Name:
__________________________________________




Section:
__________




Date:
___________________




Understanding
Ecosystems

Worksheet
in
NATSC13‐Ecology



Introduction




 Imagine
yourself
in
a
garden
on
a
breezy,
sunny
day.
As
you
look
around
you
see
several

flowering
 plants
 like
 santan,
 gumamela
 and
 rose.
 Hovering
 over
 the
 flowers
 are
 butterflies

while
grasshoppers
rest
on
the
grass.
On
the
soil
you
notice
a
group
of
ants
feasting
on
dead

leaves
and
an
earthworm
inching
up
onto
the
surface.
All
of
the
living
things
in
and
around
the

garden
are
called
biotic
factors.
These
biotic
factors
make
up
the
garden
community.

Members

of
a
community
are
constantly
interacting
with
each
other
and
the
abiotic,
or
nonliving
factors

around
 them.
 
 An
 area
 in
 which
 a
 community
 of
 organisms
 interacts
 with
 the
 physical

environment
is
called
an
ecosystem.

By
studying
a
garden,
you
can
investigate
the
organization

of
an
ecosystem
and
the
interactions
between
members
of
a
community.



Learning
Objectives

At
the
end
of
this
activity,
you
will
be
able
to

1. identify
the
biotic
and
abiotic
components
of
a
given
ecosystem,

2. differentiate
among
producers
and
the
different
types
of
consumers,
and

3. illustrate
feeding
relationships
in
an
ecosystem.



Learning
Tasks

1. Consider
the
garden
ecosystem
described
above.
What
are
the
biotic
and
abiotic
factors

in
it?
List
at
least
three
(3)
for
each
component.

a. Biotic
 
 ________________________________________________

b. Abiotic

 ________________________________________________



2. Refer
to
the
Garden
Community
Key
on
the
next
page.
Note
the
energy
source/s
(sun,

plants,
 animals,
 plants
 AND
 animals,
 or
 dead
 matter)
 of
 the
 given
 organisms
 that

constitute
 a
 garden
 community.
 Which
 organisms
 belong
 to
 the
 categories
 identified

below?
Write
only
the
code
of
the
organisms.



a. Producers
 ________________________________________________

b. Herbivores
 ________________________________________________

c. Carnivores
 ________________________________________________

d. Omnivores
 ________________________________________________

e. Detritivores
 ________________________________________________




Berdera
&
Rodriguez
(2011)

 Garden
Community
Key



Organisms
 Code
 Source
of
Energy

Grass
 A
 sun

Gumamela
 B
 sun

Santan
 C
 sun

Rose
 D
 sun

Ants
 E
 C,
L

Bird
 F
 B,
D,
H

Butterflies
 G
 B,
C,
D

Earthworm
 H
 K,
L

Grasshoppers
 I
 A

Spider
 J
 G,
I

Bacteria
 K
 L

Dead
plants
and
animals
 L
 



3. Consult
the
Garden
Community
Key.
Draw
arrows
to
illustrate
the
feeding
relationships

in
a
garden
ecosystem.
The
arrows
should
start
from
the
energy
source,
and
point
to
the

organism
getting
the
energy.





Spider




















Bird
 
 
 





Butterflies



















Earthworm

































































 
 
 Rose




































Grasshoppers





Grass
 
 
 
 Santan

 
 
 Ants







Gumamela
 
 
 
 Bacteria







Dead
plants
and
animals




Berdera
&
Rodriguez
(2011)

 Understanding
Ecosystems

Scoring
Rubric



Tasks
 4
 3
 2
 1
 SCORE

1.
Identifying
 All
factors
are
 At
least
75%
 At
least
50%
 Less
than
50%
 

biotic
and
abiotic
 correctly
 of
the
factors
 of
the
factors
 of
the
factors

factors

 identified.
 are
correctly
 are
correctly
 are
correctly

identified.
 identified.
 identified.

2.
Differentiating
 All
organisms
 At
least
75%
 At
least
50%
 Less
than
50%
 

producers
and
 are
correctly
 of
the
 of
the
 of
the

consumers
 listed.
 organisms
are
 organisms
are
 organisms
are

correctly
 correctly
 correctly

listed.
 listed.
 listed.

3.
Illustrating
 All
organisms
 At
least
75%
 At
least
50%
 Less
than
50%
 

feeding
 are
accurately
 of
the
 of
the
 of
the

relationships
 connected
to
 organisms
are
 organisms
are
 organisms
are

their
energy
 accurately
 accurately
 accurately

sources.
 connected
to
 connected
to
 connected
to

their
energy
 their
energy
 their
energy

sources.
 sources.
 sources.


 All
arrows
are
 
 Not
all
arrows
 

drawn
 are
drawn

properly.
 properly.

TOTAL
 



Comments

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________



Evaluated
by:
 __________________________________


 
 Signature
over
Printed
Name
of
Evaluator


Berdera
&
Rodriguez
(2011)