Relationships in Ecosystems

Chapter 1 Lesson 2

GLE 0507.2.1: Investigate different nutritional relationships among organisms in an ecosystem.

GLE 0507.2.2: Explain how organisms interact through symbiotic, commensal, and parasitic relationships.

How do organisms depend on one another for energy?

Imagine you are on a hike in TN. Name all of the biotic (living) factors

you see.

Now,name all of the abiotic (nonliving) factors you see.

What is an ecosystem?

• Biotic factors are living things.

– List 4 biotic factors in this picture.

• Abiotic factors are nonliving things.

– List 4 abiotic factors found in this picture.

What is an ecosystem?

• Together the biotic and abiotic factors make up the forest ecosystem.

• An ecosystem includes all of the living and the nonliving things in an environment.

What is an ecosystem?

• The organisms in an ecosystem can be sorted into different populations.

• A population includes all members of a single species in an area at a given time.

For example: In this picture, you see a population of ___________. You also see a population of _____________.

Name the populations you can see in this ecosystem.

What is an ecosystem?• Together the many

different populations make up a community.

• A community includes all the living things (or populations) in an ecosystem.

• A community not only includes all of the plants and animals living there, but also bacteria, protists, and fungi.

What is an ecosystem?• An ecosystem can be

local or widespread.

• It can be as large as an entire forest.

• Or one fallen log in the middle of a forest can make up an ecosystem.

Listening Quiz

1. Which of the following is NOT a biotic factor?

A. Rock

B. Deer

C. Oak tree

D. Fly

Listening Quiz

2. Which of the following is NOT an abiotic factor?

A. Rock

B. Deer

C. Water

D. Oxygen

Listening Quiz

3. Wildflowers are _____________ factors.

A. Biotic

B. Abiotic

Listening Quiz

4. All of the living and nonliving things in an environment make up a(n) __________________.

A. Biotic

B. Abiotic

C. Ecosystem

D. Population

Listening Quiz

5. All of the living and nonliving things in an environment make up a(n) __________________.

A. Biotic

B. Abiotic

C. Ecosystem

D. Population

Listening Quiz

6. All of the members of one species living in an environment make up a(n) __________________.

A. Community

B. Abiotic

C. Ecosystem

D. Population

Listening Quiz

7. All of the living things in an ecosystem make up a(n) __________________.

A. Community

B. Abiotic

C. Ecosystem

D. Population

Listening Quiz

8. All of the blue spruce trees in a forest form a _______________.

A. Community

B. Population

C. Ecosystem

D. Abiotic factor

Listening Quiz

9. A _____________ might include deer, squirrels, pine trees, ferns, and grass.

A. Community

B. Population

C. Ecosystem

D. Abiotic factor

Listening Quiz

10. Mushrooms are a(n) __________ factor.

A. Biotic

B. Ecosystem

C. Population

D. Abiotic

Project:

On your own paper, design a diorama for one of the following biomes: deciduous forest, grassland, tundra, taiga, tropical rain forest.

Include:• at least five populations• 4 abiotic factors• 5 biotic factors

Refer to the rubric your teacher gives you to make sure you include all necessary items.

How are food chains alike?

• The path that energy and nutrients follow in an ecosystem is called a food chain.

• A food chain is a model of the food relationships that exist between organisms.

How are food chains alike?

• The arrows represent the flow of energy from one organism to another.

• The arrows point to the belly organism that is doing the eating.

– The caterpillar eats the flower.

– The frog eats the caterpillar.

– The snake eats the frog.

– The owl eats the snake.

How are food chains alike?• All energy in a food

chain comes from the sun.

• Producers are at the beginning of all food chains.

– A producer is an organism that uses the sun’s energy to make its own food in the form of sugar or starch.

PRODUCERLANTS Click to View: Photosynthesis Animation

7 minutes

How are food chains alike?• We can think of

producers as plants. Algae is another example.

• Producers use energy from the sun, along with water and carbon dioxide to make sugar molecules.

• These sugar molecules are the original source of food for consumers.

How are food chains alike?• A consumer is any animal that

eats (or consumes) plants or other animals.

• Animals that eat only producers (plants) are called herbivores.

– Examples: squirrels, some birds, grazing animals

• Animals that eat other animals rather than producers are called carnivores.

– Examples: bobcats, hawks

How are food chains alike?• Animals that eat both

plants and animals are called omnivores.

– Examples of omnivores are raccoons, mice, and some crabs.

• Dead or decaying animals are broken down by decomposers.

– Examples: bacteria, fungi, termites, and many worms

How are food chains alike?

• Consumers that eat the left over bodies of animals that have started to rot are called scavengers.– Examples: vultures, eagles, raccoons

Listening Guide

1. Where does the energy in a food chain come from?

A. Sun

B. Grass

C. Deer

D. Wolf

Listening Guide

2. Which of the following is a producer?

A. Sun

B. Grass

C. Deer

D. Wolf

Listening Guide

3. Which of the following is a consumer?

A. Sun

B. Grass

C. Deer

Listening Guide

4. Which of the following is a consumer?

A. Sun

B. Wolf

C. Grass

Listening Guide

5. Which of the following is a herbivore?

A. Sun

B. Wolf

C. Grass

D. Deer

Listening Guide

6. Which of the following is a carnivore?

A. Sun

B. Wolf

C. Grass

D. Deer

Listening Guide

7. Which of the following is a decomposer?

A. tiger

B. bear

C. mushroom

D. tree

Listening Guide

8. Which of the following is NOT an abiotic factor?

A. soil

B. air

C. mushroom

D. sun

Listening Guide

9. Which of the following is NOT an biotic factor?

A. worm

B. rain

C. grass

D. deer

Listening Guide

10. Which of the following is a scavenger?

A. lion

B. tiger

C. vulture

D. bear

What are food webs made of?

• In most food chains, a single organism is not eaten by only one consumer.

– For Example: The insects in the food web can be eaten by either the frogs or the birds.

• This makes the insects part of two food chains.

What are food webs made of?

• A food web is a network of food chains that have some links in common.

• Food webs are just several food chains put together.

What are food webs made of?

• The arrows represent the flow of energy from one organism to another.

• The arrows point to the belly of the organism doing the eating!– Both the owl AND the

snake eat the frog.

– The fox eats mice, squirrels, and rabbits.

What are food webs made of?• The hawk in the food

web hunts for food.

• This makes the hawk a predator.

– Predators are animals that hunt other animals for food.

• Animals that are hunted for food are called prey.

– The snake and the fish are examples of prey.

What are food webs made of?

• Predators are important in a food web.

• They limit the size of prey populations.

• When the number of prey animals are reduced, producers and other resources in an ecosystem are less likely to run out.

Listening Guide

1. A network of food chains that share some links is called a ___________.

A. Predator

B. Prey

C. Producer

D. Food web

Listening Guide

2. Organisms that get eaten by other animals are called ____________

A. Predator

B. Prey

C. Producer

D. Food web

Listening Guide

3. Organisms that hunt other animals to eat them are called ____________.

A. Predator

B. Prey

C. Producer

D. Food web

Listening Guide

4. Animals that eat decaying or rotting animals are called ___________.

A. Predator

B. Decomposers

C. Scavengers

D. Food web

Listening Guide

5. The arrows on a food web represent the flow of __________ from one organism to another.

A. Herbivore B. Decomposers C. Scavengers D. energy

Listening Guide

6. The arrow always points to the _______ of the organism doing the ________.

A. Belly - producing

B. Belly – hiding

C. Belly - decomposing

D. Belly - eating

Listening Guide

7. If prey populations get too large, _________ might run out.

A. Producers and consumers

B. Producers and resources

C. Water

D. Energy

Listening Guide

8. At the base of each food chain are _____ that use the Sun’s energy to make sugar and oxygen.

A. ConsumersB. ProducersC. PredatorsD. Herbivores

Listening Guide9. The original source of food for ________, or

any animal that eats plants or other animals, is sugar molecules.

A. HerbivoresB. ProducersC. PredatorsD. Consumers

Listening Guide10. All the members of the same species living

in an ecosystem are called a ____________ .

A. Producer

B. Population

C. Predator

D. Consumer

What are symbiotic relationships?

• Living things interact with each other in many different ways.

• Sometimes one organism hunts another. (predators–prey)

What are symbiotic relationships?

• Relationships such as predators and prey are examples of interdependence.

• Interdependence is the reliance of certain organisms on other organisms for their survival.

What are symbiotic relationships?

• A relationship between two organisms that lasts over a period of time is called symbiosis.

Joshua (Yucca) Tree and the Yucca Moth

What are symbiotic relationships?

• A symbiotic relationship that benefits both organisms is called mutualism.

– Examples: • yucca tree and the yucca

moth

• ants and the acacia tree

What are symbiotic relationships?

• Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship that benefits one organism without harming the other.

– Examples:

• ray and remoras

• orchids and rain forest trees

• Clownfish and anemones

What are symbiotic relationships?

• A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits while the other is harmed is called parasitism. – Examples:

• Tapeworms

• Ticks

• Lamprey

lamprey

tapeworm

tick