Y8 Science - Chapter 4 Ecosystems
Y8 Science - Chapter 4 Ecosystems
Y8 Science - Chapter 4 Ecosystems
Deserts are not easy places for animals and plants to live.
Deserts do not get much rainfall, so the organisms (plants and animals) that live there have
adaptations that help them to survive with little water.
Adaptations: Changes in physical structure, function, or behavior that allow an organism or
species to survive and reproduce in a given environment.
Environmental conditions: Hot and dry, Competition for water, Windy, and sandstorms, Long
distances between food and water supplies, Burning hot during the day and freezing at night.
Pollinating: to give (a plant) pollen from another plant of the same kind so that seeds will be
produced
There are interactions between the organisms and the non-living parts of the environment.
Light The bright sunlight helps the plants to photosynthesize, producing food
that other organisms can eat.
Temperature The temperature is often very high during the day, but much lower at night.
Some animals are nocturnal (active at night, eg: owl), which helps them to
avoid overheating or drying out.
It is cooler underneath the soil, tarantula (an animal) will dig burrows for
shelter during the day.
Soil Rocks and soil provide minerals for the plants to grow
Building material for ground-nesting birds.
Water All organisms need water to keep their cells alive.
Rain, when it comes, allows them to become more active and to reproduce.
Air The desert air provides carbon dioxide for the plants to use in
photosynthesis, and oxygen for all the organisms to use in respiration.
The organisms also affect their environment.
Eg: droppings from the kangaroo rats become part of the soil. The gases
that they take in and give out affect the composition of the air.
Mangrove forest Mangroves are trees that can grow with their roots in seawater.
They form forests along the coasts of many tropical countries
Young fish live among the mangrove roots, safe from larger fish that
might eat them.
Mud skippers climb out onto the mud when the tide is out, feeding on
whatever they can find.
As the mangrove leaves fall onto the mud, they are decomposed by
bacteria. Prawns and crabs eat the partly decomposed leaves.
Crab-eating macaques, a type of monkey, climb through the trees and
catch crabs on tree roots and mud.
Sea ice in the Arctic During the winter in the Arctic Ocean, it is so cold that some of the
Ocean seawater freezes.
Seals hunt for fish in the water but have to come to the surface to
breathe air.
Polar bears patrol the ice, looking for seals to kill and eat. Polar bears
are good swimmers and can move from one ice floe to another.
Arctic foxes also look for food on the ice.
Enough light passes through the ice to allow tiny algae (single-celled
plants) to grow on the underside of the ice floes.
Tiny shrimp-like organisms eat the algae.
Fish eat the shrimp.
Rice paddy Rice paddies in Malaysia are farmed by people
At some times of the year, the paddy fields are flooded with water.
Algae grow in this shallow water and on the mud at the sides of the
flooded areas.
Fish swim into the flooded paddies from their irrigation canals.
Frogs and dragonflies breed the water.
The water is shallow, it heats up quickly during the day and cools
down quickly at night.
Farmers often add fertilizer to the paddy fields, making not only the
rice but also the algae grow faster, providing more food for the
animals.
Many birds feed in and around the paddy fields.
New species in an ecosystemIn your studies of ecosystems, you have seen how all the
differentorganisms interact with each other and their environment. In this topic,you will find out what
happens if a new species suddenly arrives. Howdoes the new species fit into the network of
interactions? How does thisaffect the species already there?Introduced species in New ZealandNew
Zealand is a country in the Pacific Ocean. New Zealandbecame separated from all the other areas of land
in the worldabout 66 million years ago. Because of this separation, thespecies that developed in New
Zealand were different fromthose elsewhere on Earth.Before humans arrived in New Zealand, there
were no predatorymammals there. Many of thenative species of birds nest on theground. There were
no predators to eat their eggs, so the eggs andyoung birds were safe. Even the adults of several species
of nativebird – such as the kiwi – cannot fly.Nobody knows exactly when humans first arrived in New
Zealand,but it was probably about 700 years ago. Humans brought species ofanimals with them that did
not belong in New Zealand. For example,rats stowed away on their boats. Rats now live in most of the
country.The rats eat birds’ eggs and defenceless young birds.Since then, other species have been
introduced to New Zealand.Farmers brought sheep, to farm for their wool and meat.Rabbits were
brought on sailing ships, to use as food. But therabbits escaped and began to eat grass in the sheep
pastures.So people brought stoats from Europe to control the rabbits.Now stoats have spread all over
New Zealand. They arefierce hunters and breed rapidly. They can kill and eat birdsmuch larger than
themselves. Stoats have made several speciesof native birdextinct, including the laughing owl and
theNew Zealand thrush. Stoats eat almost 60% of kiwi chicks.People in New Zealand are now trying
toeradicate (completelyget rid of) stoats, but this is very difficult to do. The best that canbe done is to
control their numbers.Scientists think that 53 species of native bird in New Zealandhave become extinct
since humans arrived. The extinctions havebeen partly caused by people hunting and killing the birds,
butmostly because of introducedinvasive species.
4.4 Bioaccumulation
Exercise