Name: ____________________________
Date: _____________
Unit 1: The Interconnectedness of Life
Unit 1B- Intro to Ecology
The Biosphere: all life on Earth and ____________________ of the Earth where life exists
Ecology is the study of the __________________ of all of the organisms and their
_____________________ in the biosphere.
Levels of Organization in the Biosphere
1. __________________- one individual of a certain
species
2. __________________- group of
individuals of the same species living
in the same area
3. __________________- different
populations living together in the
same area
4. __________________- all the
organisms in a certain place together
with their physical environment
5. __________________- a group of
ecosystems with similar climates and
typical organisms
6. __________________- all living things from
all biomes on the planet
Where is the biosphere located and what does it
include?
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Practice Task: In the diagrams to the right, fill in the
blanks with the appropriate levels of organization.
Summary/Additional Notes:
Biome
Community
Word Bank:
Population
Biosphere
Ecosystem
Organism
Environments:
The ________________ or factors surrounding an organism
Consist of biotic and abiotic factors
Biotic Factors
Any ________________ part of the environment
Includes (4 examples): _______________________________
Abiotic Factors
Any _________________ (physical) part of the environment
Examples: sunlight, _______________, precipitation, humidity,
____________________, water, ___________________, etc.
Pick any organism from the pond ecosystem in the picture below and name 4 biotic factors
relating to it:
Organism: __________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
Using the same organism you picked earlier, name 4 abiotic factors relating to it
1.
2.
3.
4.
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Biotic and Abiotic Factors are Closely Linked (textbook pg. 67)
The mucky shoreline, biotic, abiotic or both?
________________________________________________
Energy, Producers, and Consumers
Energy
Organisms must get __________________ in order to function
Different organisms get their energy in different ways
Almost all energy on Earth starts from the _____________!
1. Autotrophs
Organisms that capture energy from _____________________ or ______________________ and
turn it into food
Also called ________________ _______________________
Primary Producers
Most ____________________ use energy from the
sun to create sugars and starches
(_________________________________)
Important examples (3):
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
Chemosynthesis
When primary producers turn the energy in
_______________ (like hydrogen sulfide) into
carbohydrates.
Mostly done in (1 example): ____________________
Found in ___________________ environments (deep
ocean, hot springs, volcanoes)
2.Heterotrophs
Eat __________________________________ for food.
Also called ________________________
Types of Consumers
Classified by the way they ___________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
Food Chains and Food Webs
Energy Flows ______________________
Almost all energy on Earth starts from the sun!
Energy flows through an ecosystem in a one way direction from _________________ to
__________________
Food Chain- a series of steps in which organisms transfer _________________________ by eating
and being eaten.
(food molecules are chemicals)
Phytoplankton = ______________ that is _______________ and not attached to something
**Read an arrow as “is eaten by”
Food Webs
Food web- a network of ______________________________
formed by the feeding relationships among the organisms of an
ecosystem
Decomposers and Detritivores are Important in Food Webs
•
Dead plant and animal material must be broken down so the
molecules can be reused for new life
Decomposers (bacteria and fungi) are __________________ that
break down this dead plant and animal material into detritus
This _______________________________ into the soil for new
primary producers to grow (“___________________ nutrients”)
_____________________ is eaten by detritivores (like crayfish,
grass shrimp, and worms), further releasing nutrients into the soil
Summary/Additional Notes:
Food Web Disturbances
Environmental changes can cause changes in a food web
How would a decrease in the krill population affect the Antarctic food web?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What do ecologists mean when they say that killer whales indirectly depend on krill for survival?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Trophic Levels
Each __________________ of a food chain or food web is called a trophic level
First trophic level- always __________________________
All other trophic levels are occupied by different types of ____________________________
Ecological Pyramids
__________________________ used to show the amounts of energy or matter in each trophic level
of a food web
Three types of pyramids: energy, biomass, and numbers
Summary/Additional Notes:
1. Pyramids of Energy
Show the amount of ______________________________ at each trophic level
Only __________________ of the energy in one trophic level is passed to the next level up.
The rest of the energy is either used by the organisms to do life processes (like growth, reproduction,
respiration, etc.), or released as ____________________
2. Pyramids of Biomass
Biomass is the total amount of ________________________ in a trophic level
Primary Producers will have the __________________ biomass
There must be enough producers to ______________________ for all of the consumers
Summary/Additional Notes:
3. Pyramids of Numbers
Show the number of _________________________ at each trophic
level
If the main producer is a _________________
organism, the base of the numbers pyramid will
be ___________________.
Pyramid of Numbers
Grass
Pyramid of Numbers
Niches and Community Interactions
Tolerance:
The ability to survive and reproduce under a _______________ of environmental
__________________________.
Outside the optimum range causes ________________ (struggling to maintain
____________________________).
For any environmental factor, going beyond the upper or lower limit can lead to _________________.
Summary/Additional Notes:
Habitat
The general _________________ where an organism lives
Organisms will live where they can _____________ (or handle) the conditions
Niche
What an organism ______________ in its habitat, how it __________________ with its environment,
and how it _______________________ to an ecosystem.
Example:
“The red fox's habitat might include forest edges, meadows and the bank of a river. The niche of the
red fox is that of a predator which feeds on the small mammals, amphibians, insects, and fruit found
in this habitat. Red foxes are active at night. They provide blood for blackflies and mosquitoes, and
are host to numerous diseases. The scraps left behind after a fox's meal provide food for many small
scavengers and decomposers.”
Make a list of things in your niche:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Competition
When organisms attempt to use the _________________ ____________________, competition
occurs
Example: the roots of different plants compete for water, nutrients, and space in the soil
Types of Competition
Intraspecific- competition between members of the _________
____________________
Interspecific- competition between members of _______________________ species.
Summary/Additional Notes:
The Competitive Exclusion Principle:
The idea that no two species can occupy exactly the same _____________ , in the same
________________, at the same __________________.
If two species try to do this, one of three things can happen:
o 1 species will compete better for the niche and the other species will
________________________
o 1 species will compete better for the niche and the other species will
________________________
o The two species will ___________________________________ the niche.
Ex: rainforest lizards that eat the same bugs can occupy different parts of the forest
What Is a Biome?
Large regions of land that are characterized by a specific type of __________________ and certain
types of ________________ and ____________________________ communities.
Made up of many individual ________________________,
Vary according to their location from the _____________________________ (latitude)
Biomes of the World:
In which biome is Livingston, NJ located?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
Summary/Additional Notes:
Summary/Additional Notes: