Let’s Remember…Certain characteristics apply to all living things:

1. Made of one or more cells

2. Display organization

3. Grow and develop

4. Reproduce

5. Respond to stimuli

6. Require energy

7. Maintain homeostasis

8. Adaptations evolve over time

Let’s Remember…

All living things have levels of organization:

Nucleotide DNA chromosome nucleus Cell

ANDCell Tissues Organs Organ Systems Organisms

ANDOrganism Population Community Ecosystem Biome Biosphere

Ecology and our WorldEcology The study of interactions between

living things and their environmentLevels in Ecology

1. Organism A single member of a species

2. Population A group of individuals of a single species that live in the same area at the same time.

3. Community A group of interacting populations.

4. Ecosystem A biological community and all of the abiotic factors that affect it.

5. Biome A large area that is characterized by certain soil, climates, plants, or animals.

6. Biosphere The portion of Earth that supports life.

1. Biotic FactorsAll living factors in an organism’s environment

2. Abiotic Factors The non-living factors in an organism’s environment

Ex. Temp., soil type, pH, air and water currents, sunlight, rainfall

3. Habitat

4. Niche

The natural home or environment of an organism

The role or position an organism has in it’s environment. (job)

(How an organism meets its needs for food, shelter, and reproduction)

Community Interactions

CompetitionOccurs when more than one organism uses resources at the same time

Situation leaves winners and losers.

Ex: food, water, space, light

PredationPursuing and consuming another organism

-What causes the prey population to increase?

-Why is the predator line consistently below the prey line?

- Why does the prey population tend to level off around the same number each cycle.

Prey- Deer

Predator- Coyote

Symbiotic Relationships

1. MutualismBoth individuals benefit. (+,+)

2. CommensalismOne is helped, one is neither helped or harmed. (+,0)

3. ParasitismOne is helped, the other is harmed.

Ex: lice, ticks, mosquitoes, mistletoe, tapeworm (+,-)

hornworm caterpillar and the braconid wasp

Symbiotic Relationships Practice

How do organisms interact?Autotrophs

(Producers)

- organisms that make (produce) their own energy, and are food for other organisms.

Heterotrophs

(Consumers)

- organisms that have to eat other organisms (consume) for their energy

Consumers come in a wide variety

Herbivores - Organisms that eat only plant material.

Carnivores - Organisms that eat only other animals.

Omnivores - Organisms that eat both plant and animal.

Detrivores - Organisms that eat “dead matter” (earthworms)

Decomposers - Organisms that break down dead organic matter (fungi and bacteria)

Scavengers - Organisms that ingest other dead organisms (buzzards and vultures).

12

Trophic LevelsEach Level In A Food Chain or Food

Web is a Trophic Level.

• Producers (autotrophs)

–Always The First Trophic Level

–How Energy Enters The System

13

Trophic Levels• Consumers (herbivore, Omnivore, Carnivore)–Primary: eats the producers

–Secondary: eats primary consumer

–Tertiary: eats secondary consumer

–Quaternary: eats tertiary consumer

Who eats whom?Food Chain

- a series of steps showing what each organism eats in an ecosystem.

- The arrows represent the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next.

Producer (converts radiant

energy into chemical energy)

Primary Consumer

Secondary Consumer

Tertiary Consumer

Quaternary Consumer

1 2 3 4

Feeding Relationships

• A food chain shows a simple feeding relationship.

Sun →

• All food chains start with the sun

carbon dioxide from the air

energy from

sunlight

(or light)

water from

the roots

food

transported to the

rest of the plant

carbon dioxide from the air

energy from

sunlight

(or light)

water from

the roots

food

transported to the

rest of the plant

Photosynthesis

Feeding Relationships

• A food chain shows a simple feeding relationship.

Sun → grass →

Feeding Relationships

• A food chain shows a simple feeding relationship.

Sun → grass → rabbit →

Feeding Relationships

• A food chain shows a simple feeding relationship.

Sun → grass → rabbit → fox

All food chains start with

ENERGY from the sun

Because plants produce their own food,

they are called ‘Producers’

The energy is then passed on to animals when they eat the plant.

Animals of all shapes…

…and sizes!

Because these animalsare the first to takethe food energyfrom the plants,

They are called

primary

consumers

Some of these primary

consumers have predators.

Other animals that feed on them

Aphids are eaten

by….

Ladybugs

Animals that eat primary consumers are called secondary consumers

• So far this is a straightforward food chain

• Sun → leaves → aphid → ladybugs

But in reality it is more complicated than that

This bird eats

ladybugs and

aphids

This bird eats

smaller birds, mice,

and rabbits

Mice and rabbits have other

predators

What will eat the

frog?

What do you

think the

frog eats?

Sometimes it’s not

entirely clear who is

eating whom!

We can show what goes on with the help of a

Food Weba diagram linking several food chains in an ecosystem

What would happen if a disease killed off many of the

hawks?

There will be nothing

to eat the snakes, so

their numbers will

increase.

All the frogs get

eaten

No frogs.

More

crickets

Most of the

cattail gets

eaten by the

crickets

Now the crickets

don’t have enough

food so their

numbers go down

..and so on. Numbers of each species have an effect on the

numbers of the other species in the web.

• Use the food web to predict what might happen in the following situations:

1. There is very little rain and much of the Marsh Grass and Cattail die off.

2. Humans nearby bring cats into the area.

3. The frogs eats some poisoned slugs from a garden

Food Web Analysis Worksheet

Exit Ticket

On a yellow piece of paper, infer what would happen to the population of frogs if the population of foxes decreased due to disease.

The population of frogs would ______________.

Ecology Notes Part 2

• Ecological Pyramids

• Population Ecology

• Biodiversity

• Succession

• Cycles in Nature

• Biomes

Energy Pyramid- each transition shows the amount of energy retained from one level to the next.

10% Rule: Only 10%of the energy from

food is actuallyincorporated into

running cell processes!

90% of energy is lost to the atmosphere as heat from one level to the next.

Numbers Pyramid- Each level shows the number of individuals in each trophic level

- Loss of energy helps explain why there are fewer organisms in each higher trophic level

Biomass Pyramid- each level in the pyramid

shows the total mass available at each trophic level

Energy through an Ecosystem Worksheet

Ecological Practice Problems Worksheet

Factors that effect a biological community

Limiting FactorAny factor that restricts the numbers, reproduction, or distribution of an organism

Ex. Food, space, water, climate

Tolerance

Climax Community

The ability of an organism to survive when dealing with negative factors.

A stable, mature community that results when there is little change in factors.

Carrying Capacity

The largest number of a species that an environment can support long term.

Population Ecology Graphs

What are some things that effect carrying capacity?

Can a population continue to grow exponentially forever?

Biodiversity

• Biodiversity: the variety of living things in an area.

– Increases the stability of an ecosystem

– Contributes to the health of the biosphere

Threats to Biodiversity

• Overexploitation

• Habitat Loss

• Fragmentation of Habitat (edge effect)

• Pollution (biomagnification)

• Introduced Species

Population Dynamics and Biodiversity Worksheet

Ecosystems are constantly changing.Succession is the change in an

ecosystem that happens when one community replaces another as a result of changing biotic and abiotic factors.

-happens in an area that has NO soil and happens very slowly.

-NEW growth

-The pioneer species will be lichen and mosses.

-The pioneer species will help to create new soil.

Primary succession:

Secondary succession:

Ecosystems are constantly changing.

- Happens when an established population is disrupted by things like fire, flood, or windstorm

- Regrowth; happens more quickly

- The pioneer species will be small plants and animals.

Succession Comparison1. Draw a Three column t-chart:

Primary Succession Both Secondary Succession

2. Place the following statements under the correct heading:

Pioneer speciesLichenChanges over timeNew growthRegrowthNo soilSome soil

FireVolcanic eruptionVolcanic island formationFloodGlaciation

Exit Ticket

• Describe the main difference between primary and secondary succession.

Succession Drawings

Cycles in Nature

Biogeochemical CyclesThe exchange or movement of matter through the biosphere. These cycles involve:

- Living organisms (bio)

- Geological processes (geo)

- Chemical processes (chemical)

Cycles in NatureWater Cycle - shows the different stages that water goes through in ecology

Carbon, in the form of CO2, is recycled quickly through living organisms during photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Carbon enters a long-term cycle when it is buried underground and converted to fossil fuels.

Nitrogen Cycle• The largest

concentration of nitrogen is found in the atmosphere but plants and animals cannot directly use atmospheric nitrogen.

• Nitrogen fixation is a process of capturing and converting nitrogen into a form that is useable by plants.

– Bacteria

– Lightning

– Fertilizer

• Denitrification is a process where some soil bacteria convert fixed nitrogen compounds back into nitrogen gas to be released back into the atmosphere.

Carbon Cycle and Nitrogen Cycle Coloring

1. You may use any colors you choose as long as you color your key correctly.

2. Color the words in the reading the same color as your picture.

3. Underline all of vocabulary words from the word wall that you find in the reading.

Biomes Foldable