Ecology: 60% of the GA Milestone
Biosphere: part of earth that supports life.
Parts of the biosphere: Crust, earth’s waters, atmosphere.
Ecosystem: all of the organisms and non-living parts of an environment.
Community: all populations of all species in an area combined. *All of the neighborhoods that
make-up our school district make up our school community.
Population: number of organisms of the same species.
Habitat: where an organism lives.
Competition: organisms after the same resources.
Limiting factor: restricts number of individuals/organisms in a population.
Carrying Capacity: the maximum amount of individuals/organisms an ecosystem can
hold.
Symbiosis: Relationship between two organisms.
Mutualism: both organisms benefit.
Parasitism: one organism is harmed and the other organism benefits.
Commensalism: One organism benefits the other and the other organism is not affected.
Niche: an organism’s job- how it fins shelter, food and stays out of danger.
*Predators and their effects on an ecosystem: predators can help an ecosystem by
removing prey which reduces competition allowing more resources to be available for other
species.
Biotic: living or once living organisms
Abiotic: non-living parts of an ecosystem (air, water, climate, temperature).
Photosynthesis: making energy with carbon dioxide (CO2), water and sunlight.
Respiration: using oxygen to breakdown sugar. NEEDED IN ALL OF LIFE PROCESSES!
Food chain: simple version of how matter and energy pass from one organism to another.
Food web: many different food chains.
 Food Web
Food Chain 
Energy Pyramid: amount of energy available at each level…. 10% is lost at each level.
The producer is at the bottom- herbivores are the primary consumers- carnivores are
secondary and tertiary consumers.
Succession- gradual changes in a species in an area.
Pioneer species: first species in an area
Secondary succession: the area already had soil and was home to living things previously.
Climax community: community of PLANTS- mostly stable, end stage succession (Temperate
Deciduous Forest). It can take hundreds to thousands of years to get to this point.
Biomes: Large areas with similar climates and ecosystems.
Tundra- permafrost (layer that never melts under the surface), dry, cold
Taiga- largest land biome.
Temperate deciduous forest- where we live, 4 seasons
Grasslands- mostly dry, some rain to allow for grass growth not enough precipitation to
allow for trees to grow. Found in Africa, Australia, etc.
Tropical Rainforest: wet, warm, lots of vegetation and animal species.
Marine: takes up most of the earth’s surface. Largest biome on earth. 95% of Earth’s
water is salt. Oceans, seas, inlets.
Freshwater ecosystem: rivers, lakes, ponds. Rivers contain a lot of oxygen due to the movement
of the water.
Wetlands: between areas of water- swamps. Water logged soil.
Carbon cycle: producers remove CO2 through photosynthesis and release oxygen, humans
release CO2 by breathing and using fossil fuels and the producers then work again to remove
the carbon dioxide.
Nitrogen cycle: most of the atmosphere is nitrogen, most organisms cannot use nitrogen
straight from the air. Plants need nitrogen and get their nitrogen through nitrogen fixation
which is done through bacteria. Animals eat the plants, the animals die and nitrogen returns to
the soil or atmosphere. Precipitation can bring nitrogen out of the atmosphere.
Nitrogen Fixation- Plants- Animals- return to soil/atmosphere- in the soil nitrogen
fixation starts over.
Cells:
Haploid: cells without pairs of chromosomes- Sex cells (eggs and sperm).
Diploid: cells with similar pairs of chromosomes- we have 23 pairs of diploid cells.
Joining of egg and sperm is fertilization. Fertilization results in a zygote. After the zygote
is formed, MITOSIS and cell division begin.
*Focus on the steps and the result of each type of cell division.
Meiosis: TWO divisions of the NUCLEUS occur- MEIOSIS I and MEIOSIS II.
Prophase- Metaphase- Anaphase- Telophase REPEAT for Meiosis II
Meiosis I: Two cells form…. Meiosis II four sex cells form with 23 chromosomes each.
Mitosis: Nucleus divides to form two IDENTICAL cells… Mytwin
Interphase------ (chromosomes are duplicated) --- Prophase- metaphase- anaphasetelophase
*Chromosomes contain hereditary material
Prophase: Chromatids (tightly coiled chromosomes that have been duplicated) can be seen.
Metaphase: Chromatids line up across the cell
Anaphase: Chromatids separate and become chromosomes
Telophase: Cytoplasm begins separating, new nucleus is formed and there are two separate
nuclei.
*Completion of telophase results in two separate cells.
MITOSIS:
MITOSIS VS. MEIOSIS:
Gregor Mendel: Austrian monk used pea plants to study traits. He crossed Tall and Dwarf Pea
Plants. Some were purebred and some were hybrids.
Purebred (Homozygous when looking at genotype): first generation, pea plants that
fertilized within their own pod.
Hybrids (Heterozygous when looking at genotypes): organisms that receive genetic
information or alleles from each parent. Crossbreeding.
Dominant trait: covers up one trait. (Capital letter when looking at the genotype)
Recessive trait: the trait that seems is not obvious. (Lower case letter when
looking at the genotype).
Genotype: genetic make-up… letters represented in the Punnett square.
Phenotype: physical features or behaviors of an organism. The result of a genotype.
Homozygous (Purebreds are homozygous genotypes): two alleles that are the same. Ex. TT, tt
Heterozygous (Hybrid genotypes): two different alleles: Tt---- Only capital and lower case letters
will count.
Incomplete dominance: the dominant trait does not show up alone. A parent with curly hair and
a parent with straight hair could have offspring with wavy hair.
*** STUDY ALL OF THE VOCABULARY ON MY WEBSITE AND THE DEFINITIONS IN YOUR NOTEBOOK AND
STUDY GUIDES.
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THINK OF QUESTIONS FOR MONDAY
****** ALL INFORMATION HAS BEEN FILLED OUT ON YOUR STUDY GUIDE AND YOUR BOOKLET. THIS IS AN
EVEN EASIER, MORE COMPACT STUDY TOOL. USE ALL THREE!!!