2. Ecology – the study of how organisms interact with
each other and their environment.
Introduction to Ecosystems

3. Introduction to Ecosystems
3
What is an ecosystem?

4. Introduction to Ecosystems
4
Is the Rain Forest an Ecosystem?

5. Introduction to Ecosystems
5
Is the Kalahari Desert an Ecosystem?

6. Introduction to Ecosystems
6
Is this African savannah an Ecosystem?

7. Introduction to Ecosystems
7
Is Ontario’s boreal forest an Ecosystem?

8. Introduction to Ecosystems
8
Is the tundra an ecosystem?

9. Introduction to Ecosystems
9
Is Antarctica an ecosystem?

10. Introduction to Ecosystems
10
Is this sea floor an ecosystem?

11. Introduction to Ecosystems
11
Is this fallen tree an ecosystem?

12. Introduction to Ecosystems
12
Is this beaver pond an ecosystem?

13. Introduction to Ecosystems
13
They are all ecosystems.

14. Introduction to Ecosystems
14
An ecosystem is all of the
organisms that live in a region and
interact with each other and their
surroundings.

15. Introduction to Ecosystems
15
Toronto could be
considered an
ecosystem.
Our school could
even be
considered an
ecosystem for
whatever lives
here.

16. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
16
Within an ecosystem are its living and
non-living components.

17. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
17
These components can be separated
into biotic and abiotic factors.

18. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
18
Biotic factors are living things, their
remains, and physical features
associated with their activites.

19. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
19
Abiotic factors are non-living
physical and chemical components
of an ecosystem.

20. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
20
A bird:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

21. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
21
A bird’s nest:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

22. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
22
Fungii:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

23. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
23
Pebbles:
Biotic or Abiotic? Abiotic

24. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
24
A shoelace:
Biotic or Abiotic? Abiotic

25. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
25
An elephant:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

26. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
26
Elephant poop:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

27. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
27
Elephant remains:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

28. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
28
Elephant footprint:
Biotic or Abiotic? Abiotic

29. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
29
Wind:
Biotic or Abiotic? Abiotic

30. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
30
Temperature:
Biotic or Abiotic? Abiotic

31. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
31
Grass:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

32. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
32
Sand/Dirt:
Biotic or Abiotic? Abiotic

33. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
33
Rain/A Lake:
Biotic or Abiotic? Abiotic

34. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
34
Coral:
Biotic or Abiotic? Biotic

35. Think. Pair. Share.
35
Put the following groupings in order from smallest to
largest:
- Ecosystem
- Organism
- Biosphere
- Community
- Population

36. Ecosystem Hierarchy
36
An organism is a living entity.

37. 37
All of the organisms of the same species in
an area form a population.
Ecosystem Hierarchy

38. 38
Individuals from all of the populations form a
community.
Ecosystem Hierarchy

39. 39
An ecosystem is a community and its
interactions with its abiotic environment.
Ecosystem Hierarchy

40. 40
Larger
Smaller
Ecosystem Hierarchy

41. 41
Larger
Smaller
Ecosystem Hierarchy

42. 42
Ecosystem Review – DO NOT COPY
What are the abiotic and biotic
features of the boreal forest?

43. 43
Ecosystem Review – DO NOT COPY
What are the abiotic and biotic
features of the boreal forest?
Abiotic features:
•Long, cold winter season
•Warm summers
•Moderate rainfall
•Much of the precipitation is snow
•Snow insulates and protects ground
species

44. 44
Ecosystem Review – DO NOT COPY
What are the abiotic and biotic
features of the boreal forest?
Biotic features:
•Few species
•Mainly black spruce forest and bogs
•Black bears, red squirrels, and moose
•Many biting flies
•Reduced ecosystem productivity due
to short growing season

45. 45
Ecosystem Review – DO NOT COPY
What are the abiotic and biotic
features of a beaver pond?

46. 46
Ecosystem Review – DO NOT COPY
What are the abiotic and biotic
features of a beaver pond?
Abiotic features:
•Shallow water
•Warm water in summer, ice-
covered in winter
•Temporary, but lasting years to
decades
•May break, causing flooding
downsteam

47. 47
What are the abiotic and biotic
features of a beaver pond?
Biotic features:
•Community of
plants, fish, frogs, turtles, insects,
and beavers
•Surrounding forest is a food
supply for the beavers
•Flooding kills trees, which are
then used by species as food or
shelter.
Ecosystem Review – DO NOT COPY

48. Sustainability
48
What does it mean to sustain something?

49. Sustainability
49
A sustainable ecosystem is an ecosystem that
maintains itself through natural ecological processes.

50. Sustainability
50
It can stay the same and preserve itself over a long
period of time.

51. Are we living sustainably?
Sustainability

52. 52
What are some ways humans are making some ecosystems
unsustainable?
Sustainability

53. Sustainability
53
Examples:
Littering
Polluting
Logging

54. Sustainability
54
Humans can also make artificial
ecosystems which are not
sustainable. We must maintain
them ourselves.

55. Sustainability
We are all connected to the ecosystems we live in
and they influence many aspects of our lives.

56. Sustainability
56
Ecosystems provide wealth for many people, and
can affect our health and our moods.

57. Sustainability
57
What are 2 ways that ecosystems affect our:
•Wealth?
•Health?
•Moods?

58. Sustainability
58
What are 2 ways ecosystems affect our:
•Wealth?
- Wood and forestry industry.
- Mining industries.
•Health?
-People living in smoggy cities more likely to have asthma.
-People that live at high altitudes breathe thinner air and have
more red blood cells.
•Moods?
Some ecosystems experience longer winters or more rainy days:
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): depression caused by
increasing dark hours and drop in temperature that comes with
fall/winter.
- Rainy day “blahs” versus bright sunny days.