Beneath the SurfaceObserving an Aquatic Ecosystem

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Investigate and understand

the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Differentiate among key

processes in the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles and analyze how organisms function to recycle matter into the ecosystem

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Recognize that the carbon

dioxide oxygen cycle is part of photosynthesis

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Define and/or identify the

living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components /factors of an ecosystem

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Observe local ecosystems

and measure and classify the biotic and abiotic factors

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Define and describe a simple

food chain

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Compare and contrast

complex relationships between terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Use a food web and energy

pyramids to analyze the flow of energy in ecosystems

Key Objectives:

The student will:– Relate the role of humans in the

ecosystem

Key Terms

EcosystemBiotic factorAbiotic FactorWater QualityLimiting Factors

HabitatCommunityPopulationFood ChainFood WebPredator – prey

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is made up of living organisms which interact with others in their own population, the community and the non-living parts of the community

Can be large or small

Ecosystem

Biotic Factor

All living things in an environment

Abiotic Factor

All non-living and never lived things in an environment

They determine which organisms are able to live in the environment

Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Limiting Factors

Factors that prevent the continuing growth and survival of an organism

Limiting Factors

Water Quality

How healthy or how good the water is to support a community

Water Quality

Habitat

The environment where a species exists

Habitat

Community

All the living parts of an ecosystem that live in the same place at the same time

Community

Population

All individuals of one species living together in a given area

Population

Food Chain

The order in which energy travels – Producers

Plants– Consumers

Herbivores, Carnivore, Omnivores– Decomposers

Food Chain

or… More simply put:– Algae makes food (glucose)– Tiny fish eats algae– Bigger fish eats tiny fish, – Bear eats fish

Food Chain

Food Web

The intricate food web of food chains that shows interactions between many sources of food from producer to the consumer

Food Web

Predator - Prey

The relationship between what animals (the predator) do the eating and what animals are eaten (Prey)

Predator – Prey

Lab Time

Now it is time to introduce the new lab.

Pease open your Green lab guides

Read the introduction silently as I read it aloud

Essential Learnings

There are four levels of organization within a Biome– An Ecosystem– A Community– A Population– An Organism

Essential Learnings

Living things in the environment are called Biotic Factors

Essential Learnings

Nonliving features of the environment, such as water quality/quantity, sunlight, range of temperature, soil composition, air quality, and water chemistry are called Abiotic Factors

Essential Learnings

The number of different types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on biotic and abiotic factors

Essential Learnings

Factors that prevent survival of an organism are called Limiting Factors

Essential Learnings

Limiting factors could include:– Lack of resources– Predation– Unsuitable climate– Disease

Essential Learnings

Ecosystems are dynamic and change over time

Essential Learnings

Changes that effect organisms can be :– Daily– Seasonal– Long-term

Essential Learnings

Large Scale events such as Eutrophication (the addition of excess nutrients) or catastrophic events like drought, flood or fire also change ecosystems

Essential Learnings

Organisms have specific structure, functions and behaviors that enable them to survive in their ecosystem

Essential Learnings

Populations of organisms are categorized by the way they obtain food in an ecosystem

Plants and many microrganisms make their own food

Essential Learnings

Anything that makes its own food is called a Producer

Essential Learnings

Most everything else must obtain food from another source.

Consumers consume food made by producers

Essential Learnings

There are three types of consumers– Herbivores – Plant eaters– Carnivores – Meat eaters– Omnivores – Meat and Plant

eaters

Essential Learnings

There is a third member of the food cycle that starts at the end of life

These break down dead plants and animals

They are called decomposers