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Have you ever wondered how you can benefit from the Sun’s energy? How you are connected with all the other living and nonliving organisms on Earth? The answer is very simple, you are part of an ecosystem.

See the fact file below for more information on ecosystems or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Ecosystems worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM?

  • An ecosystem is a geographic area where living organisms and their physical environment interact to form a bubble of life. 
  • An ecosystem is made up of biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are an ecosystem’s living components, such as plants and animals. 
  • The biotic factors can also be categorized as producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  • Meanwhile, an ecosystem’s abiotic factors are its nonliving components, such as minerals, soil, climate, water, and sunlight.
  • All of these factors are dependent on one another. An ecosystem’s type of soil, climate, water, and nutrient availability will affect the type of plants that will grow. 
  • Similarly, animals that depend on other living organisms for food and shelter will have to adapt to changes or migrate to avoid death.
  • The interaction of these two factors, biotic and abiotic, also allows energy transfer and nutrient cycles to take place. 

ENERGY FLOW AND TROPHIC LEVELS

  • The ultimate source of energy is the Sun. This radiant energy is transferred and transformed into different organisms and different types. 
  • The energy from the Sun is utilized by the autotrophs, aka the producers. Photosynthetic organisms, such as plants, will manufacture food using the Sun’s energy. Thus, autotrophs are found at trophic level 1. These organisms have the most energy.
  • Next to autotrophs, are the primary consumer, then the secondary, and so on and so forth. As the trophic level increases the amount of energy gained by the organism decreases.
  • This movement of organic matter and energy to different organisms makes up a food chain. 
  • Let’s take a look at the food chain on the left.
  • The direction of the arrows indicate where the energy will be transferred. Producers signify the start of the food chain, thus they are at trophic level 1. 
  • Primary consumers are at trophic level 2, secondary consumers at level 3, and so on.
  • While energy is being transferred from one trophic level to another, parts of it are lost as heat. Approximately 90% of energy is lost as heat, the remaining 10% is transferred to the organism in the succeeding trophic level.
  • Let’s say that the producer in the food chain contains 100,000 kilocalories. How much energy will the primary consumer get from the producer? If your answer is 10,000 kilocalories, then that is correct! Since only 10% of the energy will be transferred to the primary consumer, you will multiply 100,000 kilocalories by 0.10, and that will give you 10,000 kilocalories.
  • Now, on your own, try to calculate the amount of energy each consumer will gain as it feeds on other organisms, as shown in the food chain.

CYCLING OF NUTRIENTS

  • Nutrients on Earth do not have an extraterrestrial source; thus, they need to be recycled so that all living organisms that need them today and in the future will have something to use.
  • Nutrient cycling is a process wherein nutrients move through the environment, to an organism, and back to the environment.
  • Nutrients such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and water are cycled between the biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem.
  • Aside from the nutrients mentioned above, sulfur, potassium, and phosphorus are some of the minerals or nutrients that are continuously cycled.

TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS

  • An ecosystem can be classified into two: aquatic or terrestrial.
  • An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem present in any body of water. This can be further divided into two: freshwater and marine.
  • A freshwater ecosystem has no salt content. This includes lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. Meanwhile, a marine ecosystem includes seas and oceans and has a considerable amount of salt compared to freshwaters. This type of aquatic ecosystem also has greater biodiversity. 
  • On the other hand, terrestrial ecosystems are land-based. Terrestrial ecosystems are classified according to their geographical zones based on climatic conditions.
  • There are four types of terrestrial ecosystems: forest, grassland, tundra, and desert.
  • Forest ecosystems are mainly composed of trees, plants, animals, and microorganisms. Forests are a major carbon sink of the world, which helps in maintaining global temperatures.
  • Grassland ecosystems are found in zones where there is insufficient rainfall to support a forest. Due to this, grasslands are mainly covered by grasses and herbs. Grazing animals also dominate grassland ecosystems.
  • Tundra ecosystems are found in zones with cold climates. This type of ecosystem is devoid of trees and is covered with snow most of the year. 
  • Lastly, desert ecosystems. This type of ecosystem receives very little rainfall and has minimal vegetation. It is also characterized by having hot days, and cold nights.

THREATS TO ECOSYSTEM

  • Humans have coexisted with the ecosystem. We have benefited a lot from the living and nonliving resources found in all types of ecosystems. Our lives, including our culture and economy, revolve and develop around our ecosystems.
  • As an example, the Great Plains in North America is home to bison. Thus, this grazing animal became the most important biotic factor in this region. Sometimes mistaken as buffalo, the people of the Great Plains used its hide for clothing and shelter, its meat for food, and its horn for tools.
  • Despite these great contributions, the habitat that supported the growth, survival, and reproduction of bison became farmlands.
  • This occurrence is not only limited to the Great Plains but also many ecosystems around the world.
  • The tropical rainforest ecosystems surrounding the Amazon River also experience a similar situation. Ecosystems in this region are being cleared to make space for farmlands, housing, and industry. 
  • These occurrences not only harm the ecosystem and all its components but also humans. We must remember that we are also part of the ecosystem, and harming them is the same as harming ourselves.
  • Clearing these ecosystems results in a loss of biodiversity that affects us by limiting the number of natural resources we need. This loss of biodiversity may also lead to the occurrence of new diseases. The climate change that we are experiencing right now is also caused by the loss of ecosystems and the variety of life they contain.
  • Despite all this, we can do something to prevent ecosystems and all their biotic and abiotic factors from ceasing to exist. Ecosystems can still recover. Assessing our lifestyle and aiming for sustainability can give us, and the future generations to come, a chance to enjoy all the resources the environment offers us. 

Ecosystems Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the wombat across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Ecosystems worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Ecosystems which a geographic area where living organisms and their physical environment interact to form a bubble of life.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

  • Ecosystems Fact File
  • Text Twist
  • Fact or Bluff?
  • Biotic vs. Abiotic
  • Aquatic vs. Terrestrial
  • Trophic Levels
  • You and Your Ecosystem
  • Human Impacts 
  • No Man Is An Island
  • The Domino Effect
  • A Call For Action
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Link will appear as Ecosystems Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 30, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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