Ecosystem Review and Assessment
Unit 4Lesson 48
Let’s review what we have learned about ecosystems.
An Ecosystem is a group of plants and animals working together
from a particular location.
Animals have four basic needs. They need food, shelter, water and
air.
All animals need food but different animals need different types of
food.
Plants need food. Plants get their food from the soil.
Animals need water. Plants need water to survive.
Animals need shelter.
A shelter is protection from weather or dangers.
Animals need protection from sun, rain, cold and other animals.
Plants need their roots protected.
Soil shelters roots.
Animals need air. They need the oxygen in air.
Plants need air. Plants need the carbon dioxide in the air.
Animals and plants need space.
Animals can't be crowded. They need space to grow
strong.
Plants need space for their roots to grow.
All plants need light to grow. They can not survive without
it.
Most animals need sunlight. Some animals can survive without
sunlight. There are fish who live in complete darkness deep at the
ocean floor.
Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend all the needs of animals and
plants you can think of.
Now listen as your friend tells you all the needs of plants and animals
they can think of.
Did you both get all the needs we discussed? Rewind the video and
check.
Let’s look at beach Ecosystems.
Some living things at the beach live under seaweed and inside
shells to protect themselves from the heat and salty air or danger.
Some living things burrow in the sand. The sand provides shade
and moisture.
The mussels eat plankton found in the water.
The starfish eat the mussels.
The seagulls eat the starfish.
These living things need each other.
Crabs need algae or seaweed. Seagulls needs crabs.
Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend what you have learned
about beach ecosystems.
Let’s look at woodland ecosystems.
Living things in the woodland might be hiding in trees or
under the soil.
Animals in this ecosystem can survive cold winter months.
Woodland animals depend on trees for food and shelter.
Earthworms help the trees survive.
The trees provide shelter and food for animals and birds.
Bobcats and owls live on the animals they hunt.
Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend what you have learned about woodland ecosystems.
Let’s look at desert ecosystems.
The desert ecosystem is hot and dry. Living things in the
desert can survive in dry heat.
Deserts are very hot and dry all year. Plants and animals that live there are
able to survive on very little water.
Desert plants are different
from plants in other
ecosystems because they have to live
and grow with very little
water.
Desert plants have shallow roots so that they can soak up any rain
that falls in the dry desert.
Desert plants save water in their stems and have sharp needles to keep animals from eating them.
Many of these plants produce flowers or fruit. This is food for many
animals.
Most desert animals are nocturnal, that means they hunt for food at
night when it is cooler.
Many desert animals fur, feathers, or skin is light in color because the light color reflects the hot desert sun. This helps keep the animal cooler.
The tortoise and the jack rabbit eat plants in the desert. They build their
burrows near plants for shelter and shade.
The coyote eats the jack rabbit and
the tortoise and many other
animals. It also eats berries and
flowers.
The antelope squirrel eats the plants in the desert. The rattlesnake eats
antelope squirrels and other rodents and reptiles.
The Roadrunner eats rodents, like the
antelope squirrel, birds. It eats snakes, like the rattlesnake and other
reptiles. The roadrunner perches on
desert plants.
Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend what you have learned
about desert ecosystems.
How do people hurt the ecosystems?
People throw their trash in the ecosystems which can harm the
living things.
Sometimes people hurt the environment. People can cause
fires and oil spills.
Too many trees get cut down to make room for people.
Animals lose homes when too much land is cleared or
destroyed.
Humans hurt clean air and water with pollution. People can also
waste water.
People create too much trash and we don’t know where to put it all.
How do people help the ecosystems?
People can clean up trash from ecosystems.
People can help our environment by recycling. When we reuse things we
do not create as much trash.
People can help the woodlands by planting trees to create homes
and food for the animals.
Planting trees and plants also help people. We need oxygen.
Plants give us oxygen.
People can conserve water. That means not waste water.
Take a break. Stand up and tell a friend how people can harm and
help the environment .
We have finished unit 4. We will take the assessment. I will read the questions. If you need more time stop the video at any time.
Pat your back. You just finished Unit 4 Ecosystems.
Great job!
In our next unit we will learn more about plants and animals.
Keep observing the world around you!