Module 1. Ecology Matters
Unit 1.1 What do you mean by “ecosystem”?
The words to be studied in 1.1:
ecosystem экосистема sustainable устойчивый, жизнеспособный
ecology экология abiotic абиотический, неживой
environment окружающая среда biotic биотический, живой
biome биом to interact взаимодействовать
biodiversity биоразнообразие to disappear исчезать
habitat ареал, среда обитания to influence влиять, воздействовать
resident постоянный обитатель to damage причинять вред, повреждать
Exercise 1. Read the terms and their definitions. Match each term with its definition. One definition is odd:
a) Ecosystem is…
b) Biome is…
c) Ecology is…
d) Environment is…
1) … small (often microscopic) free-floating aquatic plants or animals.
2) … the sum of all external conditions affecting the life, development and survival of an organism.
3) … the relationship of living things to one another and their environment, or the study of such relationships.
4) … entire community of living organisms in a single major ecological area. It is made of many similar ecosystems. An ecosystem is often much smaller than it, although the size varies.
5) … the interactions between the living things and the nonliving things in a place. In it, the plants, animals, and other organisms rely on each other and on the physical environment – the soil, water, and nutrients, for example.
Exercise 2. Study the pictures (figure 1, figure 2). Can you give examples of biomes and ecosystems?
Figure 1
Figure 2
When giving examples you can use:
I guess that biomes are… .
In my opinion ecosystems can be… .
It came to me that … are ecosystems.
I believe that … is a biome (an ecosystem)/are biomes (ecosystems).
Exercise 3. Read the text and find out all the ecosystem features which are not mentioned in Exercise 1:
An Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a complex set of relationships among the living resources, habitats, and residents of the area. It includes plants, trees, animals, fish, birds, microorganisms, water, soil and people. Ecosystems vary greatly in size and the elements that make them up, but each is a functioning unit of nature. Everything that lives in an ecosystem is dependent on the other species and elements that are also parts of that ecological community. If one part of an ecosystem is damaged or disappears, it has an impact on everything else. When an ecosystem is healthy, scientists say it is sustainable. This means that all the elements live in balance and are capable of reproducing themselves. There is usually biodiversity, meaning that there is a variety of living organisms and species in that environment.
Since ecosystems can be as small as a single tree or as large as entire forest, there are lots and lots of different ecosystems in any area. When you want to talk about how a certain natural area functions together, you can call it a biome. A biome is a very specialized ecosystem that only exists in a certain area or climate. They are identified by factors like temperature, rainfall, soil type and altitude.
Exercise 4. Complete the sentences about ecosystem. Use the text above:
1) An ecosystem can include … .
2) All the species and parts of an ecosystem are … on each other.
3) Biodiversity means a … in the environment.
4) If one part of an ecosystem is damaged, the other parts … too.
5) A sustainable ecosystem is a … one.
6) A biome exists in the … only.
7) The factors identifying biomes are … .
Exercise 5. Why do people study ecology? Give your own opinion. Some ideas have already been given:
…live in the clear environment.
People study ecology to… …make the Earth a better place.
…protect themselves and their children.
…be more healthy and wealthy.
…get money for their scientific researches.
Exercise 6. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the words. Two words are odd:
scientific, ecosystems, interact, evolutionary, ecology, habitat, changes, connection, develop.