What is an ecosystem?

An ecosystem includes all the living things (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria) in an area AND the non-living things (water, soil, sunlight, temperature) that affect them. Together they form a community.

Types of ecosystems

🌿 Rainforest — hot, wet, very biodiverse
🍲 Desert — hot and dry, few plants
🌉 Ocean — saltwater, enormous biodiversity
🌃 Grassland — wide open, large herbivores
🌌 Wetland — marshes, frogs, waterbirds

Producers and consumers

Producers: Plants that make their own food through photosynthesis. They are the base of all food chains.
Consumers: Animals that eat plants or other animals to get energy.
Decomposers: Fungi and bacteria that break down dead matter and recycle nutrients.

Interdependence

Every species in an ecosystem depends on others. If one species disappears, others are affected. For example, bees pollinate flowers — without bees, many plants cannot reproduce, and animals that eat those plants would suffer too.

Key Vocabulary

ecosystem — a community of living and non-living things interacting in an area

producer — a living thing (usually a plant) that makes its own food

consumer — a living thing that eats other organisms for energy

interdependence — when different species rely on each other to survive

A Simple Food Chain

☀

Sunlight

→

🌿

Grass (Producer)

→

🐇

Grasshopper (Consumer)

→

🐸

Frog (Consumer)

→

🦅

Snake (Consumer)

Energy flows from the sun, through producers, to consumers in a food chain.

Lesson Summary

✓An ecosystem is all living and non-living things in an area, all interacting together.
✓Producers (plants) make food from sunlight. Consumers eat plants or other animals. Decomposers break down dead matter.
✓Interdependence means all species rely on each other — if one is removed, others are affected.
✓Types of ecosystems include rainforests, deserts, oceans, grasslands, and wetlands.

Ecosystems