FOOD  WEB

Energy flows through an ecosystem as animals eat plants or other animals in a complex food web.

• The source of all energy comes from the green plants changing sunlight into food through the process of photosynthesis. There are more plants than any other living thing because they are the bottom of the food chain. They provide the energy for everything else. They are the PRODUCERS.
• Some energy is lost each time an animal eats.
• Because there is energy lost at each level of the food chain, it takes a lot of plants to keep one big predator fed up the chain. Because there are fewer animals as you move up the food chain, it is really a food pyramid with the big carnivores needing to eat the most and so being the rarest of the animal kingdom. Because animals eat so many things, the food chain has many overlapping parts, so is really a FOOD WEB. 

 All this information and the pictures below are copied from this web:

Exploring Nature Educational Resource Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science Resources for K-12

 An now you can play this game:

FOOD  CHAINS

Let´s see some concepts about energy and ecosystems:

4th Grade-Ch. 3 Lesson 2 How Does Energy Flow in Ecosystems from All Saints Science

  The Food Chain

Every living thing needs energy in order to live. Everytime animals do something (run, jump) they use energy to do so.

Animals get energy from the food they eat, and all living things get energy from food. Plants use sunlight, water and nutrients to get energy (in a process called photosynthesis). Energy is necessary for living beings to grow.

A food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature. Food chains begin with plant-life, and end with animal-life. Some animals eat plants, some animals eat other animals.

A simple food chain could start with grass, which is eaten by rabbits. Then the rabbits are eaten by foxes.

This information is copied from:

Read more about food chains in the same website, click on these pictures:

     

 Now, let´s play some games:

    

Here you have a couple of videos:

 

ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOMES

Ecosystem: a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment.

Biome: a large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region defined by its climate and dominant vegetation.

We can find different types of biomes along the world:

click on the map

There are six main biomes in the world:

ADAPTATION OF LIVING ORGANISMS

Adaptation is the behaviour and physical characteristics that allow living organisims to live succesfully in their environments.

We find adaptations in all living organisms: animals, plants, fungi, algae and protozoa and bacteria.

 

 

 

 

TYPES  OF  ECOSYSTEMS
Let´s remember what are ecosystems and their parts:

4th Grade-Ch. 3 Lesson 1 What are Parts of Ecosystems from All Saints Science

Ecosystems can be classified into two main groups:

• terrestrial: forest, desert, grassland, tundra, tropical rainforest...
• aquatic or marine: freshwater (river, lake or pond) or saltwater (sea or ocean).

 

 

 

Click on this link to see mamy pictures of ecosystems:

Viewing Gallery For - Examples Of Ecosystems

Now it´s time for you to build your own ecosystem!! Choose the one you like and do something like this:

 

HABITATS
A habitat is a place where a plant or animal lives. Habitats provide animals and plants with food and shelter. Animals and plants adapt to their habitats.

 

 

Let´s see more information about habitats in this blog: Where do animals and plants live? 

And now we can play a game about habitats:

  

Here you have a fantastic website to learn about australian habitats:

  

Here we have some interesting videos:

 

 

ECOSYSTEM

Ecosystems are communities of interacting organisms and the physical environment in which they live. They are the combination and interaction of the plants, animals, minerals, and people in any given area of the Earth.

HABITAT

Habitat is the place where living things find what they need to survive.