Week 3 Environmental Science

COMPONENTS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

The living component is known as the biotic and the nonliving component is known
as the abiotic. The biotic component consists of plants, animals and bacteria. The abiotic
component includes all the factors of the nonliving environment such as the substratum,
light, rainfall, nutrients, soil and others. Both the biotic and abiotic components are equally
important in the ecosystem because without one of them the ecosystem would not
function.

Green Plants
Green plants are known as the producers. They capture the energy from the sun and
together with carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air and water (H2O) convert this into food energy.
Since plants are able to manufacture their own food, they are also known as autotrophs (or
self-nourishing). These plants are able to manufacture food through the process of
photosynthesis.

Green plants (producer)

Green plants also take substances, such as nitrogen and sulfur, from the
environment and convert them into plant materials that can be used by other organisms as
food. These green plants further provide oxygen which is taken in by humans and animals in
the process of respiration. For these reasons, all life, whether in the pond, forest, or
grassland, depend on green plants.
You might think that green plants consist only of the trees or big plants that you see
around. The other producer plants are invisible to your eyes. These are the microscopic
drifting plants which are greater sources of food than the big plants that you can see. We
call these microscopic plants phytoplanktons. When they become to abundant, they can
give a pond or a body of water a green color.

Phytoplanktons
Week 3 Environmental Science

Animals
Animals, or the consumers, obtain their food from plants or other animals. Because
of this, they also known as heterotrophs, which means that they feed on others and they
cannot manufacture their own food unlike the green plants.
There are three different types of consumers, namely, the herbivores, the carnivores
and the omnivores. The herbivores are those that eat plants only, while the carnivores are
those that eat other animals only. For example, the caterpillar that feed on leaves is a
herbivore while the snake that eats the caterpillar is a carnivore. Omnivores eat both plants
and animals. A human being is a good example of an omnivore.

Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores

Through the process of respiration, animals combine the food they eat with oxygen
to produce CO2 and H2O which are used by the plants in the process of photosynthesis.
Animals also convert the materials of the plants bodies into the materials that make up their
own bodies. All the energy produced and used by animals come from the plants.

Bacteria and Fungi as Agents of Decay

Have you ever observed what happens to leaves that fall on the ground? After some
time, the leaves wither. Break down into smaller pieces, decay and finally become part of
the soil. What do you think is responsible for this change?
Have you heard the word decomposer? What do you think does decomposer do?
Decomposers make up the third biotic component of the ecosystem. They use the
bodies of dead animals and plants for their food. The materials contained in these dead
bodies are broken down by the decomposers, thus they get the energy they need and
release the minerals and other nutrients back into the environment for use again by other
organisms. Bacteria are among the most abundant decomposer while fungi are known as
the fast-acting decomposers.

Bacteria and Fungi

Week 3 Environmental Science

Decomposer are found everywhere. In the pond, they are abundant at the bottom
where the remains of the dead organisms (plants and animals) settle. On land, they abound
on the surface of the soil where the dead bodies of plants and animals are found.
The decomposer are indispensable component of the ecosystem because without
them, the materials within the bodies of the dead organisms would never be used again.
They are popularly known as the “janitor of nature
Each of the three groups of the biotic component of the ecosystem –producers
(plants), consumers (animals), and decomposers (bacteria and fungi) – has their own specific
function and task to perform. The work performed by an organism is known as its ecological
niche, while the place where the organism lives in the ecosystem is known as its ecological
habitat.

NON LIVING FACTORS

The nonliving factors of the environment make up the abiotic component of the
ecosystem. These include the chemical and physical factors in the environment. , such as
light, temperature, water, pH (acidity), wind, chemical nutrients, salinity (saltiness), soil and
others. Organisms are affected by these abiotic factors simultaneously but, of course,
different species of organisms are affected differently. For example, lichens may not survive
when temperature gets very high but cactus may.
Different organisms thrive in different conditions. There are animals like the
earthworms, which favor wet conditions, while others, like ants, prefer drier conditions.
Some plants like cactus best grow in sandy soil while tomatoes grow best in loamy soil.
As a whole, these environmental factors not only provide essential energy and
materials but also determine the kind of organisms that will inhabit the area. Hence, they
provide the conditions necessary for the survival of the organisms.

Some of the nonliving factors of the environment

Week 3 Environmental Science

ACTIVITY SHEET # 1
CONCEPT MAPPING

Direction: Complete the concept map below by filling up the boxes with the appropriate
concepts using linking words us guide on how these concepts are related with each other.

Concepts:
COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEM, BIOTIC, ABIOTIC, ANIMALS, PLANTS, BACTERIA, SOIL ,
WATER, TEMPERATURE, LIGHT, WIN
Week 3 Environmental Science

Activity Sheet # 2
LOOK and LOOP

Directions: The following words below are related to ecosystem. Look and loop (encircle)
these words.

BIOTIC CARNIVORE RESPIRATION

ABIOTIC OMNIVORE NICHE
PRODUCER HERBIVORE HABITAT
CONSUMER PHOTOSYNTHESIS DECOMPOSER

ECOSYSTEM

C I A T O B I O T I C A B I O T I C T H

P X M V Q V R A A C O M N I V O R E M A

R E S P I R A T I O N J U N G K O O K B

O C W X N O P D F K I M B Y R X C B M I

D R F L O W G W E Q C A R N I V O R E T

U U K L I N G P K E H W T A E T A Y C A

C Q G H J K L X C R E R N A N A C U Q T

E P L I M O B I L E L E G E N D S N Q O

R R H K C U I V B A N G B A N G S A B Y

P H O T O S Y N T H E S I S O G M R E R

Y A F O O D L A W D E C O M P O S E R E

Z Y T A N R A T L A S Z F K H U F R A Q

Activity Sheet # 3
Guess What
Week 3 Environmental Science

Direction: Tell what type of consumer are the organisms are illustrated below. Write your
answer on the space provided below to the picture.

1. __________________ 5.____________________

2. ___________________ 6.___________________

3. __________________ 7.____________________

4. ___________________ 8.___________________

Assessment
Name _______________________________________ Score ______________
Grade & Sec __________________________________ Date _______________
Week 3 Environmental Science

I Direction: Group the following word/s according to the components of ecosystem

Temperature Soil Grasshopper Bacteria Water
Rice plant Mango Tree Light Fish Wind

COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEM
BIOTIC ABIOTIC
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.

II. Direction: Identify the word/s that correspond to the statement given below. Choose
your answer from the box and write on the space provided before the number.
BACTERIA FUNGI ECOLOGICAL NICHE RESPIRATION
HETEROTROPHS PHOTOSYNTHESIS AUTOTROPHS PHYTOPLANKTONS
ABIOTIC ECOLOGICAL HABITAT BIOTIC

_____________________ 1. The component of ecosystem composed of plants, animals and

bacteria
_____________________ 2. This includes all the factors of nonliving environment such as
water, wind, light, etc.
_____________________ 3. They are organisms that are able to manufacture their own
food.
_____________________ 4. They are the organisms that feed on others and cannot
manufacture their own food.
_____________________ 5. The most abundant decomposer
_____________________ 6. The fast-acting decomposer
_____________________ 7. The place where the organisms live
_____________________ 8. The work performed by the organisms
_____________________ 9. The process of manufacturing plants food
_____________________ 10. The microscopic plants in the bodies of water
_____________________ 11. The process where food and oxygen combine to produce CO 2
and H2O
III. Direction: Classify the ff. according to the type of consumer
1. Grasshopper - _____________________
2. Hawk - __________________________
3. Human - _________________________
4. Snake - __________________________
5. Caterpillar- _______________________