How Can An Ecosystem Support So Many?

1.03 Explain why an ecosystem can support a variety of organisms.

1.04 Discuss and determine the role of light, temperature and the soil composition in an ecosystem’s capacity to support life.

Ecosystems Must Meet Needs

• An ecosystem often supports a wide variety of organisms.

• Remember, ecosystems must meet the needs of organisms. Organisms need food, space, shelter, and water to survive. If these basic needs are not met, an organism cannot survive in that ecosystem.

• Different organisms eat different types of food. Different birds eat different kinds of foods. Hawks eat meat while finches eat seeds. Eating different foods allows different organisms to live in the same space.

Hawk

Finches

• Luckily, ecosystems have a range of places organisms can live. There are many places plants and animals can live. They can: grow up from the ground, live on top of the ground, live under the ground, live on top of other organisms or live in the air. Also, there are different times organisms can occupy the same space. During the day, some organisms, may occupy a certain space. During night, other organisms may occupy the same space.

• An organism lives in a shelter or habitat. Different organisms seek different types of shelters. Bears live in caves, while birds build nests in trees. Some animals dig holes in the ground while others prefer to dig holes in trees. Beavers create their own habitat by building dams and homes from sticks. Beaver Lodge

• Lastly, all organisms need water to survive. Many times, the availability of water limits ecosystems, but remember desert ecosystems? In a desert, water is scarce. However, there is still a diversity of organisms that live in a desert. This is because organisms have developed special features to conserve water. Competition among organisms creates the best suited organism for that ecosystem. This happens in all ecosystems all the time.

How Do Abiotic Factors Impact Organisms?

• By now, you might have guessed that abiotic factors can affect plants and animals. The temperature, sunlight and type of soil all affect living things. Mostly, these factors influence the types of living things that are found in an area.

• The animals that live in extreme temperatures must adjust. In extreme heat, animals often seek shade. In extreme cold, animals hibernate.

• Temperatures extremes can limit plant growth. With limited producers, the number of consumers is also limited.

Temperature

Hibernating Chipmunk

• As you are well aware, sunlight is the only energy input in many ecosystems. Limiting the amount of sunlight entering an ecosystem can limit the number of organisms living there. Remember, producers trap the Sun’s energy. All other organisms are dependent on producers for food. Again, if there are limited producers in an area, consumers are also limited.

Sunlight

• Lastly, soils can also affect producers. Different types of soils contain different nutrients. Some soils stay moist while others do not. Soils in wetlands or bogs can be very different from soils in a forest. This means that different types of plants grow in these different areas, thus supporting different consumers.

Soils

• Sand - makes water drain very easily.

• Dark in color – has a large amount of organic material in it.

• Tightly clumped together – this type of soil has a high clay content. While it will retain water, plant roots will have a hard time growing in lots of clay.

Three Different Types of Soil:

Review1. How does soil most impact living things?

A. different soils cause temperature extremesB. different soils support different types of plantsC. different soils absorb different amounts of sunlightD. different soils are different colors

2. Both owls and hawks live in the same ecosystem. They both hunt and kill mice, moles, and rabbits. How can both types of predators find enough food in the same ecosystem?

A. They are active in different areas.B. They are active at different times.C. They cooperate to only catch what they need.D. They compete to catch the best food.

3. Which abiotic factor puts energy into ecosystems?

A. sunlightB. soilC. temperatureD. consumers

4. Which word describes the types of organisms that live in an ecosystem?

A. diverseB. similarC. comparableD. alike

5. What effect does an increase in sunlight have on a forest ecosystem?

A. a decrease in plantsB. a decrease in animalsC. an increase in plantsD. an increase in fungi

THE END!