Requirement 2 (B)
Requirement
Make notes about the living, nonliving (e.g. rocks), and formerly living components. Include information about interactions among the components, including the food chain, predators, native species, and invasive species, and identify how human activities have affected the ecosystem.
What Are Living Components?
Snails, red-bellied turtles, and eelgrass are more than just inhabitants of their ecosystem; they are dynamic living systems. Each possesses the innate ability to reproduce, ensuring the survival of their kind. Throughout their lifespan, they undergo a continuous process of growth and development. Perhaps most importantly, these organisms exhibit environmental responsiveness, actively sensing and adjusting to changes in their surroundings to maintain balance.
Scientists call living things organisms. Think of all the millions of organisms that inhabit Earth. Organisms can be found in the deepest oceans and on the highest mountains. Some bacteria can even be found high in Earth’s atmosphere. The part of Earth that contains and supports living things is known as the biosphere. The biosphere is all parts of Earth where life exists on land, in water, or in the air.
Within the biosphere are many different kinds of environments. Beaches, forests, glaciers, deserts, city streets, rivers, and even your classroom are environments. Every environment on Earth includes both the living things found there and the physical, or nonliving, environment in which living things exist. Think about the living things in your own environment. No matter where you live, organisms surround you. You, the bacteria on your skin, your pet, the fleas on your pet, the spider in a corner, and the plants growing outside are all organisms in your environment.
What Is the Biosphere?
What Are Nonliving Components?
In your environment, the weather affects you and your pets. The soap you use when you shower affects the bacteria on your skin. Sunlight, temperature, rainfall, and minerals in the soil affect the plants outside. The important interactions between nonliving and living things determine which living things can share an environment with which nonliving things.
Water, soil, sunlight, and temperature are four of the key nonliving components that affect the living things in an environment.
Water
Life on Earth would be impossible without water. The bodies of most organisms are 50—95% water. Water is necessary for many life processes, including respiration, photosynthesis, and digestion.
Water covers more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface. But about 97 percent of the water on Earth is saltwater contained in oceans. That means only about 3 percent is freshwater. Most of the freshwater is unavailable to living things because it is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.
In fact, only a tiny fraction of Earth’s water is freshwater that is available to organisms. This freshwater is in rivers, ponds, lakes, streams, underground water supplies (aquifers), or water vapor.
Soil
Soil is formed by the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks and by the actions of living things. The breakdown of rock into soil releases minerals that organisms need for their life processes. These minerals return to the soil when organisms die and decay.
Decayed material that once was living is called organic matter. The more organic matter in soil, the more fertile it is. Soil determines the type of plant life that can grow in certain environments. Therefore, soil has an effect upon the other organisms that can live there, too.
Among the factors that determine which organisms can live in a particular soil environment are the mineral and organic matter content, air content, and soil texture.
Sunlight
Nearly all living things depend upon the sun for energy, either directly or indirectly. Plants, algae, and some other organisms “trap” sunlight and capture its energy in the process of photosynthesis. Plants use this energy to power their life processes, or they store it.
When a snail eats a plant, for example, the snail uses the stored energy in the plant to carry out life processes such as breathing and moving. When a raccoon eats the snail, the energy is passed along.
Green plants, algae, and other photosynthetic organisms must live where there is sunlight.
In aquatic environments, photosynthetic organisms can live only in the top layer of the water, where sunlight can reach the organisms.
Temperature
In general, the temperature of an environment depends on the amount of sunlight it gets. Air is heated more at the equator than at the poles. This is why tropical areas near the equator are hot, the polar regions are cold, and the regions in between have moderate temperatures.
Temperatures are shaped by the Earth’s tilt (seasons) and elevation (altitude). However, global heat is distributed by the Coriolis effect (rotation), which drives winds and ocean currents. A prime example is the Gulf Stream, a “heat highway” that carries tropical warmth to the North Atlantic, warming New England.
As you hike up a mountain, the air temperature drops. That is why it is possible to have a snowball fight on top of Mount Baldy at Philmont in July!
Interactions Between Living and Nonliving Components
Living and nonliving components are closely connected and constantly influence one another within an environment, often through relationships such as the food chain.
Consider the organisms living in a river in Florida. You might find different kinds of turtles there, such as red-bellied turtles, cooters, and common snapping turtles. A species is a group of organisms with similar characteristics that can reproduce with one another to create offspring. All the red-bellied turtles in the river make up one population, the cooters another, and the snapping turtles a third, showing that a single environment contains many different populations, including both native species (organisms that naturally live in an area) and invasive species (organisms introduced to an area where they do not naturally belong and that may cause harm).
These populations do not live in isolation. They interact with one another and with plants, such as eelgrass, which turtles eat and which also provides shelter for young fish and tadpoles. Animals such as herons act as a predator (an organism that hunts and eats other organisms), and changes in one population can affect others throughout the food chain (the sequence that shows how energy moves from one organism to another). Population sizes can shift over time as conditions change in the environment.
Groups of interacting populations form a community. The living community, along with nonliving factors like water, soil, rocks, and sunlight, makes up an ecosystem. Rivers, forests, ponds, and deserts are all examples of ecosystems that function as connected parts of the natural world.
Interactions
Food Chain
Predators
Native & Invasive Species
Making and Recording Observations
Use the resources below to plan your ecosystem observation.
Observation Techniques
Suggested Activity 1: Compare Ecosystems Using Two Study Plots
Suggested Activity 1: Compare Ecosystems Using Two Study Plots
Use the procedure outlined below to create your own plan to fulfill this requirement.
Use the template as inspiration for how you will record your observations once you are on site.
Phase 1: Setup
Step 1—Select & Mark
Choose two different ecosystem types (e.g., a forest edge vs. an open field).
Step 2—Measure
Use stakes, string, and a yardstick to mark a 2-by-2-yard square (4 square yds total).
Phase 2: Observe & Record (Plots 1 & 2)
Step 3—Abiotic Factors
Record date, time, temperature, weather, and land slope.
Step 4—Observe
List non-plant species (insects, birds, and fungi) and dominant plants. Use a magnifying glass for small details.
Step 5–Quantify
Coverage: Estimate the % of the plot each plant species covers.
Height: Measure the height range of each plant.
Step 6–Sketch
Draw a side-view scale diagram of the plot to show the vertical layers of the ecosystem.
Observations & Analysis
Compare your findings for both plots:
1. Species Count:
How many non-plant vs. plant species did you find?
2. Comparison:
What was the difference in species count between the two plots?
3. Biodiversity:
Which plot had a higher variety of life, and why do you think that is?
4. Overlap:
Did any species appear in both ecosystems?
Template
Template
Use the field note template as inspiration for your own field note pages design.
Suggested Activity 2: Compare Ecosystems at Two Sites
Suggested Activity 2: Compare Ecosystems at Two Sites
Use the procedure outlined below to create your own plan to fulfill this requirement.
Objective:
Conduct three 20-minute quiet observations at two different sites to track how ecosystems change over time.
Tip: Choose contrasting sites (e.g., a hilltop vs. a riverside; a dense woods vs. an open field).
Use the template as inspiration for how you will record your observations once you are on site.
Phase 1: Setup
Step 1—Schedule
Plan three visits per site. Space them out to capture change (e.g., dawn, noon, and evening OR winter, spring, and summer). Avoid repeating the same time of day on consecutive days.
Step 2—Setup
Arrive quietly. Record the date, time, weather (temp, sun, wind), and terrain (flat/slope).
Step 3—Map
Sketch a quick “bird’s-eye” or perspective map of the area from where you are sitting.
Phase 2: Observe & Record (Plots 1 & 2)
Step 4—Observe (20 mins)
Sit still and record:
- Plants: Note species and life cycle stages (buds, flowers, seeds).
- Wildlife: Note names, appearance, and behaviors of animals/insects.
- Sounds: Describe what you hear (rustling, calls, wind).
Step 5—Tools
Use binoculars for distance and a magnifying glass for tiny details. Use field guides or apps like Merlin (birds) and iNaturalist (plants/bugs) to identify species.
Step 6–Mark & Repeat
Mark your spot with a stone cairn or crossed sticks. Return to this exact spot for all subsequent visits.
Observations & Analysis
Plant Changes:
What physical changes did you notice in plants between visits?
Activity Peaks:
At what times or under what conditions did you see the most wildlife?
Variables:
How did the time of day or weather change what you saw or heard?
Environmental Impact:
Did temperature or moisture levels drive species behavior?
Compare:
How did your observations differ between your two chosen sites?
Template
Template
Use the field note template as inspiration for your own field note pages design.
Now that you have explored living and nonliving components in our environment and how they interact,
let’s find out how air pollution can impact ecosystems.
