In this unit students will learn how to "use appropriate vocabulary related to their investigations of interactions within ecosystems, such as ecosystem, biosphere, abiotic, biotic,organisms, ecological succession, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, ecological pyramid, bioaccumulation, scavengers, decomposers, and micro-organisms; Define ecosystem, and describe various examples that range from the microscopic to the entire biosphere; Identify abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems that allow particular organisms to survive; Describe ecological succession and identify signs of succession in a variety of ecosystems; Identify and describe positive and negative examples of human interventions that have an impact on ecological succession or the makeup of ecosystems; Identify environmental, social, or economic factors that should be considered in the management and preservation of ecosystems; Propose a course of action to protect the habitat of a particular organism within an ecosystem; Compare photosynthesis to cellular respiration, and explain how both are part of the cycling of matter and the transfer of energy in ecosystems; Analyze food webs, using ecological pyramids, to show energy gained or lost at various levels; Analyze, using ecological pyramids, the implications of the loss of producers and consumers to the transfer of energy within an ecosystem; Explain, using ecological pyramids, the potential for bioaccumulation within an ecosystem; Provide examples of scavengers and decomposers, and describe their role in cycling of matter in an ecosystem; Demonstrate proper use and care of the microscope to observe microorganisms; Identify beneficial and harmful roles played by micro-organisms; Research and describe human food production or preservation techniques that apply a knowledge of micro-organisms.

Available online at: https://www.thinktrees.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Interactions_within_Forest_Ecosystems.pdf. Document available at: www.manitobamodelforest.net. Electronic reproduction.

Chapter 1: What is an ecosystem? -- The Boreal forest ecosystem -- Animal life in the Boreal forest -- Plant life in the Boreal forest -- Chapter one activities -- Chapter 2. Cycles of matter -- Successional changes -- Growth and survival in the forest -- Insects, fire and disease -- Decay and recycling of nutrients -- Chapter two activities -- Chapter 3: How humans use the forest -- How humans manage the forest -- The future of the forest -- Chapter three activities.