Roles in Ecosystems

Habitat – A ____________ is the place an organism lives.

Ecological Niche The __________ _________ is an organism ’ s “ job ” in an ecosystem. It includes: – ___________________________________

Ecological Niche Each organism in an ecosystem usually has a different niche. This helps to reduce the amount of ________________ for habitat and resources (like ________, ________.).

Do they have the same niche?

1)Red-tailed hawk - ______________ - ________________

Do they have the same niche? 2) Eastern screech owl - ________________

Biodiversity Biodiversity is _______________________ ____________________________________; also known as biological diversity Since organisms within an ecosystem have different niches, it allows for _______________________.

Native vs. Introduced Species A ______________________ is a species (type of living thing) that has lived in an ecosystem for a long time. An ____________________ is a species that is new to an ecosystem. Introduced species can arrive naturally (animals move, seeds carried by wind) or by humans.

Impact of Introduced Species _______________________ usually cause problems in an ecosystem. They compete for a niche with the _________ species.

Example - Starling Sixty European starlings were released in North America in honour of Shakespeare. There are now 200 million of them!

Example – Cane Toad Cane toads were introduced into Australia to control insects.

Example – Cane Toad They did not really help with the insects. Now they are causing a lot of problems. They are poisonous, so anything that eats them dies. They are HUGE – and will eat anything they can swallow including many native species.

Example – Rabbits Rabbits were brought to Australia by people. People brought rabbits to Australia.

Example – Rabbits When the rabbits multiplied, they tried many ways to stop them: - fences - viruses - fleas Nothing has worked!

Vocabulary Habitat Ecological niche Competition Native species Introduced species Make sure you know these words!