIVE IN YOUR
ECOSYSTEM. EXPLAIN
WHY/HOW THEY SURVIVE
THERE.
 ***QUESTIONS REGARDING THE PROJECT ARE
PAGE 338 & 339