Grade 5

Ecosystems

Learner Expectations

Interactions Between Living Things and Their Environment.

You will investigate how living things interact with one another and with non-living elements of their environment.

Learning Expectations:

Investigate the relationships among organisms in a specific ecosystem.

In this lesson, you will:

Learn how living things interact with one another and with non-living elements of their environment.

What is a Population?

A population is one species living in a specific area.

For example, all foxes living in an area form a population.

Another example, all dandelions growing in an area form another population.

What is a Community?

A community is formed from all living populations found in an area.

All the foxes, dandelions, grasshoppers, snakes, hawks, deer, and skunks living in one area each form their individual populations, but together make up a community.

What is a Ecosystem?

An ecosystem is formed by the interactions between all living and non-living things

How do living and non-living things interact in an environment?

What is Ecology?

Ecology is how living and non-living things affect each other in their environment.

We have already named several living things found in a community. Can you name non-living things in your community?

Non-living parts of your community

How non-living and living things affect each other

Building more homes drives many animals out of their natural habitats or communities.

Littering can destroy an animals habitat.Air pollution from automobiles and factories will

affect the quality of life for all living things in a community, including people.

How non-living and living things affect each other

Building more homes drives many animals out of their natural habitats or communities.

Littering can destroy an animals habitat.Air pollution from automobiles and factories will

affect the quality of life for all living things in a community, including people.