Ecosystems for 6 grade in Primary Education

1. Ecosystems

2. What is an Ecosystem?
Let’s take a look at the word:
•Eco- means “environment”
•System means “a group of parts that work
together as a unit”.
An ecosystem is a system made up of the
environment and all of the living things that live
there.
*All living things have to be able to meet their
basic needs there.

3. What are the parts of an
ecosystem?
Within each ecosystem, there are individuals,
populations, and communities.
Individuals within ecosystems are one of that
species.
Populations within ecosystems are made up of all
of that species that lives in the same place at the
same time.
Communities within ecosystems are made up of
all of the populations of all the different species
that live in the same place at the same time.

4. Let’s take a look at this….
This is one otter. This is an
example of an individual.

5. This is a group of otters.
This is an example of a
population.

6. These are some of the other
populations that live in the same
river as the otters.
Together they all make up the
community.

7. Another way to think about it…
 You are a person. You are one part of your
family. You are the same as an individual.
 All of the people in your family who live in
your house with you make up the
population.
 All of the people in your neighborhood-
mailman, police officers, teachers,
neighbors- make up the community.

8. Non-Living Parts of the Ecosystem
Every ecosystem has non-living parts. Some of
these are:
•Sunlight
•Water
•Soil
•Air
•Temperature
The non-living parts of the ecosystems interact with
the living parts af the ecosystems.

9. Homes for Living Things
An environment that meets the needs of
an organism is called a habitat.
Depending on the organism, it may only
make use of a small part of its habitat
while some organisms such as birds that
fly, spread out over the habitat.

10. What are an organism’s basic needs?
All living things have 5 basic needs:
Food
Water
Air/Oxygen
 Shelter
Reproduce

11. The Main Source of Energy
The sun is the main source of energy for ALL
living things.
Animals do not get energy directly from the
sun, but they eat plants that do.

12. How Energy Moves Through Ecosystems
 Scientists describe the way that energy
moves through ecosystems as a food
chain.
There are 3 levels to every food chain:
 Producers
 Consumers
 Decomposers

13. Food Chains
 Producers make their own food. These are
plants and protists such as algae.
(Producers get energy from the sun)
 Consumers eat other living things for energy.
(Consumers eat producers)
 Decomposers feed on the waste of plants and
animals or on their remains when they die.

14. Here is an example

16. Energy Pyramid
 All organisms need energy from food to live.
An energy pyramid shows how much
food energy is passed from one organism to
another along a food chain.
 The base of the energy pyramid represents
producers; these organisms use energy from
the sun to make food through photosynthesis.

17.  The second level of the energy pyramid
represents herbivores, or plant eating
animals. This level is made up of primary
consumers.
 The third level of the energy pyramid
represents carnivores, or meat eating animals.
These are secondary consumers because they
are the second organism to consume
something else.
The fourth level of the energy pyramid
represents secondary carnivores. These are
tertiary consumers because they are the third
organism in the food chain to consume

20. Food Webs
 A food web is a diagram that shows how
different food chains connect and overlap.
 These are used because organisms usually
obtain energy from more than one source.

22. • http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_
labs/BL_02/BL_02.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=De_53QflEXQ
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explo
rer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/foodwe
b_play.htm
• http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_we
b.htm

23. • http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4
/index.htm