Unit 5 ecosystems

UNIT 5: ECOSYSTEMS CONTENIDOS BLOQUE 1 Iniciación a la actividad científica. Aproximación experimental a la misma. Utilización de diferentes fuentes de información (directa, materiales analógicos y digitales). Lectura de textos propios de área Utilización de las tecnologías de la información y comunicación para buscar y seleccionar información, simular un proceso y presentar conclusiones.

Utilización de diversos materiales, teniendo en cuenta las normas de seguridad Trabajo individual y en grupo Realizar un proyecto y presentar un informe BLOQUE 3 Los ecosistemas: concepto, elementos y características. Espacios naturales de gran valor ecológico de Castilla –La Mancha. Especies protegidas y en peligro de extinción en el ámbito de la comunidad.

Interés por la observación y el estudio de los seres vivos.

Comportamiento activo en la conservación y el cuidado del entorno natural. Uso de medios tecnológicos para el estudio de los seres vivos y comunicación de resultados oralmente y por escrito.

ESTÁNDARES DE EVALUACIÓN 1.1.1 Busca y selecciona información 1.1.2 Utiliza medios propios de observación 1.1.3 Consulta y utiliza documentos escritos, imágenes y gráficos 1.1.4 Desarrolla estrategias adecuadas para acceder a la información de los textos de carácter científico 1.2.1 Manifiesta autonomía en la planificación y ejecución de tareas 1.3.1 Utiliza de manera adecuada el vocabulario correspondiente a cada uno de los bloques de contenido 1.3.2 Expone oralmente y por escrito de forma clara y ordenada contenidos relacionados con el área 1.4.1/ Hace un uso adecuado de las tecnologías de la información 1.4.3 / 1.5.2 Presenta los trabajos de manera ordenada, clara y limpia.

1.4.4 Utiliza estrategias para realizar trabajos de forma individual y en equipo 3.3.1 Explica la importancia de la fotosíntesis para la vida en la Tierra 3.3.2 Observa e identifica las principales características y componentes de un ecosistema 3.3.3 Identifica y explica las relaciones entre los seres vivos de un ecosistema: cadenas alimentarias 3.3.4 Reconoce y explica algunos ecosistemas de gran valor ecológico en Castilla la Mancha y los seres vivos que en ellos habitan, así como, la necesidad de protegerlos y conservarlos.

UNIT 5 ECOSYSTEMS Habitat= ecosystem Community Abiotic Biotic Producer Consumer Decomposer Deserts Rainforest Grasslands Forest Evergreen Deciduous

saltwater fresh water pond food chain

role survive responsable for levels absorbs release rainfall few adapt to conditions heavy low made up

type of relationship

Look the photographs below and answer the following questions:

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Where do polar bears live?

Can you describe a polar bear’s habitat?

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Where do turtles live?

Can you describe a turtle’s habitat?

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Where do cacti grow?

Can you describe a cacti habitat?

Look at the photos again. What does each living organism eat?  Where does each organism get its food from?  Can you remember what does a living organism need to live?

1.-WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM? An ecosystem is a community of animals and plants interacting with their environment. The components of an ecosystem are divided into: abitotic and biotic factors.

Abiotic factors are non-living things as minerals and soil, weather conditions as rain, wind...water etc.

Biotic factors are living things as plants, animals and bacteria. They play a different role in an ecosystem.

WHY ARE THE BIOTIC FACTORS IMPORTANT FOR THE ECOSYSTEMS? Plants are producers. They make food and oxygen for the animals. Plants are very important as they realise the photosynthesis.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS is so essential to life on Earth that living things can not survive without it. It is responsable for oxygen levels on the atmosphere. Plants absorbs carbon dioxide and release oxygen when they make their own food.

Animals

are consumers. They eat the plants and other animals.

Bacteria, funghi and some insects are decomposers, they eat dead plants and animals and release nutrients back to soil for the plants.

2.- MAIN TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS Ecosystems can be divided into two main groups: water ecosystems and land ecosystems.

LAND ECOSYSTEMS

Deserts are very dry, because they get very Little rainfall. They are very hot during the day and very cold during the night. There are few animals and plants in a desert as they have to adapt to difficult conditions. Some of them are: cacti, scorpions, spiders...

Rainforest are wet places with heavy rainfall, sunlight and warm air. There are lots of trees and flowers and thousands of species, like monkeys, frogs, lizards and parrrots.

ACTIVITY 1: LOOK AT THE PHOTO AND WRITE THE BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC

The Artic Region has very low temperatures and low rainfall. Arctic foxes, polar bears and arctic hares live in the Arctic Region. They are adapted to low temperatures.

Grasslands are places with low rainfall, hot summers, and cold winters. The soil is very poor, so there are few trees and the plants are mainly grasses. Grasslands are habitats for zebras, lions, cheetahs and antelopes.

ACTIVITY 1: LOOK AT THE PHOTO AND WRITE THE BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC

Forests have medium to heavy rainfall, so there are a lot of different plants and animals that live in forests. They are places dominated by evergreen and deciduous trees. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn and grow new ones in the spring. Evergreen trees have leaves all year. Forest are habitats for foxes, mice, owls, bears and rabbits.

ACTIVITY 1: LOOK AT THE PHOTO AND WRITE THE BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC

WATER ECOSYSTEMS

Oceans and seas are saltwater habitats. They are habitats for algae, fish, mammals, some births and many invertebrates.

Pond is a small area of fresh water . The most common animals are fish, frogs, turtles, birds, dragonflies and mosquitoes.

Rivers are streams of running fresh water.

Many plants are adapted to fast flowing water.

3.– FOOD CHAIN IN AN ECOSYSTEM A food chain is made up of three groups: producers, consumers and decomposers who interact with each other in an ecosystem to get the energy they need.

4.– POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES Populations are groups of organisms of the same species which live in the same geographical area. Population gets bigger when there is food, water and shelter.

Communities are groups of different species that live together and interact in the same area. In the rainforest we can find frogs, lizards and parrots.

A population of penguins

A community in a grassland

Protected water and land ecosystems in our region Castile - La Mancha

1.-Tablas de Daimiel, water ecosystem situated in the southwest of our region.

2.-Natural Park of Lagunas de Ruidera, made of 15 small lakes in the south centre of the region.

3.-Natural Park Alto Tajo, near Tajo River's beginning.

4.-SerranĂ­a de Cuenca, a mountain ecosystem in the north of Castile - La Mancha.

5.-Hayedo de Tejera Negra, the most southern beech forest in Europe, which you can find in the north of our

6.-Caba単eros, our National Park in Toledo's Mountains

You can see in this map the protected water and land ecosystems in our region Castilla - La Mancha.