How do population size and biodiversity relate to health of an ecosystem?
What are the important factors that influence population size and biodiversity?
How do energy & nutrients flow through an ecosystem?
Skills
In this unit you will learn how to… o Read and use your biology textbook. o Write, test, and modify a hypothesis. o Write a lab report. o Draw graphs to scale (by hand).
“Studying Life”, Section 1-3 p16-22
(10%)
“Tier 2” (words you need to know that aren’t highlighted) unicellular multicellular
Due: ________________
“Tier 3” (words you need to know that are highlighted) biology cell asexual reproduction homeostasis metabolism evolution sexual reproduction stimulus
Reading Objectives (this is often due before it is covered in class)
You will… o Identify the characteristics of life required for something to be considered “alive.” o Describe the importance of maintaining homeostasis. o Distinguish between sexual and asexual reproduction.
6. Ecology
Central Concept: Ecology is the interaction among organisms and between organisms and their environment.
6.3 Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and
decomposers, and explain the transfer of energy through trophic levels.
Describe how relationships among organisms (predation, parasitism,
competition, commensalism, mutualism) add to the complexity of biological
communities.
“What is ecology?”, Section 3-1 p62-64 (5%) Due: ________________
Tier 3 ecology population biosphere community species ecosystem biome
Reading Objectives
You will… o Distinguish between the levels of organization. *see also p21

Section 3-2 “Energy Flow”, p67-73
Tier 2 bacteria detritus
Tier 3 autotroph heterotroph producer consumer
(20%) energy pyramid photosynthesis herbivore
Due: ________________ pyramid of numbers chemosynthesis carnivore omnivore food web detritovore trophic level decomposer food chain ecological pyramid biomass
Reading Objectives
You will… o Identify the trophic levels of a community, in order. o Describe the flow of energy through an ecosystem. o Identify the five types of heterotrophs. o Distinguish between food chains and food webs. o Explain what happens to energy from one trophic level to the next.
“What Shapes an Ecosystem”, Section 4-2 p90-93
Tier 2 predator prey batesian mimicry*

not in the book
(20%) symbiotic relationship
Due: ________________ microorganism
Tier 3 biotic factor resource abiotic factor competitive exclusion principle habitat predation niche symbiosis mutualism commensalism parasitism
Reading Objectives
You will… o Identify examples of biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. o Distinguish between habitat and niche. o Use warblers to explain the competitive exclusion principle. o Identify the different types of relationships found in communities and provide examples for each (competition, predation, symbiosis) o Describe examples of mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

6.1 Explain how birth, death, immigration, and emigration influence population size.
“How Populations Grow”, Section 5-1 p119-122 (20%)
Tier 2 geographic distribution death rate density ideal conditions growth rate
J-shaped curve
Due: ________________ birthrate
S-shaped curve
Tier 3 population density logistic growth immigration carrying capacity emigration exponential growth
Reading Objectives
You will… o Describe characteristics of a population (distribution, growth, density). o Compare the conditions for exponential growth and logistic growth.
6.2 Analyze changes in population size and biodiversity (speciation and extinction) that result from the following: natural causes, changes in climate, human activity, and the introduction of invasive, non-native species.
“Limits to Growth”, Section 5-2 p124-127
(15%) Due: ________________
Tier 2 limiting nutrient invasive species*

not in the book
Tier 3 limiting factor density-dependent limiting factor density-independent limiting factor predator-prey relationship
Reading Objectives
You will… o Describe how density-dependent and density-independent factors limit population growth. o Predict how the population size of a predator will affect the population size of its prey and vice versa.

6.4 Explain how water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle between abiotic resources and organic matter in an ecosystem, and how oxygen cycles through photosynthesis and respiration.
“Cycles of Matter”, Section 3-3 p74-80
(10%)
Tier 2 nitrogen gas inorganic phosphate water cycle seepage root uptake phosphorus cycle photosynthesis ammonia condensation carbon cycle respiration nitrates
Due: ________________ runoff nitrogen cycle fossil fuel
DNA & RNA
Tier 3 nutrient biogeochemical cycle nitrogen fixation evaporation denitrification transpiration primary productivity limiting nutrient algal bloom
You will… o Compare how the flow of energy with the flow of matter through an ecosystem. o Distinguish between evaporation and transpiration. o Describe the water cycle. *See figure 3-11. o Describe processes that release carbon into the atmosphere, and those that store carbon. (See figure 3-13). o Predict the effects of “clear cutting” (cutting down all the trees) in large areas of forests. o Explain the two roles of bacteria in nitrogen fixation. o Explain denitrification. o Describe how organisms obtain phosphate. o Explain the importance of cycling water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus through an ecosystem. o Explain how limiting nutrients affect an ecosystem. o Describe how humans affect algal blooms.