Ecology

1. Ecology

2. Define Ecology

3. Define Ecology • study of the interactions that take place among organisms and their environment

4. Describe each of the following terms: • Biosphere • Biotic • Abiotic

5. Describe each of the following terms: • Biosphere - part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth's crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on Earth's surface • Biotic - living • Abiotic – non-living

6. Describe each of the following terms: • Biome

7. Describe each of the following terms: • Biome - large geographic areas with similar climates and ecosystems • Includes: • TUNDRA • TAIGA • DESERT • TROPICAL RAINFOREST • TEMPERATE RAINFOREST • DECIDUOUS FOREST • DESERT • GRASSLAND

9. Describe each of the following terms: • Organism • Population • Community

10. Describe each of the following terms: • Organism – one of any living thing • Population - all the organisms that belong to the same species living in a community • Community - all the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem

11. Do you know these? • Producer • Consumer • Decomposer

12. Producer: makes its own food • Consumer: gets energy by eating other organisms • Decomposer: breaks down waste and dead organisms; puts raw materials back into environment

13. Describe each of the following terms: • Types of consumers: • Herbivore • Carnivore • Omnivore • Scavenger

14. Describe each of the following terms: • Types of consumers: • Herbivore: eats only plants (deer) • Carnivore: eats only meat (lion) • Omnivore: eats both plants & meat (people) • Scavenger: eats only dead organisms (vulture)

15. Describe each of the following terms: • Types of interactions among organisms: • Predation • Parasitism • Competition • Commensalism • Symbiosis

16. Describe each of the following terms: • 5 Types of interactions among organisms: • 1) predation: one organism kills another for food • 2) competition: different organisms fighting for same resource • 3) parasitism: one organism benefits the other is harmed but not always killed • 4) commensalism: one organism benefits, the other is unaffected • 5) symbiosis (mutualism): both organisms benefit

17. Levels of Organizationin an Ecosystem(small to large) • Species: group of similar organisms that can reproduce with each other • Population: all the members of one species • Community: all the different populations in one area • Ecosystem: living & non-living organisms in an area • Biosphere: entire livable area of earth

18. Populations • Lets talk about factors that influence populations What might control or change population sizes?

19. Population Density • The number of individuals of a species in an area

20. Limiting factors • Things in an environment that limit how many organisms can grow in a certain area. • Examples: food, water, shelter, space, temperature (climate)

21. Carrying Capacity • The maximum population an area can support • If a population gets bigger than the carrying capacity, organisms die off • Carrying capacity is determined by limiting factors

22. How do we determine population sizes? • Direct observation • Indirect observations (evidence that an organism ids there, but we can’t see it directly) • Sampling (estimates based on info.) • Mark and capture (tagging)

23. How do populations change in number? • Death • Birth • Immigration( coming in) • Emigration (going out)

24. Describe each of the following terms: • Ecosystem • Habitat • Niche

25. Describe each of the following terms: • Ecosystem - all the living organisms that live in an area and the nonliving features of their environment • Habitat - place where an organism lives provides food, shelter and temperature needed for survival • Niche - refers to the unique ways an organism survives, obtains food and shelter, and avoids danger

26. Describe each of the following terms: • Adaptations of consumers: • Carnivore - meat-eating animal with sharp canine teeth specialized to rip and tear flesh • Herbivore - plant-eating mammal with incisors specialized to cut vegetation and large, flat molars to grind it • Omnivore - plant- and meat-eating animal with incisors specialized to cut vegetables, premolars to chew meat, and molars to grind food

27. Describe each of the following terms: • Energy flow through an ecosystem

28. Describe each of the following terms: • Energy flow through an ecosystem - the movement of energy through an ecosystem through food webs. The transfer of energy from one organism to another.

29. Describe each of the following terms: • Food chain • Food web

30. Describe each of the following terms: • Food chain - chain of organisms along which energy , in the form of food passes. An organism feeds on the link before it and is in turn prey for the link after it. • Food web - Complex network of many interconnected food chains and feeding relationships; a group of interconnecting food chains

31. Review food chains here: http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm

32. Describe each of the following terms: • Energy pyramid

33. Describe each of the following terms: • Energy pyramid – a way of showing energy flow. As the amount of available energy decreases, the pyramid gets smaller. Each layer on a pyramid is called a trophic level.

34. Describe each of the following terms:

35. Describe each of the following terms: • Mutualism • Commensalism • Symbiosis • Parasitism

36. Describe each of the following terms: • Mutualism - a type of symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit • Commensalism - a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is not affected • Symbiosis - any close relationship between species, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism • Parasitism -a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed

37. Describe each of the following terms: • Succession • Primary succession • Secondary succession

38. Describe each of the following terms: • Succession - natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary • Primary succession– takes place where no soil exists • Secondary succession– takes place where soil is already present

39. Describe each of the following terms: • Pioneer species • Climax community

40. Describe each of the following terms: • Pioneer species- a group of hardy organisms, such as lichens, found in the primary stage of succession and that begin an area's soil-building process • Climax community- stable, end stage of ecological succession in which the plants and animals of a community use resources efficiently and balance is maintained by disturbances such as fire.