Ecology: the study of interactions between organisms and their environments.
– The study of Ecology requires knowledge from many different fields of science

The portion of Earth that supports life
– Extends from the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean

Abiotic factors: non-living parts of the environment
Biotic factors: living parts of the environment

Species: organisms that interbreed and produce fertile offspring
– Organisms that interbreed and produce sterile offspring are NOT the same species
+ =

Any living thing that contains all the characteristics of life.
What are the levels of organization that make up a living organism?

Individual organisms of a single species that share the same geographical location at the same time.

Biological Community – a group of interacting populations that share the same geographical area at the same time

Biome – A group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities

A dog within a fenced yard
Fleas on a dog
Yearly migration of butterflies
Snake in a hole
Moths mate in early summer
Bat in a cave
Frog under a log
Horse eating grass

Symbiosis: living together
– Commensalism: one species benefits/ one is neither helped nor harmed
– Mutualism: both species benefit
– Parasitism: one species benefits/ one species is harmed

1
2
3

Hookwork: Lives in the intestines of animals
Ascariasis is a infection of the intestines by parasitic roundworms that usually cause no symptoms, but can be very serious.

Schistosoma, a parasite contracted through contaminated water.

A leech must complete it’s lifecycle by laying it’s eggs in water after taking a blood meal

Relationships Between Organisms
Predation – The act of one organism consuming another for food.
– Predator
– Prey
*An understanding of these relationships give farmers alternatives to pesticides.
Competition – When more than one organism uses a resource at the same time.

Producers/Autotrophs: organisms that capture energy from the sun and manufacture their own nutrients.

Consumers/Heterotrophs: organisms that must feed on other organisms for nutrients

Herbivores/ primary consumers: consume only plants
Carnivores: consume only animals

Omnivores: consume both plants and other animals

Organisms that return nutrients to the air, soil and water
Scavengers: consume animals that are already dead
Decomposers: break down and absorb nutrients from dead organisms
Dentrivores: eat fragments of dead matter

Food chain: a simple model showing how energy flows from one organism to another

A Food Chain
From the
Ocean
Trophic levels are represented by each organism.
Energy is lost at each trophic level as organisms:
•Produce new cells
•Regulate body temperature
•Move about

Food web: a more complex model that more accurately depicts how energy flows from organism to organism

Transfer of
Energy Within a
Food Chain
Pyramid of Biomass / Energy
Pyramid of Numbers

BioEd Online

BioEd Online

Jason is watching a science fiction movie when he hears one of the characters mention the term biosphere. Jason has never heard the term before and looks it up. Which would be included in the definition of biosphere?
A.
B.
C.
D.
All parts of the earth where life can survive.
Regions of the earth where many organisms live
The inner core, the continents, and oceans of the earth
The living things that inhabit earth

Mia takes an early morning hike through a forest near her home. She spots white tailed deer browsing on undergrowth vegetation and a raccoon eating an apple and tuna carelessly left behind by another hiker. Mia discovers bright yellow mushrooms growing on a rotting log. Mia shares her observations with workers at the local nature center. Which would Mia share with the center’s ecologist?
A.
B.
C.
D.
All organisms spotted during the hike are heterotrophs.
The oak trees and mushrooms are two types of forest autotrophs.
The raccoon is an omnivore because it eats plants and animals.
The deer are considered carnivores of forest plants.

Mini Lab 2.1
Follow the procedure on p. 42.
Analysis:
1.
2.
Color code each type of organism and shade the names of each organism according to the color code you created.
Put circles around all heterotrophs and squares around all autotrophs.
3.
4.
Pull out one food chain and draw it on the side labeling primary, secondary, and tertiary consumer
Answer question # 2 on the back.

Herbivore
Carnivore
Omnivore
Detrivore
Autotroph
Red Fox
Racoon
White Oak Tree