Group1

= Group 1 = = **Ecosystems** =

What we need for Aquarium is 1 bottle part A, water, 2 cups, 1 cup of gravel, 1dropper, 1 hand lens, 1 or 2 sprigs of elodea, 10 to 15 duckweed plants, 3 dropperfuls of algae, 1 spoon, and 1 metric ruler. Duckweed, elodea, alagae, and other water plants help keep a healthy exchange of gas in water. Also duckweed, elodea, alagae, and other water plants provide food and shelter for many animals. Photosynthesis releases much more oxygen than they take in, producing oxygen to breathe for fish snails and tadpoles. Such use of oxygen is called respiration.
 * Aquarium Notes**

An ecosystem is living things in a particular area and things that affect them. Also a relationship of the living things with non living things that surrounds them and how they interact. Biospher is basically a living area.
 * 1) What is an ecosystem?**

The sun gives plants nutrition and a butterfly sucks the necter of a flower. Then the bird or rat can eat the butterfly. When the bird or rat gets eaten by a cat then someday the cat dies and the cat becomes the soil and then the cycle repeats again. That cycle is called food web.
 * 2)How are living and non-living things connected to one another?**

Some of the use of the resources are cutting down trees, bulldozing wet lands, damning rivers and using up water in the river systems to water crops.
 * 3) How does the use of its resources affect an ecosystem?**

Rich forest makes clean air, wet lands clean the water. Ecosystems provide food, medicine and other things like a resting area, a shelter for birds, and animals.
 * 4) How are resources used by different groups?**

One example is our conscious choice to recycle paper. That can save us from cutting down trees. We can also save the nature by protecting natural habital for animals and plants. Respecting ecosystem will give us better einvironment to live. The choices are to mange, protect, and conserve. Recent studies show that it is best to research and prevent the environmentally damaging factors beforehand.
 * 5) How can our choices affect ecosystems?**

In order to preserve the natures' balance you need to protect the ecosystem. If you upset the ecosystem then ecosystem balance is lost, threatening lives of all living things, putting plants, insects or animals to extint.
 * 6) Why do some people think it is important to protect ecosystems?**