In this activity, students sort images of organisms into categories such as birds, reptiles, plants, invertebrates, etc. Next they examine the provided poster of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and categorize organisms they identify. A...

In this lesson, students learn about the biodiversity of a wetlands ecosystem, then focus on the Barataria Preserve near New Orleans. They then research five species that live there, and follow up by trying to identify the land type in...

In this lesson, students explore controlled burn scenarios and the positive impacts of fire on ecosystems.

Christian Samper details The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a report highlighting the detrimental impact of human life on the ecosystems of Earth over the past fifty years. Ecosystems have been deteriorating from a variety of waste and...

Learners will create a food chain model and use it to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. Resources include a detailed lesson plan, student handouts, pictures of a completed chain,...

A tutorial investigating how living organisms in an ecosystem are affected by environmental changes.

Understand fresh water ecosystems using this review guide.

Learners analyze food chains, webs, and pyramids to determine how energy flows and matter cycles through ecosystems.

Review the flow of energy through ecosystems with this study guide.

A simulator reviewing over the concepts of ecosystem equilibrium.

Complete illustrated discussion of energy flow within ecosystems, including discussions of trophic levels, ecological pyramids, food chains and webs, biological magnification, and cycles.

Read to understand how energy and inorganic nutrients flow through a food chain in an ecosystem.

Find out how plants and animals adapt to changes in ecosystems.

Students explore the biosphere and its associated environments and ecosystems in the context of creating a model ecosystem, learning along the way about the animals and resources. Students investigate different types of ecosystems, learn...

Jim Robbins's article, "Weaving A New Web: Wolves Change An Ecosystem" focuses on the research and findings of biologist Robert Crabtree and his organization, Yellowstone Ecosystem Studies, in looking at wolves and coyotes.

Abiotic factors vary in the environment and determining the types and numbers of organisms that exist in that environment. Factors which determine the types and numbers of organisms of a species in an ecosystem are called limiting...

An activity where students create a mobile that represent a freshwater ecosystem that appears in nature. Requires Adobe Reader [PDF].

Students research the inter-dependencies among plants and animals in an ecosystem and explore how climate change affects those relationships and the ecosystem as a whole.

Work samples, phenomena, assessment templates, and videos that directly address standard MS-LS2-4: ecosystem interactions and dynamics.

Smithsonian Education presents Contrasts in Blue: Life on the Caribbean Coral Reef and the Rocky Coast of Maine. Teachers can download this comprehensive teaching package in which learners explore two marine ecosystems, the coral reefs...

Gives basic information about the community that forms between living and non-living factors that function together in an ecosystem. [47 secs]

Summary of the nitrogen cycle and the role of nitrogen in the ecosystem.

Life on Earth is possible because energy flows one way through ecosystems, while matter cycles endlessly. Water and elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur are examples of matter that cycles through ecosystems.

Review the main concepts of the nitrogen cycle in this study guide.