Interactions among living things
Science - Fifth Grade
What are Ecosystems?
Multimedia Lesson
Food Chains and Food Webs
Multimedia Lesson
Food Webs
Presentation
Owl Food Web
Presentation
Energy Pyramid
Presentation
What are Ecosystems?
Presentation
Explore
Presentation
What are Ecosystems?
Presentation
Exploring Ecosystems
Virtual Lab
Matching Parts of the Ecosystem
Interactive
Living Organisms Sorting
Interactive
Interactions among living things
Study Guide
Interactions among living things
Quiz
Interactions among living things
Flash Cards
Interactions among living things
Worksheet
Interactions among living things
Game
Interactions among living things
Vocabulary List
Food Webs & Trophic Levels
Flip Chart
Study Guide Interactions among living things
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INTERACTIONS AMONG LIVING THINGS The Flow of Energy An important and essential interaction among living things involves the flow of energy within an environment. ALL living organisms need energy to survive! Energy moves (or flows) through an environment through food chains and food webs. Food Chains The following is an example of a food chain: What do the arrows represent in a food chain? The arrows shown on food chains and webs represent the flow of energy between organisms. For land animals, all food chains usually begin with plants. For ocean animals, food chains usually begin with a microorganism (an organism that is too small to see with our eyes alone) called plankton. Plankton is plant-like. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Food Webs A food web consists of many food chains that overlap each other in an environment. This is because not all animals eat the same, exact thing all the time. If animals did eat the same food, relying on a single food chain, their survival could be threatened if something happened to that one food source. Food webs and food chains include several key players: Producers – which are plants - they are organisms that make their own food and get their energy from the Sun. Consumers – those organisms who can’t make their own food and obtain energy by eating other organisms (all animals happen to be consumers). Consumers include several specific groups of organisms: • Herbivores – organisms that only eat plants • Carnivores – organisms that only eat other animals • Omnivores – organisms that eat both plants and other animals, and • Decomposers – organisms that eat dead plants and animals and waste. Animal Competition We are not talking about Animal Olympics here. We are talking about animals competing for their LIVES! Organisms compete for several reasons. They compete for important resources such as food, water, and space. When resources are limited, competition among organisms increases. Animal Interactions Animals interact with each other, sometimes for the good, other times for the not so good…. What is symbiosis? Symbiosis is the long-term relationship between two or more different organisms that may benefit each member, may benefit only one member, or may harm one organism while the other benefits. Different forms of symbiosis: Commensalism is the relationships between members of two different species, in which one organism is benefited while the other organism is neither harmed nor benefited in any way. An example of commensalism is a bird nest in a tree (the bird gets a place to live and the tree doesn’t get hurt and doesn’t benefit from the bird). © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Parasitism is the relationship between two different organisms in which one organism lives in or on another organism and benefits greatly while causing harm to the organism it is living on or in. A parasite is an organism that feeds off another organism. The organism that a parasite feeds off of is called a host. An example of parasitism is a tapeworm living inside a dog. Mutualism is the relationship between two organisms in which BOTH organisms benefit. An example of mutualism is a bee and flower. A bee benefits from the flower by getting food in the form of nectar from the flower. The flower benefits because the bee aids the flower in the pollination process…so they both help each other. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Table Of Contents: What are Ecosystems?
1. Lesson Objectives
2.1. What are Ecosystems?
2. Engage
3.1. A Nature Walk
3.2. Living and Nonliving Things
3.3. Nature Sounds
3.4. Environment
Everything that you could see, hear, feel, touch and smell all around you was your environment.
3. Explore
4.1. A Small Pond
4.2. A Pond Through a Magnifying Glass
Many things live in the water, even very small organisms (called microorganisms) which you cannot see without a magnifying glass or a microscope.
4.3. What Microorganisms Do You See?
4. Explain
5.1. Environment
How is the place where a fish lives different from a place where a bird lives? Each kind of living organism needs a certain environment to survive. An organism's environment is everything around it. It is made up of all living and nonliving things in an area.
5.2. Living and Nonliving Things
The living things in an environment include plants, animals and microorganisms. Nonliving things include air, water, nutrients, soil and climate.
5.3. Living or Nonliving?
5.4. What is an Ecosystem?
Everything in nature is connected. An ecosystem is made of all living and nonliving things in an environment that interact with each other. An ecosystem may be as large as a pond or as small as the area under a log in the forest.
5.5. An Organism's Habitat and Niche
Every organism in an ecosystem has a niche and a habitat. A habitat is the place where an organism lives. It provides food, water and shelter for the organism to survive. A niche is the role that an organism has in an ecosystem.
5.6. Population and Community
Ecosystems contain populations and communities. A group of living organisms of the same kind living in the same place makes up a population. An ecosystem may include many different populations. All of the populations work together and form a community. The community of living things interacts with the non-living world around it to form an ecosystem.
5.7. Parts of an Ecosystem
An ecosystem includes soil, atmosphere, heat and light from the Sun, water and living organisms. Soil provides nutrients for the plants. The atmosphere provides oxygen and carbon dioxide for both plants and animals. The Sun provides heat for plants and animals, and light for plants to make food. Water is part of all living organisms; without water there would be no life.
5.8. How does an Ecosystem Work?
The living organisms in an ecosystem depend on other living organisms but also on nonliving things for survival. For example, in a pond ecosystem, the Sun light helps algae grow. Algae make oxygen for the fish and also provide food for tiny pond organisms. The fish eat the tiny pond organisms, use the oxygen, and give out carbon dioxide which plants need to grow.
5.9. Matching Parts of the Ecosystem
5.10. Kinds of Ecosystems
There are many kinds of ecosystems. Each ecosystem has its own unique group of living and nonliving things. Examples of different kinds of ecosystems include wetlands, coral reefs, prairies, and deserts. Many factors, such as climate, soil and type of water, determine the kinds of plants and animals that can live there.
5.11. Energy in an Ecosystem
The energy cycle within an ecosystem determines which populations survive and which die. All living things need energy. Ultimately, the Sun is the source of all energy in an ecosystem. Energy flows from the Sun, to producers, then to consumers and finally to decomposers.
5.12. Producers, Consumers & Decomposers
The living organisms in an ecosystem can be divided into three groups: producer, consumers and decomposers. Producers are living things that make their own food using light energy from the Sun. Consumers are animals that get their energy by eating other organisms. Decomposers are organisms that get their energy by breaking down dead plant and animal matter. Examples of decomposers include mushrooms, bacteria and earthworms.
5.13. Living Organisms Sorting
5.14. How Do Ecosystems Change?
Ecosystems are always changing. Some changes are so big that an ecosystem can die or change into another kind of ecosystem. For example, if a fire burns most of a forest, its plant life will have to start over again. New growth will start with grass, wildflowers and small shrubs. Soon young trees, or saplings, will sprout, but it will be many years before there will be tall, strong trees standing in that place again.
5.15. An Ecosystem After a Fire
Another change that may happen because of a forest fire is that certain populations of animals will leave the area to find food and shelter elsewhere. Other populations that depend on those animals for food will also leave or die out. For example, when trees burn, squirrels and birds leave, and foxes and coyotes follow. When the plants start growing back, animals that eat them will start to return to the forest. Over time, if left alone, the forest ecosystem will come back. Life goes on, only now it's in a new kind of environment!
5.16. What are Ecosystems?
5. Elaborate
6.1. Exploring Ecosystems
6. Evaluate
7.1. What are Ecosystems?
7. Lesson Summary
8.1. What are Ecosystems?
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