Interactions with Ecosystems

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Interactions with Ecosystems

• Notes for Quiz

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Monarch butterfly migration

• Abiotic a non-living factor that affects an
  ecosystem (i.e. rain, water, sunlight)
• Biotic a living factor that affects an ecosystem
  (i.e. the population of producers)
• Adaptation a special feature that an organism
  has that aids in survival (i.e. camouflage
  mimicry colouration special features like
  wings, fins, stingers behaviours like migration)

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Organization of Life

• Organism a single living thing (a fox, a tree
  ...)
• Population all of the organisms of one species
  in an area (all of the fox in the woods in
  Dartmouth)
• Community all of the populations in an ecosystem
  (rabbits, fox, coyotes, trees ) The biotic part
  of the ecosystem.
• Ecosystem the biotic community AND all of the
  abiotic factors interacting (community plus wind,
  rain, temperature, sunlight )

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Review Key Ideas

• Key Idea The sun is the source of all energy in
  most ecosystems
• Photosynthesis, producers
• Key Idea Energy flows through ecosystems
• Consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores,
  decomposers
• Key Idea A model can be used to show energy
  flows through an ecosystem
• Food chain or food web
• Key Idea Matter cycles within ecosystems
• Matter cycle
• 
  slides will follow

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Producers

• Producers are the beginning of a simple food
  chain. Most producers are green plants. Plants
  are at the beginning of every food chain that
  involves the Sun. All energy comes from the Sun
  and plants are the ones who make food with that
  energy. They use the process of photosynthesis.
  Plants also make loads of other nutrients for
  other organisms to eat.

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Consumers

• Consumer An organism that gets its food from
  (eating) other living things, in order to have
  enough energy to survive or reproduce. There
  are different consumers Herbivores, Carnivores,
  Omnivores and Decomposers

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Consumers

• Herbivore an organism that eats only plants
  (plant eater, e.g. rabbit)
• Carnivore an organism that eats only animals
  (meat eater, e.g. fox)
• Omnivore an organism that eats both plants and
  animals (e.g. bear)

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Decomposers

• Decomposer Organisms that break down nutrients
  in dead "stuff" and return it to the soil. It
  breaks down matter into simple nutrients that
  they can use. Also the producers can then use the
  nutrients and elements once it's in the soil. The
  decomposers complete the system, returning
  essential molecules to the producers. Thus the
  broken down matter will be recycled in the Matter
  Cycle. Examples of decomposers are some insects,
  worms, micro bacteria, mushrooms and mould.

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Food Chains

• Food chain a diagram that shows the energy
  transfer from one organism to another in a single
  line. It shows one thing an organism eats to get
  energy.
•  Grass Rabbit Fox
  Coyote

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Food Webs

• A food web is a system of many intersecting food
  chains. It shows that all animals in a ecosystem
  are connected. It is better than a food chain
  because it is a more realistic view of energy
  transfer in an ecosystem (e.g. Foxes dont only
  eat rabbits and rabbits get eaten by more than
  just Foxes). Remember the arrows show the
  direction that the energy moves in a food chain
  or a food web. Decomposers are missing from this
  web.

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The Matter Cycle (the use and reuse of matter on
earth)
Consumer (wolf)
Consumer (deer)
Producer (grass)
Decomposer (maggot, bacteria)
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The Matter Cycle

• Key Question How does an ecosystem recycle
  matter?
• Energy moves from producers to consumers in an
  ecosystem.
• Matter also moves in ecosystems, the nutrients
  (energy) are carried in the matter.
• Earth is a closed system.
• In a closed system, no new matter enters the
  system and no matter leaves it.
• Organisms today use the same water and gases that
  the dinosaurs used.
• How does matter last for such a long time?
  Through recycling. The process of recycling lets
  matter return to the environment after organisms
  use it. Then, organisms use the matter again.
  This repeating pattern is a cycle.
• THE CLEANUP SQUADdecomposers recycle matter in
  an ecosystem. They eat the decaying matter and
  waste that other organisms leave behind.
  Decomposers change biotic elements, such as
  decaying organisms, into abiotic elements, such
  as minerals. Decomposers recycle matter so that
  other organisms can use it again

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The Matter Cycle (in other words)

• The matter cycle shows how energy is transferred
  and matter is reused.
• Energy is transferred from the producer to the
  herbivore and from the herbivore to the
  carnivore.
• When the producers, herbivores and carnivores die
  the energy is transferred to the decomposers
• The decomposer breaks down the dead matter into
  nutrients so that new plants (producers) can
  grow.
• The cycle continues over and over