1. Know the different types of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

2. Know the different types of plants and animals in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Terrestrial

Land-based ecosystems include forests and grasslands. 

• Forests have many trees (with needles or with leaves), shrubs, grasses and ferns, and a variety of animals. They usually get more rain than grasslands. Diverse types of animals can be found in forests, depending on their type.

• Deciduous: black bear, deer, red fox, vole, rabbit, cardinal. 

• Rain forest: panther, monkeys, capybara, snakes, spiders. Temperatures in the forests may vary depending on where the forest is located. 

• Grasslands have fertile soil and are covered with tall grasses. They usually get a medium amount of rain, but less than forests. Temperatures may also vary depending on where the grassland is located. Some examples of animals that live in the grasslands are prairie dogs, bison, and grasshoppers.

Aquatic

Water-based ecosystems may be fresh water (lakes and ponds) or saltwater (oceans, estuaries and saltwater marshes). Lakes and ponds are bodies of freshwater that are surrounded by land. 

• Ponds are usually shallower than lakes and the temperature of the water usually stays the same from top to bottom. Plants and algae usually grow along the edges where the water is shallow. Some examples of animals may be different types of fish, amphibians, ducks, turtles, or beavers. 

• Oceans are large bodies of saltwater divided by continents. Oceans have many types of ecosystems depending on the conditions (sunlight, temperature, depth, salinity) of that part of the ocean. Most organisms live where the ocean is shallow (from the shoreline to the continental shelf) because sunlight can reach deep and the water is warm making food abundant. Some examples of organisms that live in the shallow ocean are drifters (jellyfish or seaweed), swimmers (fish), crawlers (crabs), and those anchored to the ocean floor (corals). 

• Some organisms live in the open ocean, near the surface or down to the deep ocean bottom. Plankton float in the upper regions of the water. Some organisms swim to the surface to find food or for air (whales, turtles, sharks) while others live closer to the bottom (certain fish, octopus, tubeworms). Students know typical visual representations of the various ecosystems, as well as graphic representations of the food chains and webs, cycles and energy pyramids that are commonly associated with ecosystems.

5.L.2.3 -- Students know that all of the organisms in an ecosystem have interconnected relationships. Students know that because of this, factors that impact one population within an ecosystem may impact other populations within that ecosystem.

Vocabulary, terms, and concepts

1. Ecosystems: biotic and abiotic factors, organism, species, population, community, biome, niche, habitat

2. Predation, population fluctuation, balanced and unbalanced ecosystems, carrying capacity, limiting factors

• biotic- plants, animals and other organisms; and nonliving factors 

• abiotic- temperature, sunlight, water, soil, ocean currents

    Academic Language

1.   What are the biotic factors found in a ________ (e.g. grassland) ecosystem? (grasses, small shrubs, insects, arthropods, birds, bison, prairie dog, etc.)

2.  How do temperature and the amount of sunlight influence which organisms can survive in a certain environment? (organisms will have to be able to survive within the temperature range, or amount of sunlight).

3.  What are examples of terrestrial ecosystems? (grassland, desert, forest)

4.  What are examples of aquatic ecosystems? (ocean, lake, pond, river, stream, estuary, salt marsh)

5.  What factors help living things survive in an ecosystem? (food, water, shelter)