Lisa

Checklist: ☑ Describe role of decomposer ☑ Examples of decomposers ☑ List animals and organisms in your animals' habitat ☑ Describe habitat and your animals' habitat ☑ Draft out a foodweb ☑ Make poster and take picture to put in your wiki page. ☑ Describe what an ecosystem is ☑ Describe the ecosystem of your animal


 * My animal: Cheetah**



Cheetahs live in the African Savannahs with many other animals, this is a list of the animals that also live there and what their place in the food chain is: Vultures - Carnivore - Tertiary Consumer Lions - Carnivore - Secondary Consumer Leopards - Carnivore - Secondary Consumer Hyenas - Carnivore - Secondary Consumer Elephants - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Giraffes - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Buffaloes - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Rhinos - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Antelopes - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Zebras - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Warthogs - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Ostriches - Herbivore - Primary Consumer Monkeys - Omnivore - Primary- / Secondary Consumer Snakes - Carnivore - Secondary- / Tertiary Consumer Insects - Depends on which insect Grass - Producer Trees - Producer Sun - Producer


 * More about the habitat of the cheetah:**

Definition of environment: The surroundings or circumstances that surround one; the things that are around you and what you live with in your daily life; what you experience. Example: //The environment of the cheetah is very warm.// That means that in the place where the cheetah lives is very warm and the cheetah is affected by it.

Cheetahs live in the African Savannahs where there is a lot of grass and trees. Herds of animals are running around and predators are sneaking in the high grass. In the Savannah there is a lot to eat during spring and autumn but in the summer it becomes very hot and plants dry out fast. In the winter it can become surprisingly cold in the Savannah too and animals that do not move could freeze. The conditions are therefore extreme in the savannah, whatever lives there must have adapted quickly, because living in the savannah is not easy. Especially cheetahs have adapted well, with their slink body and muscular limbs, they are born to hunt and survive in the savannah. Also their coat has adapted and made changes so that the cheetah could feel more comfortable in extreme conditions. In the winter, the cheetahs grow a very thick fur which then falls- and smooths out in the summer. These clever adaptations have kept the cheetah alive for more than 5,000,000 years now, which is longer than most of the other Savannah cats.

Table showing non-living conditions and its adaptation:

More in detail: Warmth- The average temperature during the dry season is 33 degrees Celsius. Coldness- The average temperature during the wet season is 21 degrees Celsius. Dryness- In the whole summer there falls an average of only 4 inches of rain. Dead animals- It happens often that when there is less food around, predators have to scavenge carcasses for food. Grass fires- About 40% of the Savannah landscape is burned every year.

There were once many different kinds of cheetahs but now they are all almost extinct, except for the cheetah that we see in the normal African Savannahs. The different kinds of cheetahs do not have many differences in general, but one kind does stand out. The King Cheetah stands out with the unique markings on the body. As a normal cheetah has about the same size circles surrounding the golden body, the King Cheetah can even have stripes and swirls! A King Cheetah
 * More information about cheetahs:**

Cheetahs are the fastest known land animal, they can reach speeds at over 70 km/h. This is why they are often seen to be at the same level as the lion, while the lion has size and power, the cheetah has speed and agility. Cheetahs' most common meal are antelopes, but if they are 2 or more cheetahs hunting together they can easily take down a buffalo.

Decomposers are very important and they play a major role in natures cycle of life, when an animal has died the decomposers break down the animal so it does not just lay there. Then after a year or so the animal has blended into the grass and new animals eat from that grass, and so begins new life again. Some examples of decomposers are worms, millipedes, dung flies and woodlice. But also different bacteria help to break down some animals.
 * A little information about decomposers:**

Worm

Dung fly

Bacteria

My Poster:

I think my poster turned out pretty well, although I made one arrow the wrong way around where it says that the antelope eats the vulture, which is totally wrong. I should think about the things I do more next time and double check if my poster looks alright before I glue things on or write them in ink. I did well with writing information about cheetahs and leaving space for it to be on.

After making the poster I wanted to research more, especially about ecosystems, so first I researched to find out the definition of an ecosystem. It turns out an ecosystem is similar to an environment, but still very different. An ecosystem is much larger and can contain many different species, plants, trees and animals that all affect each other. They need each other to survive because everybody eats everybody here. The plants get eaten by insects which get eaten by birds which get eaten by weasels, which get eaten by cheetahs which get eaten by vultures which turn into grass when they die, then the grass and plants get eaten by insects again. It is a very complicated food web with different components all affecting each other a lot.