1.energy flow in ecosystems · 3. biomes what are the six major biomes? a biome is a group of...

Ecosystems & Biomes 1. Energy Flow in Ecosystems

What are energy roles in ecosystems?

● Producers○ An organism that can make its own food = AUTOTROPHS! ○ Source of all the food in an ecosystem○ Producers make their own food via photosynthesis


● An organism’s energy role is determined by how it gets its food and how it interacts with other organisms

● There are three energy roles in an ecosystem:○ Producers○ Consumers ○ Decomposers


● Consumers ○ An organism that gets energy by feeding on other organisms ○ Consumers are classified by what they eat:

■ Carnivores - eat only animals ■ Herbivores - eat only plants ■ Omnivores - eat both plants and animals■ Scavengers - carnivore that eats dead animals


● Decomposers ○ An organism that breaks down waste and dead organisms to

return the materials to the environment ○ Nature’s recyclers!

How does energy move through an ecosystem?

● Energy enters ecosystems from the sun● Energy moves through an ecosystem when one organism eats another

○ Food chains - a series of events where one organism eats another○ Food webs - many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem○ Energy pyramids - shows the amount of energy that moves from

one level to another in a food web

How does energy move through an ecosystem?

●

How do human activities affect ecosystems

● Human activities affect the balance in an ecosystem and can change the ecosystem: ○ Agriculture○ Overuse of resources


● Agriculture○ Technology that helps increase food production also hurts the

environment ■ Clearing forest for farmland■ Insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to increase/help crop production


● Overuse of resources ○ If humans use too many resources in an ecosystem, the plants and

animals don’t have enough for them■ Catching too many fish■ Too many animals in a grassland area

● Desertification - when a once fertile area becomes desert like

2. Cycles of Matter

What Processes are involved in the water cycle?

● The water cycle is the continuous process where water moves from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back○ The water cycle is made up of three processes:

■ Evaporation■ Condensation■ precipitation

What Processes are involved in the water cycle?

● Evaporation ○ The process where molecules of water absorb energy and turn into a

gas■ The energy comes from the sun! ■ Liquid water evaporates from oceans, lakes, and other water sources to form

water vapor in the atmosphere

What processes are involved in the Water Cycle?

● Condensation ○ As water vapor from evaporation gets higher in the atmosphere, it

cools down and eventually turns back into drops of water■ This is called condensation! ■ Water droplets collect around dust particles to form clouds

What processes are involved in the Water Cycle?

● Precipitation○ As more water vapor condenses, the drops of water in the clouds

get larger until they fall to the earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail■ The precipitation that falls will go back into the lakes and oceans, or may be

soaked up by soil and become groundwater

How are the carbon cycle and oxygen cycle related?

● The cycling of carbon dioxide and oxygen are linked together with two cycles:○ Carbon cycle○ Oxygen cycle


● Carbon cycle○ Producers take in carbon dioxide from the air during

photosynthesis and use carbon to make food ○ As consumers eat producers, they take in carbon and break it down

by cellular respiration○ Consumers release carbon dioxide back into the environment


● Oxygen cycle○ Producers release oxygen after photosynthesis occurs ○ Consumers take in oxygen from the air


● Human impact○ When we burn oil, carbon dioxide is released and levels in the

environment go up ○ Clearing forests increases levels of carbon dioxide

How does nitrogen cycle through ecosystems?

● In the nitrogen cycle, nitrogen moves from the air to the soil, to living things, and back to the air or soil

○ The air around you is about 78% nitrogen gas! ○ Most organisms cannot use nitrogen gas though


● Nitrogen fixation○ Most organisms can only use nitrogen that has been combined

with other elements ■ Changing free nitrogen into usable forms of nitrogen is called

nitrogen fixation■ Most nitrogen fixation is done by bacteria that live in the roots of plants

like beans, peanuts, peas, and clover


● Once nitrogen is fixed, producers use it to build proteins○ Nitrogen cycles from the soil to the producers and then to

consumers once they are eaten○ sometimes, bacteria break down some of the nitrogen until it

goes back into the air

3. biomes

What are the six major biomes?

● A biome is a group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms○ There are six major biomes:

■ Desert■ Rainforest ■ Grassland■ Deciduous forest■ Boreal forest■ tundra

What are the six major biomes?

● The climate - the average annual temperature and amount of precipitation - determines the biome of an area○ Climate limits the types of plants that can grow there, and the types

of plants determines the species of animals that can live there

What are the six major biomes? ● Desert - An area that receives less than 25 centimeters of rain a year

○ Deserts go through big changes in temperature in a day! ■ During the day it can be scorching hot, but at night it can drop to below

freezing! ○ Organisms in the desert must be adapted to little to no rain and

extreme temperatures■ Cactus plants■ Gila monsters ■ Fennec

What are the six major biomes? ● Rainforest - an area where large amounts of rain fall in a year

○ After it rains, the sun appears, but very little of it reaches the ground!

○ There are two types of rainforest biomes:■ Temperate■ Tropical

What are the six major biomes? ● Temperate rainforest

○ Northwest of the united states○ Receives more than 300 centimeters of rain a year○ Huge trees like redwoods, cedars, and firs

What are the six major biomes? ● Tropical rainforest

○ Warm, humid climate with a lot of rain. Perfect for a great variety of plants! ■ Plants: venus fly traps, orchids, rubber trees■ Animals: Monkey, jaguar, toucan, frogs

○ There are four layers to the trees of a rainforest■ Emergent layer - the tallest layer, gets the most sunlight■ Canopy - leafy layer under the emergent■ Understory - short trees and vines, shaded■ Forest floor - ground under the trees

What are the six major biomes? ● Grassland - grassy plains, called prairies

○ Comfortable temperatures with 25 to 75 centimeters of rain a year○ A savanna is a grassland closer to the equator○ Grasslands are home to large animals such as:

■ Elephants■ Bison■ Giraffes■ Rhinos■ zebras

What are the six major biomes? ● Deciduous forest - trees shed their leaves and grow new ones each year

○ Around 50 centimeters of rain a year ○ Temperatures vary greatly during the year○ Trees include oaks and maples○ Animals include squirrels, chipmunks, and skunks

What are the six major biomes? ● Boreal forest - dense forests found in the northern hemisphere (also

known as taiga)○ Coniferous trees like firs and hemlocks○ Animals include red squirrels, finches, moose, beavers, and owls

What are the six major biomes? ● Tundra - an extremely cold and dry biome

○ Soil is frozen most of the year, this is called permafrost ○ Plants include moss, grass, and dwarf trees○ Animals include foxes, caribou, and wolves

4. Aquatic Ecosystems

What are the two major aquatic ecosystems?

● Three quarters of earth’s surface is covered in water● There are two types of aquatic ecosystems:

○ Freshwater○ Saltwater (marine)

What are the two major aquatic ecosystems?

● Freshwater○ Streams and rivers

■ Trout, frogs, snails○ Ponds and lakes

■ Algae, dragonflies, many types of fish

What are the two major aquatic ecosystems? ● Marine (saltwater)

○ An estuary is where the freshwater meets the saltwater■ Crabs, algae, fish

○ There are four zones of a marine ecosystem■ Intertidal zone - on the shore between high tide and low tide → barnacles, sea

stars, clams, crabs■ Neritic zone - shallow water below low tide → coral reef, schools of fish, algae■ Surface zone of open ocean - 200 meters deep → tuna, swordfish, few whales ■ Deep zone of open ocean - from surface zone to floor → giant squid, anglerfish

1.energy flow in ecosystems · 3. biomes what are the six major biomes? a biome is a group of...

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