VCE BiologyUnit 2

Ecosystems

Your Challenge(Final SAC – Yahoo!)

• Create an interactive power point presentation or

• Create an interactive poster (e.g lift the flap, pull outs, pop up etc.,)

• Which illustrate/explain your understanding of ALL the following concepts on a single page which link to other pages/ illustrations/text

• Use images / labelling/ text / hyper linking• These concepts will all appear on the exam so

consider this a useful revision exercise and tool!

The concepts

Ecosystem

Trophic levels

Relationships

Communities

Cycles

Adaptations

VERY useful general web links

Ecosystem

• Ecosystem• Habitat• Ecological niche• Competition• Abiotic factors• Biotic factors• Bioaccumulation• Bioaccumulation and some examples

Trophic levels

• Heterotrophs• Autotrophs• Carnivore• Omnivore• Herbivore• Decomposers• Producer• First order consumer (Primary Consumer)• Second Order consumer (Secondary Consumer)• Third order consumer (Tertiary Consumer)

Relationships

• Symbiosis • Mutualism• Commensalism• Parasitism• Host• Predator / prey• Food chain• Food chain and energy transfer• Food Web• Energy transfer and loss• Energy transfer and loss

Communities

• Population

• Population dynamics

• Succession

• Carrying capacity

• Pyramid of biomass

• Pyramid of numbers

Cycles

• Organic matter cycle

• Nitrogen Cycle

Carbon Cycle Nitrogen Cycle

Carbon Cycle

• How does this work?

• Why is the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere increasing?

Adaptations

• Explain how a reproductive strategy can increase the chance of survival of an organism and this in turn can impact on an ecosystem

• Explain how a behavioural adaptation of one of your organisms increases its chance of survival in your ecosystem

• Explain how a structural adaptation of one of your chosen organisms can increase the chance of survival of an organism and this in turn can impact on an ecosystem

• Links – Plant adaptations/structures

Nitrogen Cycle

• What is it?

• Why do plants need nitrogen?

• Why is nitrogen important?

Useful general web links

• http://www.reec.nsw.edu.au/geo/scirrg/scrrg1.htm

• http://www.roomd113.com/TAKS%20NOTES/Objective%203%20Ecosystem%20and%20Interaction.pdf

• http://www.etap.org/demo/biology_files/lesson6/instruction6tutor.html