1.3 Ecosystems Within Ecosystems Page 11

Chapter 1 Ecosystems support life. 27NEL

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES• analyze the roles of organisms as part of interconnected food webs,

populations, communities, and ecosystems• assess survival needs and interactions between organisms and the

environment• assess the requirements for sustaining healthy local ecosystems• evaluate human impacts on local ecosystems

KNOWLEDGE• living things interact with each other and their physical environment• organisms are influenced by environmental forces, and each organism

influences the environment to some extent• ecosystems are entire systems formed by interactions among the

different living and non-living parts of the environment (e.g., forests,deserts)

• non-living physical characteristics of an ecosystem include: soil,landforms, water, sunlight, temperature

• the geosphere refers to the physical Earth; the atmosphere refers to theair; the biosphere refers to life forms; and the hydrosphere refers towater

SKILLS AND ATTITUDES• observe and record the biotic and abiotic components in a local

ecosystem

ICT OUTCOMES• access information using a variety of on-line information tools• use a variety of information technology tools to create, modify, explore,

and present electronic documents that express ideas or concepts• apply the principles of good design when developing electronic

documents

Time

30–45 min

Key Ideas

All the ecosystems on Earthare interconnected.

Vocabulary

• biosphere• biomes

Program Resources

SM 1.3 Ecosystems WithinEcosystems

BLM 0.0-2 Venn Diagram(comparing two items)

BLM 0.0-9 Chapter Key IdeasNelson Science Probe 7

Web sitewww.science.nelson.com

• Rivers and streams link the land withthe sea. This is a key example ofhow ecosystems far apart areinterconnected. An estuary is wherethe fresh water meets the sea.Estuaries produce the highestnumber of plants, in a given area, ofall types of ecosystems. Most ofthese plants are not eaten directly bybirds or animals, but they providecritical habitat for many youngorganisms such as salmon and

crabs, and for the organisms that theadults will feed on. When the plantsdie at the end of the growingseason, they decay and form thenutrient base that feeds everythingin the estuary. Living below eachsquare metre of mud are hundredsof invertebrates. Invertebrates feedon the decaying organisms and oneach other. Invertebrates in estuariesare an important source of food for avariety of animals.

SCIENCE BACKGROUND

NEL28 Unit A: Ecosystems

TEACHING NOTES

Getting Started

• Check for Misconceptions– Identify: Students may think that an ecosystem is only a particular

area. – Clarify: Explain to students that an ecosystem is a set of interactions

among living things and between the living things and the non-livingenvironment. Living things may migrate to other ecosystems, andwater flow connects ecosystems. Show the nested circle diagram(Figure 2), to show how an ecosystem exists within another, largerecosystem, one nested inside the other. You may wish to explain thatecosystems exist within the rotting log right down to the microscopiclevel and that the Khutzeymateen Valley ecosystem exists in a largerecosystem that exists in an even larger one, right up to the entireplanet Earth.

– Ask What They Think Now: Ask students, How can a smallerecosystem, such as a fallen log in a forest, be connected to the ocean?

• Refer students to the chapter introduction image and questions:“How large is the world of this bee?” “Can it affect your life even ifit lives hundreds of kilometres away?” “Can your actions still affectthe bee if you live hundreds of kilometres away?” In this section, students will find some answers to these questions.

• Elicit from students some examples of small ecosystems near theirhomes. Ask students to picture a snow-covered fallen log—Whatmakes it an ecosystem? Students might answer that it has organismsinside it, eating and chewing the wood and each other; other plantsmay grow out of it; the snow is going to melt and make the logmoist; living and non-living things are interacting.

• Review Using Graphic Organizers in the Skills Handbook. The nested circle diagram (Figure 2) is a graphic organizer, showingecosystems within ecosystems.

• Refer to the Reading and Thinking Strategies to help studentspredict what they will be learning in this section.

Guide the Learning

• The nested circle diagram (Figure 2) in this section is used as agraphic organizer for the section topic. As students read this section,refer to Figure 2 and have students order the images in the sectioninto a nested circle (from outside in: Earth, biospheres, estuary, grebephoto, goldfish pond or bottle).

• Venn diagrams (Figure 5) may be new for some students. Ensurethat they understand what the intersection is illustrating—thesaltwater and freshwater mix in the estuary and how the land andwater ecosystems of the Khutzeymateen are interconnected.

• Review Venn diagrams in Using Graphic Organizers in the SkillsHandbook.

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1Related Resources

Cannings, Richard, andSydney Cannings. The BCRoadside Naturalist.Vancouver, BC: GreystoneBooks, 2002.

Kistritz, R.U. Discover YourEstuary: Understandingand Exploring the AquaticEnvironment of theFraser River Estuary.Vancouver, BC:Environment Canada,Conservation andProtection, Pacific andYukon Region, 1992.

Pascoe, Elaine, and DwightKhun. The Ecosystem ofa ... (series: garden,grassy field, fallen tree,milkweed patch, stream,apple tree). New York:Powerkids Press, 2003.

• After viewing Figure 5, refer back to the photo of the estuarine watersin the Khutzeymateen inlet. Explain to students how productiveestuaries are, using information from the Science Background.

• Ensure that students know this is one example of interconnectedecosystems in BC.

• For students who need additional support with the reading in thissection, use SM 1.3 Ecosystems Within Ecosystems.

Consolidate and Extend

• Practise a Venn diagram using a very common subject, such as whoate what at the class pizza-and-wrap lunch. One side will show whoate pizza only, and the other side will show who ate wraps only. Theoverlap area indicates who ate both pizza and wraps. This will helpexplain to students that a Venn diagram shows the things incommon, within the overlapped area. Use BLM 0.0-2 Venn Diagram(comparing two items).

• Using some nature guides, share with students the different waysthat BC can be classified. Guides often illustrate ecoregions or biogeoclimatic zones, which are more detailed than biomes. SeeRelated Resources for examples.

• If possible, visit an estuary or make use of the estuary resource listedin the Related Resources. Have a local naturalist or birdwatcher visitthe class to discuss the interconnectedness of ecosystems.

• Refer back to the chapter introduction. Which questions have beenpartly or entirely answered in this section? Add details and examplesto BLM 0.0-9 Chapter Key Ideas.

• Assign the Check Your Understanding questions.

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Chapter 1 Ecosystems support life. 29NEL

At Home

Students can take part inbirdwatching. Have themconsider whether any ofthe birds or butterflies that come to their yardsoverwinter elsewhere.Students could research,or simply consider, whatkind of an ecosystembirds or butterflies maymigrate to.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING—SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. The Khutzeymateen Valley and a koi pond differ in size and in the fact that one isa natural ecosystem and the other—the koi pond—has been created byhumans. They are the same in that they both have a number of organisms interacting with each other and with the non-living environment.

2. Answers will vary, according to the schoolyard. Possible answers: the areaunder a garbage can, rock, or piece of wood, a garden box, and a gutter.

3. Answers will vary.

4. Answers will vary, but shouldshow parts of a whole. Studentsmay have a different number ofcircles, depending on how quicklythey move to a biome label. Somestudents may present a moredetailed and gradual connectionthan others. An example of aschoolyard nested circle diagramis provided.

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Technology Connections

Students coulddemonstrate theirunderstanding ofinterconnectedness ofliving things by creatingtheir own nested circlesusing a computer graphicsprogram and images fromthe Internet.

NEL30 Unit A: Ecosystems

1.3 Ecosystems Within Ecosystems 11NEL

Look at Figure 1. What do the two photos have in common?

Ecosystems Within Ecosystems 1.31.3

Both photos depict small ecosystems that you might find nearyour home. Ecosystems can be as large as the Khutzeymateen Valleyor as small as a discarded bottle or a koi pond. Ecosystems can becreated or altered by humans, or they can be more natural, suchas a wilderness area.

When you think about ecosystems, such as the koipond and the Khutzeymateen Valley, keep in mindthat an ecosystem is not really a place. It is a set ofinteractions among the living and non-living partsof the environment. Also keep in mind that thereare ecosystems within ecosystems.

You could go to the Khutzeymateen Valley andstudy the interactions that occur in one rotting log,along one creek, or in the whole valley (Figure 2). Ineach of these ecosystems, you would find living andnon-living parts interacting with each other. Althoughstudying a small ecosystem is often more practical andconvenient, you should never forget that it is part of alarger ecosystem.

Figure 1A discarded bottle with rainwater in it, and a backyard koi pond, are both examples of

small ecosystems.

Figure 2Nested circles are a good model for showing how

smaller ecosystems are nested within larger

ecosystems.

Rotting Log Ecosystem

Carm Creek Ecosystem

Khutzeymateen Valley Ecosystem

Reading and Thinking Strategies: Anticipate

Content• Have students work with a partner to preview the six

figures and captions in this section. Ask them to predictthe kind of information they will be learning based ontheir previewing and their previous knowledge of thetopic. After the reading, ask students how well theywere able to predict the kind of information they wouldbe learning.

What To Look For in Student Work Suggestions for Teaching Students Who Are Having Difficulty

Evidence that students can See Meeting Individual Needs: Extra Support.• explain how all the ecosystems on Earth

are interconnected, and give examples• create models (e.g., to explain how a local

ecosystem is interconnected, a nested circle diagram shows the different-sized levels of ecosystems ending with a biome)

• use technical language correctly (biosphere, biomes)

• create products that are complete (e.g., nested circle, notebooks)

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

Extra Support

• Compare the nested circles and their interconnectedness to a mailingaddress: the house number is the innermost circle, with the next levelsthe street, town, province, and country.

• For students who need additional support with the reading in this section, use SM 1.3 Ecosystems Within Ecosystems.

Extra Challenge

• Students could track the journey of salmon from the ocean far inland,or from the interior back to the ocean. Students also may explore theecozones or biogeoclimatic zones. See Related Resources.

Meeting Individual Needs