I dedicate this book to my teacher, Alex, who helped me do this research about survival science, and to anyone who is passionate about science and nature.

Table of Contents

About the book                                                 3

Food Pyramid                                                  4

Photosynthesis                                                 6

Biotic and Abiotic Factors                                     8

Symbiosis                                                      10

The Cascade Effect and Sea Otters                        12

The Cascade Effect and Wolves                             14

What are Mutations?                                           16

How do Mutations Happen?                                    18

Conclusion                                                      20

About the Author                                              21

Image Sources                                                22

References                                                    23

About the Book

This book is about survival science. It explains topics like ecosystems, the food pyramid, photosynthesis, symbiosis, the cascade effect, animal adaptation, and more. It also has questions related to each topic. This interactive book is written for elementary and middle school children, but also for teachers and educators who teach such topics in the classroom or anyone who is interested in them. I hope that it will be interesting to you and deepen your passion for science and nature.

Food Pyramid

A food pyramid, also called an energy pyramid, is a model for how energy spreads in an ecosystem, shown as a pyramid. It starts with PRODUCERS, which convert energy from the sun into usable energy through photosynthesis. Then the PRIMARY CONSUMERS (herbivores) eat the producers; then the SECONDARY CONSUMERS (omnivores or carnivores) eat the primary consumers; and so on, all the way to the APEX PREDATORS, which do not have any natural predators. But not all ecosystems follow this exactly. In some deep ocean ecosystems, the energy comes from hydrothermal vents. Bacteria inside tube worms use this energy. The tubeworms (primary consumers) absorb the food the bacteria (producers) release, and the rest of the food pyramid goes on in a similar fashion, as in most ecosystems.

Can you think of your own example of an animal? What is its level in the food pyramid?

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants get energy. It starts when the plant’s leaves take in carbon dioxide (CO₂), and the roots absorb water from the soil, which spreads to the plant’s cells. These cells have structures, called chloroplasts, filled with chlorophyll. This chlorophyll is what makes plants green. The chlorophyll traps energy from the sun and stores it, splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. This process releases energy. The plants use the energy, hydrogen, and CO₂ to make glucose, the food they use to grow. The leaves also release oxygen as a waste product.

Can you think of a plant that obtains food in ways other than photosynthesis?

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

Biotic and abiotic factors are the types of components in an ecosystem.

Biotic and abiotic factors are very important, and they interact in many ways. For example, plants obtain energy from the sun through photosynthesis, and animals breathe air or drink water.

Can you think of another component in an ecosystem? Is it biotic or abiotic?

Symbiosis

Can you think of another example of symbiosis? Is it mutualism, parasitism, commensalism, or amensalism?

The Cascade Effect and Sea Otters

The cascade effect, also called the trophic cascade, happens when one species’ population increases or decreases and affects other species in the ecosystem. This, in turn, affects other species, and so on, starting a chain reaction. The cascade effect has happened multiple times, sometimes because of humans.

For example, sea otters eat sea urchins. But around the 1700s, people began hunting otters for their fur, the thickest of any species. This caused the population of sea urchins to increase, which reduced the population of a kind of seaweed called kelp, which the sea urchins eat. The urchins ate whole kelp forests, which are very biodiverse, endangering animals that rely on them. However, when the otter populations increased in some areas, there were fewer urchins and more kelp forests. This effect also helped the animals that rely on kelp forests.

Can you think of another example of the cascade effect, caused by a species' population decreasing?