Chapter 3: Biosphere
Guided Notes
Chapter 3-1: What is Ecology?
Name: _________________
Key Concept: What different levels of
organization do ecologists study?
o
Study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their ______________________.
o
Ecologist- scientist that studies the ______________________.
o
Biosphere: _________________________________________________________________________.
Levels of Organization: (smallest to largest)

Species:
o A _________________ of organisms that can _____________ and produce offspring
o Ex: ____________________

Populations:
o ______________ of individuals of the same species and live in the same area.
o Ex: _________________ of Ladybugs

Communities:
o Groups of __________________ that live in the same area
o What organisms do you see in this pond community?

Ecosystem:
o Group of organisms that live in _____ environment, together with their nonliving (abiotic) environment
List them here:
Abiotic (nonliving) factors:
Biotic (living) factors:

Biome:
o A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and communities
o Examples:
 Desert
 Grasslands
 Rain Forest
 Ocean

Biosphere
o Highest level of organization that includes all of the other levels of organization
Checkpoint 1:
A collection of all the organisms that live in
a particular place along with their physical
environment make up a (an):
Checkpoint 2:
List the six different levels of organization that ecologists study, in
order, from smallest to largest.
(A) Species
(B) Biome
Sentence:
(C) Ecosystem
Checkpoint 3:
The branch of biology dealing with
interactions among organisms and between
organisms and their environment is called
_______________.
•
A person who studies these
populations is called an ecologist.
Checkpoint 4:
All of the members of a particular species that live in one area are
called a (an) ___________________.
•
Draw your own population of species that you may have
seen in the past week.
Chapter 3-2: Energy Flow
Sunlight
Key Concepts:
- Where does the energy for life processes come from?
- How does energy flow through living systems?
- How efficient is the transfer of energy among
organisms in an ecosystem?

Main __________________ for life on Earth.

Less than ____ is used by living things.

However, some types of organisms rely on the energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds. These
organisms obtain energy from a source other than sunlight.
Who uses the Sun for Energy?

Only ___________, some ____________, and certain _____________ can capture energy
from sunlight or chemicals and use that energy to produce food.
Autotrophs
•
Use _________ (______, __________) from the environment to make complex organic
molecules.
•
_______________ make their ____ food.
PRODUCERS
Autotrophs
•
A form of an _________________ (makes own food)
•
Can capture sunlight or chemical energy
•
Example: _______________
•
Kelp forests are found throughout the Pacific Ocean
ocean
Heterotrophs
•
Animals, fungi, and many bacteria cannot harness their own energy.
•
Heterotrophs rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply
Heterotrophs
•
A form of an Heterotroph (______________ make
own food)
•
Acquire energy from other ____________________
•
Different types of heterotrophs: herbivores, carnivores,
omnivores, detritivores, and decomposers
Herbivores:
These are animals that eat only
___________
Carnivores:
These are animals that eat mainly
___________
Omnivores:
These are animals able to eat
___________ and _____________.
Examples:
Examples:
Examples:
Decomposers:
They consume (eat) dead plants
and animals and decompose them
– reduce them to ____________
forms of matter.
Detritovores:
Feed on plant and animal remains
or dead matter, called _________.
Examples:
Examples:
Feeding Relationships:

Energy flows through an ecosystem in ______________________________.
1) _______________________ compounds
2) _______________________
3) _______________________
The relationships between producers and consumers connect organisms into feeding networks based on
who eats whom.
Food Chain:
Definition: Shows energy flow from producers to consumers.
___________ ____________
____________ ____________ __________
Food Webs:
Definition: A food web links all the food chains in an ecosystem together.
Salt Marsh community
Trophic Levels:
•
Each step in a food chain/web= Trophic level.
•
___________ make up the first/primary layer
•
___________ make up the successive layers.
Label:
Ecological Pyramids:
•
Ecological Pyramids- shows amounts of ________ or __________ at each trophic level
•
3 types: Energy, Biomass & Numbers pyramid.
•
Energy Pyramid:
•
•
Shows how energy reduces by ___ each trophic level.
•
Organisms use this ___ of energy for life processes.
•
The rest is lost as ___________
Biomass Pyramid:
•
•
Shows the ____________of living tissue
in a trophic level expressed in
grams per unit area.
Pyramid of Numbers:
•
Shows the ____of organisms in a trophic level.
Checkpoint 1:
When organisms use chemical energy to
produce carbohydrates, the process is
called:
Checkpoint 2:
Which of the following organisms DO NOT NEED sunlight
to live?
(A) Trees
(A) Chemosynthesis
(B) Photosynthetic Bacteria
(B) Autosynthesis
(C) Chemosynthetic Bacteria
(C) Photosynthesis
(D) Algae
Checkpoint 3:
TRUE or FALSE?
Algae are both producers and autotrophs.
Checkpoint 4:
All the food chains in an ecosystem are
linked together by a (an)
A. Food Web
B. Trophic Level
C. Ecosystem
Checkpoint 5:
Only about 10 percent of the energy
available within one trophic level is
transferred to organisms at the next trophic
level.
•
Of the remaining energy, some of it
is used for life’s processes and the
rest is lost as what?????
____________________
Checkpoint 7:
Explain the relationships in this food chain:
omnivore, herbivore, and autotroph.
Checkpoint 6:
In words, briefly describe the flow of energy
among organisms in an ecosystem.
•
HINT: Think feeding relationships!