r

rrighr be linked *ogether witFin a

chains
food
di$$erenr
how
shows
The $ood web below
o$
rFis wold alter rhe runrbers
poilu{ed and rhe sheri#shded o$f

ffiffi:T:rT*-"*-

the other living things:

Lookat{heseashorefoodweb.lftherearefewershellfish,ihen:
t) There will be more seaweed"' ""beeause

r!:::'f::';::"f::;:lri;

Sj rhere will be $ewer erabs"'

(shellfish) for fle

....Orr"u"e
'ron, fhere's less {ood ealen E'ore bg fhe
,n now fheg're being
seaguls as fhere's fewer efar#sh'

#ffi

W.

-@i'

-&(
R3 \
lwhelkl

\ ,.

\\

More seaweed

@M
Fh"ttfi-hl
Fewer ,starfish

What a tangled web wq we.qve*",

otrt
Foodwebsnellgaren,talot.rore''@"*'::^::?',^-j:r-:"',i:ffi:-:'j
norerhan one kind or rood' working
l?:l-T:.- *1,,'l3li',?Jru'luffi#r"Jn*'i;-e,at
look al
t"l+r"o *eb is ratter trickg, though, but !f gou
w*rat happers as gou change thing
has
eaeh anirnalard work owt wka;t
-tr.l- A"a *t* **t +tt*?* tn fo*t

tl LJ

vu'lt onfu rea'lg get asked aboq{

LJn get +here.

, I an Thnds fn Ther Envronment

40

Protecth g lh e FnUir:'pn tn en (
killng anma{s and desfroging habfafs. nless we wanl to live
l4umans eause a lol of danrage
in a lifeless, Forrible wasteland we need fo proiecl livirrg things and lhe envronnenllheg live in.

E
The mos{ famous example of an aninnal belng completelg
a {lighfless bird tlraf died ouf
wiped out bg rnan is lhe dodo
ago.
about 300 geans

Lois of other animals are close {o going the

same wag urrless we do sornething aboul i1...

So mang cod lave been eauglrt in ihe sea around gcolland lhat have lo be protecfed now.
here's how...

ffi
ffi

ffi

G) Feople can onlg use nefs wittt b4 ltoles that tel tire babg cod escape.

laws

linit

the amount of cod tha{ can be caught.

2) Nobodg is allowed to catch babg cod.

Igeslroyng Habtats Kfls Loads of Thngs at Once

using up all our neadowland

Iw

farming and building.

Using this land deslrogs the habitat

for foads o plan{s and ineecls.

Wiihout lhese olanis and insecls, mce

and voles don'f have enough food.

Withoul the niice and voles,

owls don't have enough food.

drecflg or food, u bg deslroging habifafs. lf we're nof

We kill living things in 2 wags
careful about i{ we can make things exfncf. Learn {his page and save oun owls and cod.

WORKSHEET 5

,1

THE STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEMS

DATE:

CLASS:

NAME:

Home, sweet home!

', -Hrmii crbs liv:a fairly:rkxd [ifs "'
except when looking for a new home.
Moving hous is a very stressful time,
,,, becaule hamit:crabS tack .a,comptete
eiolkelton.,The top porthn,,of :th!r:
,,fiody
rs protected,, liowevqi,,,th tai! and,
,
:,: tlrre:Soft abdrnn ie.bft opn to attaCk,,
So hermit crabs really need ihelter,
y
i,th,abandond,
,,,., an the uSa tf ti nO,,:it

,.:',,:,

,,,

The laigesi crab, plCes.itSelf nxt to : :

the new shell. After testing it by rolling
it:around,,ih big:arb ithr taks it or, ,:
rejects it. lf it decides to take it, it leavei
iis otd,shel! nO,,wriggs into the nw
,e. fne.,olo en[ bS*gto,the,nxt crn
down the line, and so on. This clever
technjeue,,c'uts down th,,mont of tlme
tne,ciabS::spend nakd:outside,thir,,,:,,
shells.

Once,thy find ,,shetl thi: like,r hrmit

cr:abs liv in it until it becomes
too small.

Unfortunaiely, as they grow, the crabs

ned.to,shd'thek old exoskeleton and.
,,, r:, grow nW on.,To:do:thi$; thry must
completely abandon their shells. ln order
",.,t nrlnim is: dnger;, ihey have- dveloped
an eitremely effective way of doingthis.
They line up in a row, according to size.
:.:,

fina words in the text which

mean the following:

1. get rid of:

3. twist:

2. lessen:

4. unprotected:

@ ftu" or False? Write Tor F.

1. Hermit crabs are under constant threat by predators.

2. Crabs must

leave their shells while growing a new exoskeleton.

3. The gastropod shells provide food for the crabs.

4.

Before adopting a new shell, crabs test it.

@ rni*
1.

tr

il

and answer.

Why do hermit crabs need to proiecitheir abdomens?

2. Why do they need to test new shells before moving into them?

3.

From the text, which interspecfic and intraspecific relations can you deduce among hermit crabs?

lL0

58

ESSENTTAL NATURAL SCIENCE 2

PHOToCOPIABLE MATERIAL @ 2008 Richmond Publishing / Santillana Educacin, S'1.

TEST 5

THE STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEMS

NAME:

CLASS:

DATE:

Circle the correct answer,

1. The biotope is the (a) organic (b) inorganic (c) terrestrial part of the ecosystem.
2. The biocenosis of an ecosystem is (a) the number of abiotic factors (b) the sei of living beings
(c) the amount of food consumed.

3.

At the bottom of the food chain

(c) the terliary consumers.

4'

Trophic levels represent (a) the posiiion of living beings in the food chain (b) the relations
between
living beings and abiotic factors (c) the organisation of biomes.

are (a) the producers (b) the primary consumers

5' A food web represents

(a) the position of living beings in the food chain (b)

a sei of interacting food
chains (c) several trophic levels.

6. ln ecosystems,
7

solar energy is first transformed

into (a) heat (b) chemical ener$/ (c) organic matter.

ln an ecosystem, malter is (a) recycled but not lost (b) recycled and lost in
equal proporiions

(c) mostly recycled but some is also lost.

8.

9'
10.

lnorganic matter is transformed into organic matter by

the (a) producers (b) consumers (c) decomposers.

ln commensalism, (a) both organisms benefit from a relationship (b) one
organism benefits and
the other is harmed (c) one benefits but the other is not harmed.
Social groups are organised

in

(a) colonies (b) limited groups (c) hierarchies.

neaO the text and answer the questions.

An ecosystem refers to the organisms which live in a particular area,

tfre
relationships between them and their phyiical environment. An ecosystem
can be, for exampre, a rake or a fierd. it an ue as smalr as a puote i as
large as an ocean. Ecosystems have two components.

'

The blocenosis is the set of living beings in the ecosystem: animals, plants,
fungi nd all types of microorganisms. Biotic factors are the effects which
other organisms have on a living being in its environment. ,'gtic;r"o,
living or having lived and so plants, animals and euen a dead iree are all
biotic factors.

,]].Thebiope..i.tne.inoigan":p.tl"ii;;;'''d,ihephysical

1.

'envirorlmnt. Abiotie factors re the,pnysiCat nd ehemict elements in an

ecosystem whiCh af ct the living organisms., "Abioijc" means non-living,
or
nevr havjhg lived and;,So::ir, r,oCks and:temprtu:e are all abiotic tacior=.

Give three examples of ecosystems.

2. What is the difference

between the biocenosis and the biotope?

15

ESSENTIAL NATURAL sclENCE 2

-l
PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL @ 20OB Richmond Pubtishing / Santitiana Educacn, S.L.

59

WORKSHEET 4

ECOSYSTEMS

NAME:

CLASS:

DATE:

Wort< in pairs. Take turns to read and match the sentence halves. Then classify them.

1. Rivers and streams are characterised by...

2. Temperature in these ecosysiems varies...
3. There are three large climate zones...

a. ...in each hemisphere.

b. ...very high in the day time

4.

ln deserts, the temperature is...

d. ...winters are long, cold and dark.

5.

The soil in deciduous forests is...

6.

Parks and gardens are...

t. ...in tropical areas near the coast.

7.
8.

The Torrid Zone is found. ..

Coral reefs are usually found...

h. ...with the depth of the water.

9.

ln the tundra and taiga,...

and very low at night.

c, .".abundant light and high oxygen content.

...between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

...rich and fertile.

...man-made ecosystems found in urban areas.

i!,rr*iia

Writ" four True / False sentences based on information from Unit 6.

1.

2.
3.

4.
Now test your partner.

t2a
I

ESSENTIAL NATURAL SCIENCE 2

PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL @ 2008 Richmond Publishing / Santillana Educacn, S.L.

65

WORKSHEET 5

ECOSYSTEMS

NAME:

CLASS:

DATE:

The Arctic tundra

The tndr:a ls th simpl5t o-f tlie'Wbr-td'Sbiomes. lt is also the coldest, has low
biodiversity, little precipitaiion and a vry
short giowing seson. Additionalfy, the
soil is poor 'nd rmins,.froien. mssi,sJ,
the lrear, The:ter:r'in, is, fJat, s,water dob
not drin adequately. This creates bogs
and lakes that become home to millions
of black flies and mosquitoes.
PlantS have dveloped elever strategis
to survive in this harsh climaie. For
example, they concentrate most of their
biomass in the roots. These are protected
all year from ihe elements. Plants have
developed the abitity to carry out
photosynthesis at low temperatures with
low light. To,,preserve,warmth andl .. .. , ,..,
nutrients, they grow ctoie to the soil.
Many plants have dark red leaves,
a cofour that allows them to absorb more
heat from the Sun. Moreover, they
reproduce by budding and division rather
than sexually by flowering. Thii lessens

their dependn,ce n pollinatin insets:,,.

which are nearly non-existent in these
latitudes. The abundant mosses and
lichens provide food for herbivores such
as caribou and reindeers. Early
civilisations in the tundra ate the partially
digested contents of animals' stomachs io
provide them with vitamin C. This was
vital to human survival during th long
wintr months.

::

@ Correct the information in these statements.

1.

The tundra is home to many species of butterflies.

2. Arctic

plants concentrate their biomass in their leaves.

3.

Mosi plants reproduce sexualfy thanks to pollinating insects.

4.

Plant leaves are dark to protect them from excessive light.

@ rnint and answer.

List the characteristics of the tundra which make it a difficult habitat for living beings

120

66

ESSENTIAL NATURAL sclENCE 2

PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL @ 2008 Richmond Publshing / Santittana Educacin, S.L.