unit 5 lesson 1 what is an ecosystem? copyright © houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company
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Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• An organism’s environment is all the living and nonliving things that surround and affect the organism.
• Environments include biotic and abiotic parts. Biotic parts are living things in an environment, such as plants, animals, and other organisms
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
What Is an Ecosystem?
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• Abiotic parts are nonliving things in an environment, such as climate, water, soil, light, air, and nutrients.
• Abiotic parts of an environment have an important role. Temperature and amount of water affect which plants and animals can live in a place.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Word bank
• White ibis birds
• Black bears
• Water
• Moist air
• Muddy soil
• Black berry bushes
• Pitcher plants
• Shady areas
• Climate
• Mosquitoes
• Willow trees
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
What Is an Ecosystem?
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• An ecosystem is all the organisms living in a place together with their environment. Each ecosystem has its own living and nonliving things.
• An ecosystem can be huge, such as a large forest or desert, or it can be small, such as a mud puddle or a single bush.
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• A group of organisms of the same species in an ecosystem is called a population.
• Each ecosystem contains different groups of living things. A savanna ecosystem may contain populations of zebras as well as grasses and trees.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Populations and Communities
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• The different populations that share an ecosystem make up a community.
• A community consists of all the populations that live and interact in an area.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Populations and Communities
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• Populations in every ecosystem need food, water, shelter, and space to live.
• The interaction between populations to meet these needs is called competition.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Populations and Communities
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• Populations that compete and obtain enough resources will survive, while those that cannot compete will not survive.
• These resources are called limiting factors, because there is only enough food, water, shelter, and space to support a certain number of organisms.
• Competition also occurs within populations. Stronger individuals get the most food and best shelter. Thus, weaker individuals may not survive.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Populations and Communities
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Populations and Communities
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Populations and Communities
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• An organism’s habitat is the place where it lives within an ecosystem. Several populations share the same habitat.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
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Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• An organism’s niche is its complete role or function in its ecosystem. A niche includes all the ways the organism survives.
• An organism’s niche includes how it finds food, as well as the climate in which it thrives.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
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• Every organism has a niche. Having different niches allows different organisms to survive in the same habitat.
• Organisms with a specific way of living have a narrow niche. For example, an animal that eats only one type of food cannot survive without that food.
• Organisms with narrow niches tend to live in specific places, while those with broad niches often move around large areas.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
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Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Populations can share a habitat but not the same niche.
• For example, red-shouldered hawks and barred owls share a habitat, but have different niches. They both hunt different prey at different times of the day.
• If two populations of organisms share a niche, they must compete for resources.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Find Your Niche
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Diverse means different in kind. Diversity is the variety of different species that live in an ecosystem.
• An ecosystem that is very diverse contains many species. Ecosystems without much diversity may be inhabited by only a few species.
• Organisms are connected in a large, complex web. The more types of organisms in an ecosystem, the larger the web, and the more resources available.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Diversity
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• Organisms are connected in a large, complex web. The more types of organisms in an ecosystem, the larger the web, and the more resources available.
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Diversity
• Climate and location affect the amount and types of resources that are available for organisms.
• Generally, very diverse ecosystems, such as coral reefs and rain forests, are near the equator. Less diverse ecosystems are farther from the equator.
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Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Diversity
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Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
• Humans can damage ecosystems and affect diversity by reducing the number of species living in the ecosystem.
• Activities such as overhunting or destroying forests to build may lower the numbers of important species.
• Species in those environments have lost their habitats, and diversity has decreased.
Diversity
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Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Diversity
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 5 Lesson 1 What Is an Ecosystem?