SCIENCE 9: BIOLOGY UNIT SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS Lesson: INTRODUCTION TO ECOSYSTEMS

Organism: an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form. The Earth is a big ball of rock with a molten core. On the surface of this rock, we find __________, _____, and _______. And in, on, around this water, air and soil, we find… LIFE: animal life, plant life, and microscopic life. Organism: an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form.

This thin layer of life on the surface of the Earth is called the ______________ (“bio” means living). Supporting the biosphere is the: ______________ – the solid parts of the Earth including rocks, soil, and even ice. ______________ – the liquid parts of the Earth including lakes, oceans, rivers, etc. ______________– the gas and vapour surrounding the Earth.

The interactions of all the organisms in the biosphere with each other and with their environment is called ______________. The study of all the interactions in the biosphere is so impossibly big and complex, biologists and ecologists have separated the surface of the Earth into various regions called ___________.

You learn more about biomes in Geography. A biome is defined as a region of the Earth with a particular climate which has a controlling effect on the types of plants and animals found there. The largest Canadian biomes include: The tundra The boreal forest (taiga) The temperate deciduous forest The grasslands The mountain biome You learn more about biomes in Geography.

An ______________ is defined as a grouping of plants,animals, and other organisms interacting with ______________and their ________________. Examples of ecosystems include meadows, ponds, cities, a golf course, your home, this room, etc.

An ecosystem involves both living factors (plants, animals, and micro- scopic organisms) and non-living factors (climate, sunlight, soil, water). The living factors are called _________________and the non-living factors are called __________________.

Why don’t we find: Polar bears at the equator? Cactus at the North Pole? Apple trees in the desert? Penguins in the Caribbean?

The biotic factors (living things) are often very dependent on the abiotic factors. The abiotic factors can greatly affect an organism’s ability to survive in an area. This is sometimes referred to as the ______________________for an organism.