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Ecosystems vary in size. They can be as small as a puddle or as
large as the Earth itself. Any group of living and nonliving things
interacting with each other can be considered as an ecosystem.
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Investigate your
Ecosystem
Within each ecosystem,
there are habitats which may also vary in size. A habitat is the place
where a population lives. A population is a group of living organisms of
the same kind living in the same place at the same time. All of the populations
interact and form a community. The community of living things interacts
with the non-living world around it to form the ecosystem. The habitat
must supply the needs of organisms, such as food, water, temperature, oxygen,
and minerals. If the population's needs are not met, it will move to a better
habitat. Two different populations can not occupy the same niche at the
same time, however. So the processes of competition, predation, cooperation,
and symbiosis occur.
- Habitats,
then, are specific to a population. Each population has its own
habitat. For example, a population of ants has its own habitat.
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Leaf Cutting Ant
Habitat
- Several
populations may share a habitat. For example, in a small pond
several aquatic populations may co-exist in the same water at the
same time. An aquarium is a good example of a shared habitat.
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Make an Aquarium
- Biomes
are ecosystems where several habitats intersect. The Earth itself is
one large biome. Smaller biomes include desert, tundra,
grasslands, and rainforest.
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Six Virtual Biomes
Build a Prairie
- Biomes occur
naturally, but people can also create controlled biomes. For
example, you can integrate several small populations in a small
space and observe what happens. A famous manmade biome is
Biosphere 2. Try making your own biome and observing what
happens.
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Biosphere 2 Center
- The energy
cycle within biomes, habitats, and ecosystems determines which
populations survive and which die. All living things need energy.
Ultimately, the sun is the source of all energy in an ecosystem.
Different species have different functions: producers, consumers,
decomposers, and scavengers.
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The Flow of Energy through
Plants and Animals
- Since energy
and water are vital to the survival of an ecosystem, a system of
conservation is needed. In many ecosystems, the conservation of
resources is a natural, almost unnoticeable process. Life
substances, for example, are recycled in the ecosystem. The exhange
of carbon dioxide (given off by animals) and oxygen (given off by
plants) is actually a process of conservation. The waste of one
species becomes food for another. When resources become
limited, the conservation process becomes more urgent and more
visible with an increased need for recycling.
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Virtual Wildlife Games
- If
conservation efforts fail, species become endangered and
extinction can occur. A species becomes endangered when there is
not enough habitat available to support all members of the
population. When the habitat vanishes, and all members of the
population die, then the species is considered extinct.
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Endangered Species Fact
Sheets
At the above site, choose
an endangered species from the North America continent. Then, write a real
estate ad type of advertisement describing the perfect habitat that would appeal
to your endangered species. Illustrate your real estate ad and include three
important facts about your habitat that would help your animal's population
increase and be taken off the Endangered Species List.
