What Is An Ecosystem? An ecosystem refers to an area where

a lot of living things exist.

An ecosystem deals with the relationship that these living things have with each other, and with the non-living factors in their environment.

Ecosystems

http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/ecosystems/preview.weml

Bear Necessities Ecology is the study of relationships

between living things and living things and their environment.

Ecological niche: The way of life or role of an organism in the ecosystem.

Human Impacts Humans are widespread, we live in almost

every environment on Earth.

The presence of humans has an impact on other living things and their interactions with others and the environment.

The Plight of the Polar Bear The polar bears of Hudson Bay live on the

ice of the bay in the winter, in the summer they travel south to forested areas.

Polar bears, opposite to most bears, are most active in the winter and spend the summer sleeping or lazing around.

Up until recently the only people who would come in contact with the bears of the bay were Inuit and other northern Native people.

Changing temperatures have affected the bears ability to find food and have resulted in bears going into towns to find food.

Polar Bears: An Uncertain Future http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/wild-

kingdom/videos/uncertain-future-for-polar-bears.htm

Polar Bears: Slim Pickings http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/wild-

kingdom/videos/slim-pickings-for-polar-bears.htm

Bad Mix The food the bears are eating in town (from

the dump) does not provide the bears with adequate nutrients to last them through the summer months.

This results in hungrier bears earlier in the season.

Extinctions

http://www.brainpop.com/science/ourfragileenvironment/extinction/preview.weml

Components of A Ecosystem The non-living parts of an ecosystem are

referred to as abiotic.

Things like the sun, air, water are examples of abiotic factors of an ecosystem.

Biotic refers to the living things within an ecosystem.

Abiotic or Biotic?

Chain of Life Ecologists organize the relationships

among organisms and their environment to help study the interactions.

They do this by using terms to describe systems of living things.

The chain of progression starts with the individual living thing (an organism).

Progressing to the largest system, which includes every living thing on Earth (the biosphere).

Organism A organism refers

to a single living thing.

A example of a living organism is a polar bear.

Population A population is the

number of organisms of the same species living in one place at the same time.

Community A community is all

of the organisms within an area.

The polar bear community includes polar bears, seal and types of fish.

Ecosystem An ecosystem is the

community and its interactions with the physical world.

Biome A biome is a

collection of related ecosystems within a region or area.

Biosphere The biosphere is all

of the biomes, all of the ecosystems on earth.

Wherever living things are found, that is the biosphere.

Ecosystem

Population CommunityOrganism

Biome Biosphere

The Cycling of Matter The use and reuse of matter on Earth

is called a matter cycle.

Ecologists learn how organisms depend on each other by studying the flow of matter and energy in an ecosystem.

The Cycling of Matter Most matter cycles begin

with plants, which get their energy from the sun through a process called photosynthesis.

During photosynthesis a green substance found in plants, called chlorophyll, captures and stores the energy from the sun.

Organisms that contain chlorophyll are able to make their own food.

These organisms are referred to as producers.

Most green plants are referred to as producers

Other organisms, such as animals, do not contain chlorophyll and are not able to make their own food.

In order to get the energy they need, they must eat plants or other animals that eat plants.

Organisms that rely on plants for food are called consumers.

There are three types of consumers. Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore

Herbivore A caterpillar is an

example of a herbivore.

A herbivore is a plant eating animal or insect.

Their main source of food energy is from plants or vegetation

Carnivore A wolf is a carnivore

A carnivore is a meat eating consumer.

Their main source of food energy is from eating other animals

Omnivore A polar bear is an

omnivore

An omnivore is a consumer that eats both plants and animals.

Their main source of food energy comes from plants and animals

Decomposition Consumers eventually die.

The remains of consumers will go through a process of decomposition meaning the matter becomes part of the soil.

Scavengers A crow is a

scavenger

A scavenger is an animal, which feeds on dead animals.

They perform a clean-up task by removing the remains of dead animals.