Ecosystem Interactions Among Organisms
Ecosystem Interactions Among Organisms
Objectives
In this lesson, students learn about organism interactions in lotic and lentic ecosystems. Students will:
- describe the ecological roles of organisms in lotic and lentic ecosystems.
- describe interactions among organisms in ecosystems.
- explain the concept of trophic levels in an ecosystem.
Essential Questions
Vocabulary
- Consumer: Organism that does not make its own energy. Consumers can be plant eaters (herbivores), meat eaters (carnivores), plant and meat eaters (omnivores), or scavengers, which eat dead things or detritus (detritivores).
- Decomposer: Bacteria or other organisms that break down dead organisms into nutrients that can return to the soil.
- Energy Pyramid: Diagram that shows the amounts of energy as it is transferred through a food chain.
- Food Web: A group of connected food chains that shows feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
- Habitat: Place where a plant or animal lives.
- Predator: An organism that captures, kills, and eats another organism.
- Prey: An organism that is eaten by a predator.
- Primary Consumer: Animal that eats producers (e.g., rabbit, cow).
- Producer: Green plant or plant-like protist that makes its own food by photosynthesis.
- Secondary Consumer: Animal that eats other secondary consumers and others below on the food chain (e.g., snake, fox).
- Tertiary Consumer: Consumer that eats other tertiary consumers and others below on the food chain
- Trophic Level: The feeding level of an organism in a food chain (e.g., producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer).
Duration
90 minutes/2 class periods
Prerequisite Skills
Prerequisite Skills haven't been entered into the lesson plan.
Materials
- computer with Internet access and display projector
- computers with Internet access for students (optional)
- Otter Chaos video (about North American river otters, 2 min.) available at http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/mammals-animals/otters-and-meerkats/otter_river_lifecycle.html
- Otter Chaos Questions (S-7-5-2_Otter Chaos Questions and KEY.docx)
- Stream Food Chain and Pyramid (S-7-5-2_Stream Food Chain and Pyramid.docx) (display with a document camera)
- Wetlands Food Web Story (S-7-5-2_Food Web Story.docx)
- Critter Quest PA (S-7-5-2_Critte7r Quest PA.docx), one copy per small group
Related Unit and Lesson Plans
Related Materials & Resources
The possible inclusion of commercial websites below is not an implied endorsement of their products, which are not free, and are not required for this lesson plan.
- Wetlands Ecosystem Study Unit (teacher resource)
www.mrsoshouse.com/enviro02/2002.html
- Identify the Food Chains: A Food Web (student activity)
http://cas.psu.edu/DOCS/WEBCOURSE/WETLAND/WET1/identify.html
- Create a Food Web (student activity)
www.vtaide.com/png/foodwebS.htm
- Food Chains and Food Webs (tutorial)
Formative Assessment
Suggested Instructional Supports
Instructional Procedures
Related Instructional Videos
Note: Video playback may not work on all devices.
Instructional videos haven't been assigned to the lesson plan.
DRAFT 05/12/2011