Each presentation contains multiple bell ringers. Use the arrows to navigate through them.
There are several presentations available—scroll down the page to view them all.
Observe and Wonder
Use the arrows to navigate through all the bell ringer questions. Share an individual bell ringer using the embed code or link.
How Resources Affect Organisms and Populations
Use the arrows located at the bottom of the presentation to navigate through all the bell ringer questions.
Common Misconceptions
Misconception: Organisms can live in isolation
All organisms depend on other living things and their environment to survive. Nothing in nature lives completely alone.Misconception: All interactions are easy to see
Many important interactions, like chemical signals or microscopic exchanges, happen without being visible to the eye.Misconception: Relationships between organisms never change
Interactions between organisms can change over time based on seasons, life stages, or environmental changes.Misconception: Living factors are more important than nonliving ones
Nonliving parts of the environment, like water, sunlight, and temperature, are just as important as living things in supporting life.Misconception: Abiotic factors don’t matter much
Factors like soil quality, air temperature, and pH can have a big effect on which organisms survive and thrive.Misconception: Habitats always stay the same
Habitats change over time because of natural events like storms or human activities like building and farming.Misconception: Organisms only need one or two things to survive
Most organisms rely on a combination of many factors, including food, water, shelter, space, and interactions with others.Misconception: All symbiosis is helpful to both organisms
Not all close relationships are beneficial to both. Some are harmful, like parasitism, or neutral for one partner.Misconception: Competition is the most common interaction
While competition happens, many organisms also cooperate, form partnerships, or rely on others for survival.Misconception: Human-made environments aren’t part of nature
Cities and towns still have ecosystems, and humans are part of natural systems too. Complex interactions happen there just like in forests or oceans.
Interactions in Ecosystems: From Predation to Mutualism
Use the arrows located at the bottom of the presentation to navigate through all the bell ringer questions.
Common Misconceptions
Misconception: All predator-prey interactions are destructive
Predators do not always wipe out prey populations. Predation can help keep ecosystems balanced by controlling population sizes.Misconception: Mutualism guarantees survival
Some organisms in mutualistic relationships rely completely on each other, but others can survive on their own with less benefit.Misconception: Competition always leads to extinction
Competition can be challenging, but it doesn’t always cause a species to disappear. It can lead to adaptations that help species share resources.Misconception: Interactions only happen between specific species
Types of interactions like competition, predation, and mutualism happen across many ecosystems, even if the species involved are different.Misconception: Nonliving factors have no role in interactions
Abiotic factors like temperature, sunlight, and water can greatly affect how organisms interact and survive.Misconception: Mutualism is always perfectly balanced
In mutualism, both organisms benefit, but one may benefit more than the other.Misconception: Predators are always bigger than their prey
Many predators are smaller than the organisms they hunt. Size isn’t the only factor in predator-prey relationships.Misconception: Predation only means eating
Predation includes interactions like parasitism, where one organism feeds on another without immediately killing it.
Energy Flow and Matter Cycling
Use the arrows located at the bottom of the presentation to navigate through all the bell ringer questions.
Common Misconceptions
Misconception: Everything decomposes at the same rate
Different materials break down at different speeds. Some things decompose quickly, while others take a long time.Misconception: Decomposers only eat dead things
Decomposers break down dead organisms, but they also act on decaying or leftover organic material that isn’t always fully dead.Misconception: Food chains are simple and straight
Food chains are just one part of a food web. In real ecosystems, feeding relationships form complex networks.Misconception: Energy is recycled in ecosystems
Matter is recycled, but energy flows in one direction. It is used and eventually released as heat, not reused by the ecosystem.Misconception: Producers don’t consume anything
Plants do not eat like animals, but they take in water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients from the soil and air to survive and grow.Misconception: All decomposers are tiny
Many decomposers are microscopic, but some, like fungi and earthworms, are large and important in breaking down dead material.Misconception: Decomposers only benefit from death
Decomposers help themselves, but they also return nutrients to the soil, which helps living plants and other organisms grow.Misconception: All sunlight is used by producers
Only part of the sunlight that hits plants is used for photosynthesis. Much of it is reflected, absorbed, or passes through the leaves without being used.Misconception: All levels in a food chain get the same energy
Each step in the food chain gets less energy than the one before it. Top predators get much less energy than producers.Misconception: Atoms disappear when things decompose
Atoms are never lost. When something decomposes, its atoms are recycled and used again in the environment.
How Ecosystems Change Over Time
Use the arrows located at the bottom of the presentation to navigate through all the bell ringer questions.
Common Misconceptions
Misconception: Ecosystems stay the same
Ecosystems can look stable, but they are always changing, even if the changes are slow or hard to see.Misconception: One change only affects one part
A change in one part of an ecosystem can affect many other parts, sometimes in ways that aren’t obvious at first.Misconception: Changes show effects right away
Some effects of ecosystem disruptions take a long time to appear and may happen gradually.Misconception: Ecosystems bounce back quickly
Some ecosystems take a long time to recover, and they may never return to exactly how they were before.Misconception: Only big disruptions matter
Even small changes can build up over time and cause lasting effects on ecosystems.Misconception: Natural disruptions are good, human ones are bad
Both natural and human-caused disruptions can help or harm ecosystems depending on the situation.Misconception: All disruptions are harmful
Not all disruptions are bad. Some can increase biodiversity or create new opportunities for species to survive.Misconception: A disruption has the same effect everywhere
Different ecosystems respond in different ways to the same kind of disruption.Misconception: Food webs are simple
Food webs are complex. Removing one species can affect many others in ways that aren’t always easy to predict.Misconception: Humans are separate from ecosystems
Humans are part of ecosystems and can both cause and be affected by changes in them.Misconception: Decomposers aren’t important
Decomposers play a key role in recycling nutrients. They are important and can also be affected by ecosystem changes.Misconception: Ecosystems don’t connect to each other
Ecosystems are not closed off. Species, water, and other resources can move between them, connecting one ecosystem to another.
Biodiversity
Use the arrows located at the bottom of the presentation to navigate through all the bell ringer questions.
Common Misconceptions
Biodiversity is Only About the Number of Species: Some believe that biodiversity only concerns the sheer number of species in an ecosystem, while in reality, it also considers the genetic diversity within species and the variety of ecosystems.
All Ecosystems Have Similar Levels of Biodiversity: This is not true. Some areas, like rainforests or coral reefs, have extremely high biodiversity, while others, like deserts, might have less.
High Biodiversity Always Means Good Health: Some ecosystems naturally have lower biodiversity but are still in good health.
Humans are Separate from Biodiversity: In reality, humans are an integral part of biodiversity and play significant roles in its increase or decline.
Loss of Biodiversity Doesn’t Affect Humans Directly: Contrary to this belief, as biodiversity declines, humans can lose vital resources and services ecosystems provide, like clean water or medicines.
Water Purification is Solely a Technological Process: Many might not realize that wetlands and forests play crucial roles in purifying water naturally.
All Changes in Biodiversity are Natural: While ecosystems naturally evolve, many changes in modern times result from human activities like deforestation, pollution, or overfishing.
Only Large Animals Matter for Biodiversity: Every species, no matter how small, plays a role in the ecosystem’s health.
We Can Always “Fix” Biodiversity Loss Later: Some might think we can easily reintroduce species or restore habitats later, but once some species go extinct or habitats are severely damaged, it can be impossible or extremely hard to revert.
There’s One Solution to Protecting Biodiversity: In reality, biodiversity protection requires a multi-faceted approach, considering both conservation and sustainable use. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer.
Only Scientists Can Determine Ecosystem Health: While scientists play a crucial role, indigenous peoples and local communities also have invaluable knowledge about ecosystem health.
Biodiversity is Just About Protecting Animals and Plants: It’s also about preserving the genetic differences within each species, which can be crucial for adaptation to future environmental changes.
If a Solution Works in One Area, It’ll Work Everywhere: Ecosystem management solutions might need to be localized due to differences in cultural, social, and environmental factors.