Parts of Ecosystems

What are nonliving parts of ecosystems?

What are nonliving parts of ecosystems?

• An ecosystem is made up of all the living and nonliving things that interact in an area.– Nonliving things in an area include

• Water• Air• Soil• Sunlight

What are nonliving parts of ecosystems?

• Air– Animals depend on oxygen to use food as energy.– Plants depend on carbon dioxide to make food.

• Soil– Soil is loose material that covers much of Earth’s

surface. It is made up of:• Rocks• Minerals• Organic matter

What are nonliving parts of ecosystems?

• Organic matter – is made of the remains of plants and animals.– Help plants grow because it is rich in

nutrients.

• Sunlight– Plants and animals depend on sunlight.

• Plants need sunlight to make food• Sunlight provides heat energy.

What are nonliving parts of ecosystems?

• Different Ecosystems have its own:– Amounts of light and water– Range of temperatures– Soil Types

• These conditions determine the kinds of living things that are able to survive there

What are nonliving parts of ecosystems?

• Polar Ecosystems:– Covered in ice– Temperatures are very low– During half the year there is little or no

sunlight.

• Desert Ecosystems:– Daytime temperatures are very high– Little rain falls– Soil is poor and sandy

Summarize

What are nonliving parts of ecosystems?

Ecosystems are made up of living and

nonliving parts?

Different ecosystems have different light, soil, water, and temperature

conditions?

The nonliving parts of an ecosystem determine which plants and animals can live

there.

Author Questions

• What are some nonliving parts of an ecosystems?– Water– Air– Soil– Light– temperature

Author Questions

• What conditions would you find in a polar ecosystem?– Covered in ice– Temperatures are very low– During half the year there is little or no

sunlight.

Parts of Ecosystems

What are living parts of ecosystems?

What are living parts of ecosystems?

• A living thing will survive only in an environment that meets its needs.

• An environment is everything that surrounds and affects a living thing.

• All living things in an ecosystem make up a community.

• A population is all the members of one kind of plant or animal in a community.

What are living parts of ecosystems?

What are living parts of ecosystems?

• A rainforest is an area where it rains a lot.• A tropical rainforests is located in a tropical

climate where it is warm and humid.• A temperate rainforest is located in a temperate

climate where temperatures are usually warm.• Trees tend to grow close together providing

shelter and water for many kinds of plants and animals.

What are living parts of ecosystems?

• A prairie is a grassy land area with few or not trees.– Prairies receive more rainfall than deserts, but

less than forests.– Winters are cold, and summers are hot.– Grasses grow well here.– Prairie ecosystems are home to animals that

feed on grasses and their seeds.

What are living parts of ecosystems?

• New York City is located in a temperate zone which have cold wet winters and hot dry summers and is home to many living things.

• In wetland ecosystems water covers much of the land.– Water plants and tiny algae live in the water

which are food for fish, which in turn, are food for herons and other wading birds.

What are living parts of ecosystems?

• A terrarium is a model of an ecosystem.– A heat lamp is used to model the Sun.– Living things interact with each other and with

nonliving parts.– Conditions may vary in a terrarium.

• A rock under a heat lamp can be dry and warm.• Soil under a piece of driftwood can be moist and

cool.

What are living parts of ecosystems?

• Large ecosystems also have conditions that vary in different areas.– Organisms thrive where conditions best meet

their needs.• In the ocean, conditions vary in a coral reef

ecosystem.– Some organisms meet their needs a the reef top near

the ocean surface.– Others live in deeper water.

Summarize

What are living parts of

ecosystems?

All the different populations of plants and animals living in one area

make up a community.

Every ecosystem has its own set of nonliving

conditions. Living things that live there are suited to

those conditions.

Different parts of a ecosystem have different conditions. Organisms thrive in conditions that best

meet their needs.

Author Questions

• Explain why forest ecosystems support so many kinds of plants and animals. – Forest ecosystems provide the right

conditions for many living things.

Author Questions

• What factors determine the plants and animals that live in an ecosystem?– Temperature– Water– Sunlight

Author Questions

• How can conditions vary within a terrarium?– A rock under a heat lamp can be dry and

warm.– Soil under a piece of driftwood can be moist

and cool.

Parts of Ecosystems

What are some roles of living things?

What are some roles of living things?

• Living things are found in an ecosystems are interdependent.

• This means that living things depend on each other to meet their needs.

What are some roles of living things?

• Examples of interdependence:– The swollen acacia tree and a type of stinging

ant.• The ants get food from the plant and the plant gets

protection from the ants.

– The sea anemone and the clown fish• The sea anemone protects the clown fish while the

clown fish cleans the sea anemone’s tentacles.

– The Egyptian plover and the crocodile• The Egyptian plover cleans the crocodile’s teeth

while getting a meal.

What are some roles of living things?

• Everything has a role to play within its ecosystem.

• A producer is an organism that makes its own food through using the energy from the sun known as a process called photosynthesis.

What are some roles of living things?

• Plants are producers..

What are some roles of living things?