Name: ____________________________
Date: _____________
Unit 2A Ecology
NOTES
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?
________________________________________________
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? DESCRIBE what makes it unique using pg. 114 in the
textbook.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
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):
___________________________________________
_________________________________________
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 ____________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
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
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
Habitat vs. Niche:
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 _________________.
Habitat
The general _________________ where an organism lives
Organisms will live where they can _____________ (or handle) the conditions
Summary/Additional Notes:
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.”
Community Interactions:
Competition
-
when organisms attempt to use the same limited ecological resource in the same place at the
same time.
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.
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
Summary/Additional Notes:
Predator-Prey Relationships
Predation: an interaction in which one animal (the predator) captures and feeds on another animal
(the prey)

Predators can affect the size of prey populations in a community and determine the places
prey can live and feed.
Give an example of a predator-prey relationship that you may see in your own local ecosystem.
__________________________________________________________________
Herbivore-Plant Relationships
Herbivory: an interaction in which one animal (the herbivore) feeds on producers (such as plants)

Herbivores can affect both the size and distribution of plant populations in a community and
determine the places that certain plants can survive and grow.
Give an example of herbivory you may see in your own local ecosystem.
________________________________________________________________________________
Analyze the graph to answer the following 2 questions:
After letter A on the graph, the red line drops down. Why does the blue line drop down shortly after?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Suppose an infection kills most of the prey at point B, how would the populations of both predator and
prey be affected at points C & D?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
Keystone Species
- A single species that is not usually abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on the
structure of a community.
Explain why an otter is a keystone species.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Symbioses
Symbiosis- any relationship in which two species live closely together
Three main types of symbiotic relationships in nature:
1. Mutualism: symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the
relationship
2. Parasitism: a symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives inside or
on another organism and harms it by obtaining all or part of its nutritional
needs from the host organism.
3. Commensalism: symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits
and the other is neither helped nor harmed.
Circle which species benefits from the relationship and which species is harmed, if any.
1. Mutualism –
a. Who benefits?
One Species Both Neither
b. Who is harmed? One Species Both Neither
Example(s): _______________________________________
2. Parasitism –
a. Who benefits?
One Species Both Neither
b. Who is harmed? One Species Both Neither
Example(s): _______________________________________
3. Commensalism –
a. Who benefits?
One Species Both Neither
b. Who is harmed? One Species Both Neither
Example(s): _______________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes:
Cycles of Matter:
The four main elements of living things that help make up:





Water
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Nucleic Acids
Proteins
Energy flows in a _____________________ direction starting from the sun
Matter is ___________________ throughout the biosphere
Matter is Recycled Within and Between Ecosystems

This is different than the one-way flow of energy through an ecosystem
Biogeochemical cycle: process in which elements, chemical compounds (water and nutrients), and
other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to
another.
-
Can be biological, geological, chemical, physical, or from human activity
THINK! Give an example of a process in each of the following categories:
Biological- _________________________________________________________
Geological- ________________________________________________________
Chemical- formation of clouds/precipitation
Physical- flow of running water
Human Activity- ____________________________________________________
Energy powers the cycles of
matter
Matter is ______________,
never created or destroyed
Summary/Additional Notes:
The Water Cycle
Water continuously moves between the ______________, the
_________________ and the______________- sometimes outside living
and sometimes inside them.
organisms
Water (H2O) is one of the few substances that occurs commonly in all three states (solid, liquid, gas)
on Earth.
How does water vapor (gas) enter the atmosphere?




____________________:
water turns to a gas by
evaporating from the ocean or
other bodies of water
____________________:
water turns to a gas by
evaporating from the leaves of
plants
____________________:
burning of fuels – produces
water (and carbon dioxide)
____________________:
cellular respiration by all
organisms produces water
(and carbon dioxide)
Once water vapor is in the atmosphere, winds can transport it over great distances.
 ____________________: When water vapor cools, the vapor condenses into tiny droplets
(liquid) that form clouds.

____________________: When the droplets of water in clouds become large enough, they
fall to Earth’s surface as precipitation in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail

________________: On land, some precipitation flows downhill along the surface in what is
called ‘runoff’, until it enters a river or stream that carries it to an ocean or lake.

_______________________: Precipitation can also be absorbed into the soil and then it is
called groundwater which can enter plants through their roots, or flow into rivers, streams,
lakes or oceans. Some can even become part of underground reservoir (area storing large
amounts of water)
Summary/Additional Notes:
Using the Word Bank, fill in the blank spots of the Water Cycle:
Nutrient Cycles:
Three important nutrient cycles for living things: carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous.
The Carbon Cycle
Carbon is a major component of all organic compounds.



Also found in some inorganic compounds
Example: calcium carbonate (CaCO3) – molecule that is part of animal skeletons
Example: carbon dioxide (CO2) - major part of the atmosphere and necessary for
photosynthesis.
Oxygen often cycles with carbon through the biosphere, particularly due to photosynthesis and
_________________________________.
Summary/Additional Notes:
Fossil Fuels: Energy rich fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) created from
___________________________________ compounds of ancient, dead forests, marine organisms,
or other animals have been buried and transformed by pressure and heat.
Major reservoirs (locations of__________________________) of carbon in the biosphere include the:





Atmosphere
Oceans
Rocks
Fossil Fuels
Forests
Use the carbon cycle diagram to answer the
following questions:
What human activities contribute to the carbon
cycle?
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
What geological processes are part of the
carbon cycle? How do they help cycle carbon through the biosphere?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
What role do you think decomposers play in the cycling of carbon and oxygen in the biosphere?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Fill in the blanks!
Carbohydrates



Decomposers
Photosynthesis
Respiration
Plants take in CO2 during _____________________ and use the carbon to build
macromolecules like ________________ . These nutrients then pass through food webs to
consumers.
Organisms release carbon in the form of CO2 gas by _____________________
When organisms die__________________ break down the bodies, releasing carbon to the
environment.
Summary/Additional Notes:
The Nitrogen Cycle
All organisms require nitrogen to build amino acids and nucleic acids so that organisms can build
DNA, RNA and proteins.
Different forms of nitrogen occur naturally in the biosphere.


Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up 78% of earth’s atmosphere.
Ammonia (NH3), nitrate ions (NO3-), nitrite ions (NO2-) are found
in soil, in the
wastes produced by many organisms, and in dead and decaying organic matter.
 Dissolved nitrogen exists in several forms in the ocean and other large water bodies
__________________________ is the most abundant form of nitrogen on Earth.
Only a handful of organisms – certain types of ________________ – can use this form directly.
-
They “_____________” (=fix) the nitrogen into usable forms
The usable forms can then be used by other organisms
Thus, nitrogen-fixing bacteria are an essential part of the nitrogen cycle.
Nitrogen Fixation: The conversion of Nitrogen Gas into Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites by bacteria.


Some of these bacteria live in the soil whereas others live on the roots of certain plants called
legumes (ex. peanuts, peas, soybeans).
____________________ are the driving force of the nitrogen cycle!
Once these forms of nitrogen are available, primary producers can use them to make
___________________________ and ______________________________.
Consumers eat the producers and reuse nitrogen to make their own nitrogen-containing compounds
(and so on through the food web).
Summary/Additional Notes:
Use the diagram of the Nitrogen cycle to answer the questions below:
What is the process of denitrification?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What is the process of Atmospheric Nitrogen Fixation?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
How do humans add nitrogen to the biosphere?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Eutrophication: excess growth of algae due to increased levels of fertilizers in the water.
- Algae takes oxygen from other organisms and may release toxins
Summary/Additional Notes:
Summary/Additional Notes:
Summary/Additional Notes: