How Do Ecosystems Maintain Balance?
How Do Ecosystems Maintain Balance?
Owlo! Owlo! You have to come see what happened in the school garden!
Goodness, Koko, you ran all the way here. Take a breath and tell me what you found.
There are SO many caterpillars on the big leafy plant. Like, way too many. The leaves are almost all gone!
Oh my. That is quite a sight. Let us go take a look together, shall we?
You are right, Koko. These caterpillars have been very busy little munchers.
Why are there so many of them? Usually there are just a few.
That is exactly the right question to ask. Have you noticed any birds around the garden lately?
Hmm. Now that you say it, I haven't seen the little brown birds that usually sit on the fence.
There you go. You just discovered something very important about how nature works.
I did? What did I discover?
Everything in nature is connected, Koko. The birds eat the caterpillars. The caterpillars eat the leaves. It is like a chain.
Oh! So without the birds, the caterpillars just kept eating and eating with nobody to stop them.
Exactly right. Scientists call this a food chain. Each living thing depends on another to survive.
But what happened to the birds? Where did they go?
That is a wonderful question. I think we need to do a little research. Shall we visit the library?
Here we are. Let me find my favourite book on ecosystems. It should be on this shelf somewhere.
What is an ecosystem? That is a big word.
An ecosystem is all the plants, animals, and even the soil and water in one place, all living together.
So our school garden is an ecosystem?
It absolutely is. A small one, but yes. And like all ecosystems, it needs to stay in balance.
Balance. Like when I balance on one foot and I wobble if something pushes me?
That is a perfect way to think about it. When one thing changes, everything else wobbles a little.
So the birds leaving made the whole garden wobble. But why did the birds leave?
This book says birds sometimes leave an area when there is less food, or when their nesting spots are disturbed.
We did trim that big hedge last month. Maybe that was their nesting spot!
Koko, I think you have just solved the mystery. That is brilliant thinking.
So we accidentally broke the balance. Now I feel a little bad about the caterpillars eating all the leaves.
The good news is that balance can be restored. We could plant a new hedge and put up small birdhouses.
And then the birds come back, eat some caterpillars, and the leaves grow again!
Precisely. Nature is very good at healing itself, but it needs a little help from us sometimes.
I want to be the kind of fox who helps, not the kind who accidentally breaks things.
And that, Koko, is exactly the right way to think. Now, can you tell me what you learned today?
Okay! So, everything in nature is connected in something called a food chain. If one part is missing, the whole ecosystem wobbles, like me on one foot.
We learned that balance means every plant and animal has a job to do. And if we accidentally mess something up, we can help fix it.
Next I want to find out what happens underwater. Do fish have food chains too? I bet they do, and I bet it is very splashy.
How Do Ecosystems Maintain Balance?
Ages 6–8 · ~4 min
Join Owlo and Koko as they explore the garden's ecosystem and learn how balance is maintained in nature.
What you'll learn
- Understand the concept of ecosystems
- Learn about the balance of nature
- Identify roles of different organisms
How Do Ecosystems Maintain Balance?
Ages 6–8 · ~4 min
How Do Ecosystems Maintain Balance?
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