ECOLOGY PACKET
Name: ________________
Period: ____
Teacher: ________________
STUDENT UNIT PLAN 9: ECOLOGY
Vocabulary Terms:
ecology
individual
species
population
community
ecosystem
biome
biosphere
food web
food chain
autotroph
producer
heterotroph
consumer
decomposer
pollution
niche
habitat
resources
renewable
non-renewable
trophic levels
prey
predator
competition
density-dependent
density-independent
carrying capacity
limiting factor
exponential growth
immigration
emigration
biotic factor
abiotic factor
ecological pyramid
biomass
ecological succession
primary succession
pioneer species
secondary succession
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Introduction to Ecology
Assignment(s)
My level of
# of
11B, 11D, 12C, 12D, and 12F
understanding Test
 or 
Questi
ons
1. Can I identify the levels of ecological
organization?
2. How do biotic and abiotic factors
influence an ecosystem?
3. Can I analyze the flow of matter
through food chains, food webs
and ecological pyramids?
4. Can I identify and discuss the
different relationships between
organisms in the ecosystem by
using food chains, food webs and
ecological pyramids?
5. Can I analyze ecological energy
pyramids and discuss how the
amount of available food energy
changes at each trophic level (10%
rule)?
6. How does density-dependent and
density-independent limiting factors
affect population growth and
survival?
7. What role does ecological succession play in
changing populations?
8. I can identify and describe parasitism,
commensalism, mutualism, predation, and competition.
9. I understand the importance of ecosystem stability
and can discuss the effects of a changing environment
such as global warming, pollution, etc.
10. I can explain why plant and animal adaptations
allow them to survive in their specific biomes.
11. I know the carbon and nitrogen cycles and can
explain the effects of a disruption to each cycle.
Page 2
Ecology is _________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________.
The level of hierarchy or organization is as follows: _______________  ________________  _________________
_____________________  ________________________  ______________________________________.
Ecology contain both ______________________ and __________________________ factors. Examples of biotic factors
are _________________________________ and abiotic factors are _________________________________________.
Biomes are _____________________ communities characterized by a certain type of ______________ and _______________.
TUNDRA:
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST:
DESERT:
TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS
Soil: ____________________
Soil: ____________________
Soil: ____________________
FOREST:
Plant Life: ________________
Plant Life: ________________
Plant Life: ________________
Soil: ____________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Plant Life: ________________
Animal Life: ______________
Animal Life: ______________
Animal Life: ______________
_________________________
________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Animal Life: ______________
Climate: ________________
Climate: _________________
Climate: _________________
_________________________
Climate: _________________
Location: ________________
Location: ________________
Location: ________________
Location: ________________
TAIGA (BOREAL) FOREST:
GRASSLANDS:
CONIFEROUS FOREST:
BIOSPHERE: _____________
Soil: ____________________
Soil: ____________________
Soil: ____________________
_________________________
Plant Life: ________________
Plant Life: ________________
Plant Life: ________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Animal Life: ______________
Animal Life: ______________
Animal Life: ______________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Climate: _________________
Climate: _________________
Climate: _________________
Location: ________________
Location: ________________
Location: ________________
Page 3
Within each biome there are intricate patterns of how the flow of matter (energy) takes place. There are food chains, food
webs and various types of ecological pyramids used to demonstrate this process.
First let’s look at the various ways that organisms obtain nutrition. The main source of energy for all life is the _________. The sun is
used to carry out the process of __________________________________________ by plants known as _______________________
or producers. Autotrophs _______________________________________________. Autotrophs are then consumed by the
____________________________________ or consumer. There are various types of consumers or heterotrophs. They are as
follows:

Herbivore __________________________________________________________________________________

Carnivore __________________________________________________________________________________

Omnivore __________________________________________________________________________________

Detritivore __________________________________________________________________________________

Decomposer ________________________________________________________________________________
All of these organisms are involved in some sort of food chain or food web.
What is a food chain? _________________________________________________________________________________________
Choose one food chain from the food web below and illustrate it below:
What is a food web? _________________________________________________________________________________________
Only _______% of the energy stored in a trophic level is passed on to the next level because the majority of the energy is used by the
organism to carry out life processes such as _______________, ________________ and ____________________. Some of the
remaining energy is released into the environment as __________.
Page 4
Biomes Concept Map (Pgs. 100-104)
WORD BANK:
North Africa
Eastern USA
Central USA
Canada
Central Africa
Elephant
Giraffe
Prairie Dogs
Lion
Moose
Squirrels
Reptiles
Monkeys
Pine Trees
Dry Climate
Canopy
Rainfall
Page 5
Cactus
Equator
Maple Trees
Seasons
Farmland
WHAT ARE SOME PARTS OF A FOOD CHAIN AND A FOOD WEB?
Plants use light energy from the sun to make food. The food is stored in the cells of the plant. Plants are called producers because
they make their own food. Some of the stored energy in the food plants make is passed on to the animals that eat the plants. Planteating animals are called primary consumers. Some of the energy is passed on to the animals that eat the primary consumer.
Animals that eat other animals are called secondary consumers.
The pathway that food takes through an ecosystem is called a food chain. A food chain also shows the movement of energy from
plants to plant eaters and then to animal eaters. An example of a food chain can be written as follows:
Seeds  Sparrow  Hawk
Some of the food energy in the seeds moves to the sparrow that eats the seeds and then some of the food energy is then passed on to
the hawk that eats the sparrow.
Because a hawk eats animals other than sparrows, you could make a food chain for each animal that the hawk eats. If all of the food
chains were connected, the result would be called a food web. A food web is a group of connected food chains. The food web shows
the many energy relationships within an ecosystem.
Study the food chains listed below and then complete the table. Place an X in each box for all the things that each animal listed on the
left side eats.
FOOD CHAINS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Plant parts  land snail  mouse  raccoon
Plant parts  sparrow  hawk
Plant parts  rabbit  fox
Plant parts  cricket  robin  fox
Plant parts  earthworm  snake  hawk  fox
Plant parts  small insects  mouse  owl
7. Plant parts  mouse  fox
8. Plant parts  raccoon  fox
9. Plant parts  rabbit  snake
10. Plant parts  rabbit  hawk
11. Plant parts  rabbit  owl  fox
12. Plant parts  mouse  snake  owl
Sparrow
Land Snail
Rabbit
Cricket
Earthworm
Small Insects
Mouse
Raccoon
Hawk
Snake
Robin
Owl
Page 6
Land Snail
Sparrow
Snake
Robin
Raccoon
Rabbit
Plant parts
Owl
Mouse
Small
Insects
Hawk
Earthworm
Cricket
Living Things in the Forest that Animals Eat
Animals that live in a forest ecosystem and eat
the following organisms 
Using the food chains from Page 5, you will now construct a food web. The first food chain has been done for you as an example.
Use a different color to draw your arrows for each food chain. Remember to work in order so you can tell when you have used all of
the food chains. Also, draw lines so that they can “BEND” around the circle. DO NOT CUT THROUGH A CIRCLE. This will make it
easier to read the food web when you are finished.
Create a legend that indicates the colored lines that corresponds with each food chain.
Page 7
ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
An ecological pyramid is a diagram that shows the _____________________________________________________________ that is
contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web. There are several types of Ecological Pyramids. The first type is a
Pyramid of Energy which _____________________________________________________________________________________.
Label the Energy Pyramid:
Another type of pyramid is the Pyramid of Numbers
which ____________________________________
_________________________________________
Draw a Pyramid of Numbers by filling in the missing
organisms.
Another type of pyramid is the Pyramid of Biomass
which represents ___________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Note that biomass is typically expressed using grams
or kilograms. Which organism would have the smallest
amount of biomass? ____________________
Pyramid of Biomass
Page 8
SYMBIOSIS describes a _____________________________________________________ between 2 ________________________
in which at least one of the organisms involved benefits. There are 3 types of symbiosis: ___________________________________,
___________________________________ and __________________________________________.
PARASITISM
COMMENSALISM
Example
Example
Definition
MUTUALISM
Other types of relationships within an ecosystem are: _________________________ and ____________________________.
Predation: _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Give your own example of Predation: __________________________________________________________________________
Competition: _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Give your own example of Competition: __________________________________________________________________________
Page 9
PREDATION OR STARVATION:
Page 10
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION:
Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural and human disturbances. As an ecosystem changes, older inhabitants
gradually die off and new organisms move in causing further changes within the communities.
This series of changes is called
___________________________ _________________________. There are different types of ecological succession.
The first is called a ___________________________ succession. This is when _______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Within this environment, there are ______________________ organisms. They are the _____________ to populate an area.
What are the pioneer organisms in this picture? _________________________
A second type of changing ecosystem is a ______________________________________ succession. This is when ______________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Page 11
Ecological Succession Worksheet
Succession, a series of environmental changes, occurs in all ecosystems. The stages that any ecosystem passes through are
predictable. In this activity, you will place the stages of succession of two ecosystems into sequence. You will also describe changes
in an ecosystem and make predictions about changes that will take place from one stage of succession to another.
The evolution of a body of water from a lake to a marsh can last for thousands of years. The process cannot be observed
directly. Instead, a method can be used to find the links of stages and then to put them together to develop a complete story.
The water level of Lake Michigan was once 18 meters higher than it is today. As the water level fell, land was exposed. Many
small lakes or ponds were left behind where there were depressions in the land. Below are illustrations and descriptions of four ponds
as they exist today. Use the illustrations and descriptions to answer the questions about the ponds.
Pond A:
Cattails,
bulrushes,
and water
lilies grow in the pond. These plants have their roots in the bottom of the pond, but they can reach above the surface of the
water. This pond is an ideal habitat for the animals that must climb to the surface for oxygen. Aquatic insect larvae are
abundant. They serve as food for larger insects, which in turn are food for crayfish, frogs, salamanders, and turtles.
Pond B:
Plankton growth is rich enough to support animals that entered when the pond was connected to the lake. Fish make nests
on the sandy bottom. Mussels crawl over the bottom.
Pond C:
Decayed bodies of plants and animals form a layer of humus over the bottom of the pond. Chara, branching green algae,
covers the humus. Fish that build nests on the bare bottom have been replaced by those that lay their eggs on the Chara.
Pond D:
The pond is so filled with vegetation that there are no longer any large areas of open water. Instead, the pond is filled with
grasses. The water dries up during the summer months.
Page 12
Using the information from the Ecological Successions Worksheet, answer the
following questions.
1. Write the letters of the ponds in order from the youngest, to the oldest.
2. Black bass and bluegill make their nests on sandy bottoms. In which pond would you
find them?
Pageblue
11 gill as the floor of the ponds fills with
3. What will happen to the black bass and
organic debris?
4. Golden shiner and mud minnows lay their eggs on Chara (green algae). In which
pond would you find them?
5. Some amphibians and crayfish can withstand periods of dryness by burying
themselves in mud. In which pond(s) would they survive?
6. Dragonfly nymphs spend their early stages clinging to submerged plants. Then, they
climb to the surface, shed their skins, and fly away as dragonflies. Which pond is best
suited for dragonflies?
7. In which pond will gill breathing snails be replaced by lung breathing snails that climb
to the surface to breathe?
8. Some mussels require a sandy bottom in order to maintain an upright position. In
which pond will they die out?
Page 13
The climax community in the area of Arkansas is an oak-hickory forest. After the
ponds are filled in, the area will undergo another series of stages of succession. This
is illustrated below. Briefly explain what is happening in the diagram at each number.
1. __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Page 14
CYCLES OF MATTER: In ecosystems matter is constantly being recycled. Elements, chemical compounds and other forms
of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another through biogeochemical
cycles. There are several ways this happens.
CARBON CYCLE
Diagram
Steps of the Process
Definition
WATER CYCLE
Page 15
NITROGEN CYCLE
POPULATION ECOLOGY: The study of how __________________________________________________________ living together
in groups change over time.
THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATIONS are…..
1. _______________________________________ which describes an area inhabited by a population.
2. _______________________________________ describes the number of individuals per unit area,
3. _______________________________________ describes the rate at which a population changes in size.
FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT THE SIZE OF A POPULATION ARE…..
1. ____________________________________ which references the number of offspring born each year.
2. ____________________________________ which references the number of organisms that die each year.
3. ____________________________________ which references the movement of people into an area.
4. ____________________________________ which references the movement of people out of an area.
When studying the change in sizes of populations, ecologists need to take into account factors that can limit a population’s size called
limiting factors. There are 2 factors that can limit the size of a population:
1. ____________________________________________________ (affect larger populations)
* _______________________________________
* _______________________________________
* _______________________________________
* _______________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________ (affect all populations regardless of size)
* __________________________________________
* __________________________________________
* __________________________________________
* __________________________________________
RENEWABLE vs NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES:
1. Renewable: _____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Non-Renewable: _________________________________________________________________________________________
BIODIVERSITY: _____________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 16
SELF-QUIZ:
1. On the leaves of many plants, pores open during the night and close during the day. This response allows the plant to _____.
A.
use its roots to eliminate waste
B.
wilt at night from colder temperatures
C.
produce more flowers for reproduction
D.
reduce water lost by transpiration
2. An eagle and a grizzly bear both feed on the same species of salmon in the same location. Which type of symbiotic
relationship is displayed by the eagle and the bear?
A Competition
B Commensalism
C Predation
D Parasitism
3. After a volcanic eruption, lava covers the land. What is the order that plants grow to repopulate the area?
A Lichens → Shrubs → Grasses → Trees
B Shrubs → Trees → Grasses → Lichens
C Grasses → Lichens → Shrubs → Trees
D Lichens → Grasses →Shrubs → Trees
4. In a food pyramid, the amount of energy decreases –
A if there are more predators.
B as it transfers up trophic levels.
C when decomposers dominate.
D when there are more producers.
5. Organisms use nitrogen to form –
A carbohydrates and lipids
B proteins and lipids
C lipids and nucleic acids
D proteins and nucleic acids.
Page 17