Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

To the teacher:• This CPO Science PowerPoint presentation is designed to guide you

through the process of presenting the lesson to your students. The presentation uses a 5-E teaching model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate.

• The PowerPoint Slide notes indicate where you may want to bring in various lesson elements such as quizzes, readings, investigations, animations, and practice materials. Additional science background information is provided in the slide notes where appropriate. You can view these notes by selecting “View,” then “Normal.” You will see the notes pane at the bottom of the PowerPoint workspace. Additionally, the slide notes are available as a separate document, accessible from the lesson home page.

• The slides that follow are intended for classroom use.

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

What’s in an ecosystem?• A sea otter wakes from a nap and

unwraps itself from the kelp that kept it from floating away. The otter dives to the ocean floor in search of sea urchins that feed on the kelp. The otter brings an urchin to the surface, floats on its back in the sunshine, cracks open the urchin with a rock, and eats it.

• Can you name at least three non-living and three living things that interact in this coastal marine ecosystem?

• What types of ecosystems are found where you live?

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

Time to investigate!• Complete the lesson investigation:

– Food Webs

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

Producer/consumer relationships• A producer is a living thing (like a

plant) that makes its own food.

• A consumer must feed on other living things for food and energy.

– Herbivores consume only plants.

– Carnivores eat only animals.

– Omnivores eat plants and animals.

• What is the producer in the marine ecosystem shown here? What types of consumers can you identify?

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

• Predators are animals that hunt and feed on other animals.

• Prey are animals that are eaten by other animals.

• Can you identify three predator/prey relationships in the freshwater ecosystem at right?

Predator/prey relationships

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

Parasite/host relationships

• A host is an organism that shares its energy resources with another organism.

• A parasite is an organism that takes energy resources from another organism, causing harm to its host.

• Which organism is the parasite in each photo?

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

Relationships in a terrestrial ecosystem

• Describe two producer/consumer relationships in the terrestrial ecosystem food web pictured at right.

• Describe two predator/prey relationships in the food web.

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

Time for Practice!

• Complete the lesson practice activity:– Ecosystem Interactions

Ecosystem Roles: TEKS 8.11A

Show what you know!

• Try the lesson’s interactive quiz, or complete a quiz that your teacher can print out for you.

• Hint: – You might want to review your lesson reading piece one

more time before trying the quiz.