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Measuring Up to the Next Generation Science Standards

Grade 5 | Lesson 11

"How Does an Ecosystem Meet the Needsof Multiple Species?"

Teacher Answer Key

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WO

RD

TO K

NO

W

ecosystem

decomposer

Lesson 11H

OW

DO

ES AN

ECO

SYST

EM

MEET

TH

E NEED

S OF M

ULT

IPLE SPEC

IES?

THE BIG

IDEA

● O

rganisms can only live in places w

here their needs are met.

● H

ealthy ecosystems allow

many diff erent kinds of organism

s to live together across tim

e.

● T

he balance of an ecosystem can be upset w

hen a new

organism arrives.

WH

AT I NEED

TO KN

OW

Anim

als need air, water, food, and shelter. H

umans have found w

ays to m

eet these needs nearly everywhere on Earth. C

an you think of some

places where hum

ans cannot live? Why is it diffi cult or im

possible to live there?

Both animals and plants have to inhabit a place w

here their needs are m

et. Plants need air, water, nutrients from

the soil, and light from the

sun. An ecosystem

is an area in which plants and anim

als interact with

each other, as well as w

ith nonliving things in the environment.

Healthy ecosystem

s are balanced. That m

eans they have the right mix

of nonliving features and organisms that can live together across tim

e. For exam

ple, more than 350 species live together in the sagebrush

ecosystem of the w

estern United States. Sw

allows, a type of bird, nest

in cliff s and eat insects. Insects pollinate fl owers and eat leaves. Lizards

and owls eat insects. Lizards and sage grouse hide in the sagebrush.

Lizards become m

eals for badgers. The plants use the soil and snow

melt

to produce food, and decomposers turn dead m

aterial from plants and

animals back into soil.

TU

RN

AN

D TA

LKA

nimals need air, w

ater, food, and shelter to survive. H

umans are

animals too! W

here do you get w

ater? Where does that w

ater com

e from in the environm

ent? W

here does your food come

from? W

hat kinds of shelter can you use for protection?

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HO

W D

OES A

N EC

OSY

STEM

MEET

TH

E NEED

S OF M

ULT

IPLE SPECIES?

Lesson 11

WH

AT I HAV

E LEARN

ED1. M

onarch butterfl ies and milkw

eed plants are two species that

interact in an ecosystem. M

onarch butterfl ies drink the nectar of m

ilkweed fl ow

ers, while helping to pollinate the plant. T

he butterfl ies also lay their eggs on m

ilkweeds, the only food that

allows their caterpillars to change into butterfl ies.

If few

er milkw

eed plants grow, how

will this aff ect the

Monarch butterfl y?

Ⓐ

Monarchs w

ill just lay their eggs on a diff erent plant.

Ⓑ

Monarchs and their caterpillars w

ill have less food.

Ⓒ

Monarch caterpillars w

ill learn to eat something else.

Ⓓ

Monarchs w

ill pollinate more plants the next year.

[DO

K 2]

2. A group of coyotes eats 60 prairie dogs every m

onth. If ⅓ of the

coyotes die from a disease, how

many prairie dogs w

ill the coyotes eat each m

onth?

Ⓐ

23

Ⓑ

33

Ⓒ

40

Ⓓ

80

[DO

K 2]

3. Prairie dogs, deer, and rabbits all eat the grass and other plants in a fi eld w

here the prairie dogs live. Fewer coyotes are now

eating fewer

prairie dogs. Rabbits and deer m

ay be aff ected in a number of w

ays.

T

hink about how rabbits and deer in this ecosystem

may be

aff ected. Which of these sentences is not a w

ay that they are likely to be aff ected?

Ⓐ

Coyotes w

ill eat rabbits and deer more often.

Ⓑ

Rabbits and deer w

ill have to share the food with m

ore prairie dogs.

Ⓒ

Rabbits and deer m

ay have to leave to look for food in another fi eld.

Ⓓ

Rabbits and deer m

ay not have enough food and may die.

[DO

K 3]

Ⓑ

HIN

T, HIN

TIf ⅓

of the coyotes are gone, what

is the fraction of coyotes that are still there? T

he coyotes that are still there w

ill need to eat that sam

e fraction of the rabbits. You m

ight think about how to

solve this problem if it had sim

pler num

bers, such as imagining that

½ of the coyotes w

ere gone. Then

apply your method to the real

numbers in the problem

.

Ⓒ

3.

Ⓐ

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Lesson 11

H

OW

DO

ES AN

ECO

SYST

EM M

EET T

HE N

EEDS O

F MU

LTIPLE SPEC

IES?

We fi nd large and sm

all ecosystems all over Earth. T

hey include m

any diff erent types of organisms. T

hink about the living and nonliving things in a desert versus an ocean or a city park. Physical changes in tem

perature or weather or changes in organism

s aff ect global ecosystem

s.

Living things change the physical environment. For exam

ple, prairie dogs m

ay eat all the grass in a fi eld. The roots of trees and plants slow

ly break apart rocks. H

umans construct buildings and farm

the land. When a new

kind of organism

enters an ecosystem, it aff ects the w

hole ecosystem.

When pigs and cattle w

ere brought to Haw

aii, they ate native plants. Birds called “H

awaiian honeyeaters” could not fi nd enough nectar

to eat, and some species becam

e extinct. Scientists are helping the H

awaiian ecosystem

by replanting native plants to increase the number

of other native birds.

Changes to one part of an ecosystem

will aff ect plants, anim

als, or other organism

s within it. Som

e may survive, w

hereas others may m

ove in, m

ove out, or die.

TH

INK

ABO

UT

ITT

hink about an animal in your

environment. It m

ight be a robin or a pigeon. It m

ight be an ant or a m

ouse. What are its needs?

How

does it meet them

in its ecosystem

?

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Lesson 11

H

OW

DO

ES AN

ECO

SYST

EM M

EET T

HE N

EEDS O

F MU

LTIPLE SPEC

IES?

4. The banyan tree of India gives shade to people and cattle. Squirrels

nest in it and bats have colonies in it. Bats, squirrels, and birds eat the banyan tree’s red fruit.

Based on this inform

ation, which sentence is the best conclusion?

Ⓐ

Banyan trees meet m

any needs for organisms in their

ecosystem.

Ⓑ

Banyan trees are useful, so we should plant them

in North

Am

erica.

Ⓒ

If banyan trees die, there will be no m

ore bats, squirrels, and birds.

Ⓓ

Any other tree could replace the banyan trees.

[DO

K 3]

5. Look at the model of the pond ecosystem

. Think about how

organism

s’ needs are met.

W

hich of the following does not describe a need being m

et inthis ecosystem

?

Ⓐ

Sunlight allows the w

ater lilies to grow.

Ⓑ

The pond provides w

ater for the organisms.

Ⓒ

The fi sh and crayfi sh are food for the heron.

Ⓓ

The soil provides shelter for the cattails.

[DO

K 3]

4.

Ⓐ

5. H

INT, H

INT

What do plants need to live and

grow? W

hat are the needs of anim

als? Rem

ember that living or

nonliving parts of an ecosystem

can meet these needs.

Ⓓ

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HOW DOES AN ECOSYSTEM MEET THE NEEDS OF MULTIPLE SPECIES? Lesson 11

TEACHER NOTESSTANDARDS 5-LS2-1

Performance Expectation

Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

Disciplinary Core Idea

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - We can trace the food of almost any kind of animal back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met.

A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of diff erent types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem.

Science and Engineering Practices

Developing and Using Models. Modeling in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to building and revising simple models and using models to represent events and design solutions.

● Develop a model to describe phenomena. Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena

● Science explanations describe the mechanisms for natural events.

Cross Cutting Concepts

Systems and System Models. A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.

Prerequisite Knowledge & Standards

PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter

● Diff erent kinds of matter exist and many of them can be either solid or liquid, depending on temperature. Matter can be described and classifi ed by its observable properties.

● Diff erent properties are suited to diff erent purposes.

● A great variety of objects can be built up from a small set of pieces.

● There are many diff erent kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in diff erent places on land and in water.

● Living things aff ect the physical characteristics of their regions.

Math Connection

MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

MP.4 Model with mathematics.

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Lesson 11 HOW DOES AN ECOSYSTEM MEET THE NEEDS OF MULTIPLE SPECIES?

TEACHER NOTESELA Connection

RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem effi ciently.

SL.5.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Misconceptions

● Varying the population size of a species may not aff ect an ecosystem because some organisms are not important. (3)

● Ecosystems are not a functioning whole but simply a collection of organisms. (3)

● Ecosystems change little over time. (3)

TIPS FOR THE STRUGGLING LEARNER• If students struggle with the complexity of multiple animals with multiple needs being met in an

ecosystem, choose one ecosystem to study as a class. List the plants and animals and their needs. Have partners research one specifi c organism and how the ecosystem meets its needs. Then create a class poster of the ecosystem, on which all groups draw and annotate their fi ndings. Make sure the poster represents nonliving things such as sun, soil, water, and shelter.

TIPS FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER• Support students who are English language learners by studying an ecosystem in their home

countries, or by having them draw an ecosystem with labels in both their languages. Make sure they include a variety of examples of needs being met for both plants and animals, and that nonliving things such as sun, soil, water, and shelter are represented.

ACTIVITIES FOR THE ADVANCED LEARNER• For students who need a challenge, have them explore why a specifi c species became extinct or

how scientists are attempting to reintroduce or preserve a species. If possible, have them write questions to interview a ranger, biologist, or botanist about threats, changes, or interventions to a local ecosystem.

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