Unit 3 - Ecosytems

ECOSYSTEMS

Living things

Physical components

• plants (flora)
• animals (fauna)
• microorganisms like fungi, bacteria and protists.

• air
• sunlight
• water
• temperature
• soil (with rocks and minerals)
• climate

ELEMENTS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

An ecosystem is a community of living things in a specific area. For example: a river, a desert or a puddle are ecosystems.

ECOSYSTEMS

What is it?

Interactions between populations form COMMUNITIES.

POPULATION: group of organisms that belong to the same species.

HABITAT: the place where a particular animal or plant species grows or lives.

Loss of biodiversity can increase the risk of extinction. Extinction happens when every single member of a species dies out and they no longer exist.

1. Invasive species (asiatic wasps)
2. Human activity (deforestation)
3. Global warming (drought)

Its balance can be affected by:

BIODIVERSITY

Is the variety of living organisms that are present in the ecosystem. Biodiversity creates balance in the ecosystem, and our planet depends on biodiversity.

1. producers,
2. consumers (primary, secondary and tertiary)
3. decomposers.

1.

FOOD CHAINS show the feeding relationship of the animals in an ecosystem. The sun is the starting point, as they need energy to survive. There are 3 types of organisms:

interspecies relationships

Most living things are part of more than one food chain. Most of these food chains are interconnected and are part of a food web.

FOOD WEBS

2.

1. Mutualism: a relationship that benefits both species.
2. Commensalism: a relationship that benefits one species but does not affect the other.
3. Parasitism: a relationship that harms one species (host) and benefits the other (parasite).
4. Competition: organisms compete for the same limited resources such as water, food or habitat.

OTHER INTERSPECIES RELATIONSHIPS

3.

types of ecosystems

thank you!