What is an ecosystem

?

Each kind of living thing needs a certain environment. An environment has living part nonliving parts -plants sunlight -animals air - water -other living thing soil

Places for living things

The sun`s rays warm nonliving parts

air water soil.

Sun`s heat earth`s air warm living things water soil

Parts of an

ecosystem

The living and nonliving parts of an environment interact. Interact= to act together.

Ecosystem : is when the living and nonliving part interact.

Marsh is a wetland ecosystem.

1 -The living parts depend on nonliving parts.

Plants need sunlight, soil, air, water

2-the living parts depend on one another.

Animals eat other living things

some animals use plants for shelter.

Water is a nonliving part of wetlands. Plants and animals need water to live and grow.

Box turtles live on land near wetlands.

Marsh and pond turtles live in the water.

Grasses grow in marsh wetlands. They need sunlight, soil, air, and lots of water.

Egrets eat fish, frogs, and other small animals that live in the marsh.

Raccoons eat plants, fish, and small animals that live in the marsh. They often sleep in nearby trees.

Habitats

Habitat is the place where a living thing makes its home.

1-it can be the water in a wetland. 2 -it can be the soil beneath a rock

.3 -it can be a crack in a sidewalk .

This monkey`s habitat is the trees in a rain forest.

Groups within ecosystems

Population: all the living things of the same kind that live in the same place.

Coral reef ecosystem includes many different populations.

Bluespot butterflyfish living around the reef make up one population.

A coral reef may have populations of crabs, clams, sharks, and other animals.

Community : all the populations that live in the same place.

Populations in a community depend on each other.

Ecosystems

change.

Ecosystems may change over time. When one part of an ecosystem changes, other parts are affected too.

A hurricane may damage the fruit trees in a forest where monkeys live.

The monkeys may not be able to find enough fruit to eat.

The monkey population may become smaller .