☷ Balanced Earth Leonard Gelfand Center
NAME: ___________________________
Organizing Organisms
In this activity, you will organize the list below into six different categories: individuals, populations,
communities, ecosystems, biomes, and biospheres.
(If you need help recalling the definition of some of these words, check out the vocabulary review box.)
All living things on Earth A caterpillar A beach with seagulls, crabs,
The apple trees in an orchard A hive of bees shells, and sand
A single bacteria cell The squirrels, bugs, and birds The different kinds of fish in an
A stream with stones, clay, fish, that live in an oak tree aquarium tank
bugs, and algae A desert The African Savanna
A house cat One piece of mold growing on A temperate forest
old bread
Biosphere Biome Ecosystem Community Population Organism
Vocabulary Review
Biosphere: The part of the earth where living things exist. It encompasses all living things living in the lithosphere,
atmosphere, and hydrosphere.
Biome: A major ecological community of organisms adapted to a particular climatic or environmental condition on a large
geographic area in which they occur.
Ecosystem: A system consisting of biotic and abiotic components that function together as a unit. The biotic components
include all the living things whereas the abiotic components are the non-living things.
Community: the assembly of interacting organisms coexisting in a particular area and time.
Population: A group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time.
Individual: A single, separate organism (animal or plant) distinguished from others of a same kind.
Definitions courtesy of biologyonline.com.
Created for the Leonard Gelfand Center by Shaelyn Parker. Downloaded from www.cmu.edu/gelfand. See works cited for image sources.
☷ Balanced Earth Leonard Gelfand Center
Building an Ecological Pyramid
In this activity, you will create an ecological pyramid based off of an ecosystem that you find near you. You can find
ecosystems near ponds and lakes, in forests, or in your own backyard. A good place to start is by looking for plants. Then
consider what primary consumers eat the plants? What secondary consumers eat the primary consumers?
Fill in the trophic levels of the ecological pyramid with producers and primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers. Then
answer the questions provided.
(If you need help recalling the definition of some important vocabulary words, check out the vocabulary review box.)
Level 4: Tertiary Consumers
Level 3: Secondary Consumers
Level 2: Primary Consumers
Level 1: Producers
1. What ecosystem did you choose to represent in your pyramid?
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2. Are the organisms at the top of your pyramid apex predators? Why or why not?
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3. Circle any decomposers that you included on your pyramid. If you didn’t include any, can you think of and
decomposers that are present in your ecosystem that you can add?
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Vocabulary Review
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Ecological Pyramid: A graphical representation in the shape of a pyramid to show the feeding relationship of groups of organisms, and
the flow of energy or biomass through the different trophic levels in a given ecosystem.
Trophic Level: a position in a food chain or ecological pyramid occupied by a group of organisms with similar feeding mode.
Ecosystem: a system consisting of biotic and abiotic components that function together as a unit. The biotic components include all the
living things whereas the abiotic components are the non-living things.
Producer: An organism capable of producing its own food through the process of photosynthesis (using light energy) or through
chemosynthesis (using chemical energy).
Consumer: An organism that generally obtains food by feeding on other organisms or organic matter due to lack of the ability to
manufacture own food.
- Primary consumers are herbivores that feed on producers. Secondary consumers are consumers that feed on primary
consumers and/or producers. Tertiary consumers are consumers that feed on secondary and primary consumers, as well as
on producers.
- Apex predators are predators in which no animal preys on them.
Decomposer: the organisms that are involved in the process of decomposition of the dead, both animal as well as plant matter, in the
ecosystem.
Definitions courtesy of biologyonline.com.
Created for the Leonard Gelfand Center by Shaelyn Parker. Downloaded from www.cmu.edu/gelfand. See works cited for image sources.
