5º and 6º. Unit 5.Ecosystems

Each individual plant and animal could not exist by itself on planet Earth. All living organisms need millions of other living organisms to survive. How these organisms interact with the sun, soil, water, air and each other in a specific area is called an ecosystem. An ecosystem describes a specific area where the organisms work together as a unit. It could be any size from a tiny pool of water to hundreds of square miles of desert. Each ecosystem is different and each has established a balance over time that is important to every form of life within the ecosystem.

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What makes up an ecosystem?

An ecosystem is made up of biotic and abiotic components which include plants, animals and the environment in which they are found. The living or biotic components are made up of producers, consumers and decomposers. Some of the non-living or abiotic components include sunlight, temperature, water and soil.

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DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEM AND HABITATS

Scientists discuss some general ecosystem types. They call them biomes. A biome is a large area on the Earth's surface that is defined by the types of animals and plants living there. A biome can be partially defined by the local climate patterns. You may also have more than one type of biome within a larger climate zone. Here is a short list of possible biomes.

- Tropical Rainforest (Think about Brazil)
- Tropical Savanna (Think about Africa)
- Desert (Think about the middle east)
- Mediterranean Woodland (Think about coniferous forests)
- Mid-latitude Grassland (Think about Oklahoma)
- Mid-latitude Deciduous Forest (Think about the east coast of North America)
- Tundra (Think about frozen plains of Alaska)
- Ice Caps (Think about the poles)

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FOOF CHAINS AND WEBS

Food Chain

Food Chain

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Every living plant and animal must have energy to survive. Plants rely on the soil, water, and the sun for energy. Animals rely on plants as well as other animals for energy. In an ecosystem, plants and animals all rely on each other to live. Scientists sometimes describe this dependence using a food chain or a food web. Food Chain A food chain describes how different organisms eat each other, starting out with a plant and ending with an animal. For example, you could write the food chain for a lion like this: grass ---> zebra ---> lion The lion eats the zebra, which eats the grass.

The Food Chain
Every living thing needs energy in order to live. Everytime animals do something (run, jump) they use energy to do so.

Animals get energy from the food they eat, and all living things get energy from food. Plants use sunlight, water and nutrients to get energy (in a process called photosynthesis). Energy is necessary for living beings to grow.
A food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature. Food chains begin with plant-life, and end with animal-life. Some animals eat plants, some animals eat other animals.