EcosystemsBy Erica Lamar

Standard III.5 EcosystemsAll students will explain how parts of an ecosystem are related and how they interact; explain how energy is distributed to living things in an ecosystem; investigate and explain how communities of living things change over a period of time; describe how materials cycle through an ecosystem and get reused in the environment; and analyze how humans and the environment interact.

◦ It is within ecosystems that communities of living things interact.

Standard Covered

An ecosystem is an area where plant and animals interact with each other. They feed, mate, and share the same place in the environment.

There are many different ecosystem, like lakes, forests, cities, etc. We will be studying one major ecosystem near us. Lake Michigan and the plants and animals that live in them. We will study:◦ The Lamprey Plant Life

◦ Trout Animals around Lake Michigan

What is an Ecosystem

Lakes

Lake Michigan is one of 5 lakes that surround Michigan

It is on the left side of Michigan with Wisconsin on the other side.

It houses many species of animal and plant life and we will review 3 of them

Lake Michigan

There are several species of Lamprey in the Great lakes:◦ Silver Lamprey, ◦ American Lamprey, ◦ Northern Brook

Lamprey and◦ Chestnut Brook

Lamprey.

The Lamprey

Lamprey are a marine animal that live in fresh water all around the world. They are not found in Africa’s coastal regions because Lamprey larvae have a fairly low tolerance for warm/ high water temperatures.

The Life Cycle of Lamprey

Lamprey have cartilage skeleton and have a jawless mouth. Their mouth is circular with many rows of teeth. They bore into fish, mainly Lake Trout in Lake Michigan and Streams. They are a pest because they have no natural enemies and affect fishing in lakes and streams. Lamprey are NOT fish.

The feeding Habits of Lamprey

Because Lamprey feed on trout they have an affect on plants in lake Michigan and humans. ◦ They affect fishing for

people that enjoy have trout for dinner.

◦ Because there are less trout in increase the amount of small fish that live in Lake Michigan

◦ Which in turn increases plant life in Lake Michigan

Seeing that we have already learned about the food web, what other ways might Lamprey affect the natural balance in the Great Lakes

How Lamprey affect their ecosystem

Many Trout are camouflage so that they blend into their environment.

Unlike Lamprey, they have jaws, fins, and are fish.

But like Lamprey they feed on fish, but Trout feed on smaller fish.

Trout

At two years old Trout change color and find mate because they are ready to reproduce.

The male and female mate and the female lays her eggs in a nest in gravel in fresh water. The Alevin (larvae) hatch and live off their yolk sac.

The Fry ( adolescent trout) swim around finding their own food, mostly zooplankton.

When they are adults they are ready to reproduce again.

Trout are sometimes a migratory fish, being able to travel from lake to stream to ocean about 3 times in one life time. They live for about 7 years.

Life Cycle

Trout are food for not only humans but Lamprey, Bears, and other wildlife that live in and around Lake Michigan.

They are important for fisherman who need them to make a living.

If Trout were not apart of Lake Michigan how would it affect all the things that depend on it?

How They affect their ecosystem

There are many plants the live in and around Lake Michigan. They all serve their own purpose and are important to the survival of animals they live in and around the lake.

How plants affect their ecosystem

Some of these plants include ◦ Algae◦ Milkweed◦ Lily pads

Plant Life

Algae is important in living animals in marine environments. ◦ It produces oxygen in

water for fish and other animals to breath

◦ It is a food source◦ A common form of

algae is Seaweed (which is eaten by many people)

Algae

Milkweed is important for nectar seeking bees and monarch butterflies.

It is helpful to some plants by repelling some pest like wireworms

They provide beauty and oxygen to Lake Michigan's shores.

Milkweed

They provide nice resting places for frogs and turtles in lake

They provide oxygen like all plants and are nice to look at.

They can become invasive, blocking out sunlight trying to reach the water it’s in.

Water Lily

Algae is important for feeding.

Milkweed is important for bees and monarch butterflies.

Water lilies are nice places to rest for small animals like frogs and turtles.

All of them provide oxygen!

If we didn’t have plants in Lake Michigan could animals get the oxygen required to live?

Plants affect on their ecosystem

Not only do animals live in lake Michigan, but they live around Lake Michigan.

When we think of bodies of water as ecosystems we often only think of the animals that live in them, but there are many animals the live outside of water to think about.

How animals around Lake Michigan affect their Ecosystem

Some animals that live around Lake Michigan are:◦ Black Bears◦ White tail Deer

Animals around the Lake

Black bears are apart of Michigan.

They are spread through out Michigan but are in high density in the upper peninsula. The shores of lake Michigan reach the upper peninsula, making it an important part of the to the survival of the black bear.

Black bears feed on a variety of things including berries, vegetation and trout.

Black Bears

They are in every county in Michigan.

They each plants, fruit, acorns, and wild corn.

They are sometime preyed on by the black bear.

White Tail Deer

Black Bears feed on vegetation and trout in and around Lake Michigan.

Deer are sometimes preyed on by Black Bears.

If Black bears didn’t eat trout how would that affect the population of trout in Lake Michigan?

How animals around Lake Michigan affect their ecosystem

Though we don’t think much about how plants and animals interact with each other in the environment, they do.

In Lake Michigan alone many animals depend on plants to survive, and larger animals depend on the smaller ones. They work in a beneficial way and sometimes a harmful way. The interaction of all these plants and animals in the same environment is an ecosystem.

Conclusion