roles in ecosystems. habitat – a ____________ is the place an organism lives

Roles in Ecosystems

Habitat

– A ____________ is the place an organism lives.

Ecological Niche

The __________ _________ is an organism’s “job” in an ecosystem.

It includes:– ___________________________________– ___________________________________– ___________________________________

Ecological Niche

Each organism in an ecosystem usually has a different niche.

This helps to reduce the amount of ________________ for habitat and resources (like ________, ________.).

Do they have the same niche?

Do they have the same niche?

1) Red-tailed hawk

- ______________

- ________________

- ________________

Do they have the same niche?

2) Eastern screech owl

- ________________

- ________________

- ________________

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is _______________________

____________________________________; also known as biological diversity

Since organisms within an ecosystem have different niches, it allows for _______________________.

Native vs. Introduced Species

A ______________________ is a species (type of living thing) that has lived in an ecosystem for a long time.

An ____________________ is a species that is new to an ecosystem.

Introduced species can arrive naturally (animals move, seeds carried by wind) or by humans.

Impact of Introduced Species

_______________________ usually cause problems in an ecosystem.

They compete for a niche with the _________ species.

Example - Starling

Sixty European starlings were released in North America in honour of Shakespeare.

There are now 200 million of them!

Example – Cane Toad

Cane toads were introduced into Australia to control insects.

Example – Cane Toad

They did not really help with

the insects. Now they are causing a

lot of problems. They are poisonous, so anything that eats

them dies. They are HUGE – and will eat anything they

can swallow including many native species.

Example – Rabbits

Rabbits were brought to Australia by people.

People brought rabbits to Australia.

Example – Rabbits

When the rabbits multiplied, they tried many ways to stop them:- fences- viruses- fleas

Nothing has worked!

Vocabulary

Habitat Ecological niche Competition Native species Introduced species

Make sure you know

these words!