Since term 1 we have been working on our ‘What Is An Ecosystem’ explanation writing. Our learning intentions was to use the correct structure for an explanation. It had to have an identifying statement, a set of paragraphs explaining what I am talking about and a summary statement. In our explanation we had to include what lives in an ecosystem, how an ecosystem works explain what producers, consumers and decomposers are and the role of each one. I think I did well to include all aspect of an ecosystem and explain them so that other people can understand what I am saying.
What Is An Ecosystem?
In an ecosystem there are two classes living (organic) and nonliving inorganic). Producers, consumers and decomposers are all living. Nonliving material includes Rock, sand and water. Ecosystems are very fragile; each part of an ecosystem has a specific job. If any part of an ecosystem gets damaged it tips the balance and the whole ecosystem is affected.
Inorganic matter is the base of all ecosystems. Every living thing depends on non-living matter like water, sand and rock.
Inorganic matter includes: rock, sand, water, sunlight and oxygen. Sand provides shelter for many small fish and other marine creatures. Rocks are are essential to most filter feeders like mussels, anemones and sea snails so that they have something to hold onto when the tide goes out.
Producers are organisms that generate their own food by using photosynthesis, a process that turns sunlight and nutrients into food. ALL plants are producers and ALL producers are plants.
There are different types of consumers, primary and secondary. Primary consumers are herbivores and eat plants. Secondary consumers are carnivores and eat other consumers. There are are also omnivores and they eat a mixture of producers and other consumers.
Mussels, pipi’s, cockles, sea snails, sea anemones, barnacles, starfish and sea worms are all filter feeders they eat plankton drifting in the water. Shellfish usually have little feelers that catch the plankton as it floats past. Sea anemones have sticky arm and the plankton gets stuck to them. When the tide goes out all of the filter feeders close up so that they do not dry out. Other filter feeders hide under rocks or in rock pools.
Decomposers break down dead matter. Animals called scavengers eat dead matter as well but there is one difference, decomposers break down dead matter using chemicals and scavengers actively eat their food. Scavengers eat dead matter.
We have an food chain, zooplankton (consumer) eats phytoplankton (producer), Krill (consumer) eats zooplankton and baleen whales (consumer) eats krill. But . . . then the climate changes and it gets to cold for the krill and the population starts to dwindle. This causes chaos, because there is not enough krill to keep the plankton numbers down and when there is too much plankton in the water it becomes cloudy and it messes up the fishes visibility and then they can’t hunt properly. And there is also not enough krill for the whales to eat and they starve.
This ecosystem is very fragile and got damaged just because of one minor(ish) change. Strong ecosystems can withstand the change and rebalance themselves.
