Ecosystem Explorer
An ecosystem is a web of living things and the non-living world around them. Meet producers, consumers and decomposers, follow the energy through a food web, and see why global ecosystems sit where they do on the map.
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A web of life
An ecosystem is a community of living plants and animals interacting with the non-living world around them, such as the soil, water, sunlight and climate. The parts are all connected, so a change to one part can affect the whole ecosystem. Ecosystems range in size from a single pond to a whole rainforest.
The building blocks
Every ecosystem is built from these roles. Learn the four before you go on.
Living or non-living?
Geographers split an ecosystem into two kinds of component. Both matter.
Match the component
- Producer
- Consumer
- Decomposer
- Food web
- A plant that makes its own food by photosynthesis
- An animal that eats plants or other animals
- A bacterium or fungus that breaks down dead matter
- A diagram showing all the feeding links in an ecosystem
Name the role
In a pond, the pondweed makes its own food using sunlight. What is its role in the ecosystem?
- Producer
- Consumer
- Decomposer
- Abiotic component
Follow the food chain
An interactive activity.
Everything is connected
The parts of an ecosystem depend on each other. Producers feed consumers, and when living things die, decomposers return their nutrients to the soil so new plants can grow. Because the parts are linked in a food web, a change to one part, such as a disease or a drought, ripples through the whole ecosystem.
Complete the sentence
The living parts of an ecosystem are called _____ and the non-living parts are called _____. Plants are _____ because they make their own food. _____ such as bacteria break down dead matter. A _____ shows all the feeding links in an ecosystem.
Match the global ecosystem
- Tropical rainforest
- Hot desert
- Tundra
- Temperate deciduous forest
- Near the equator, hot and wet all year
- About 30 degrees from the equator, hot and dry
- Near the poles, very cold with little growth
- In mid-latitudes like the UK, mild with four seasons
Biotic components
Which of these are biotic, or living, components of a pond? Choose all that apply.
- Pondweed
- Fish
- Bacteria
- The water
- Sunlight
Why here?
Why is tropical rainforest found near the equator?
- It is hot and wet there all year, so plants grow quickly
- It is very cold there
- It is a dry desert climate
- It is at a high latitude near the poles
True or false
An interactive activity.
Trace the change
An interactive activity.
Explain interdependence
An interactive activity.