Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology I. Ecology A. Components B. Organization C. Relationships 1. Nutritional 2. Community Interactions II. Ecology and the movement of energy A. Food Chains B. Food Webs C. Biomagnification D. Pyramids III. Ecological development A. Succession 1. Land 2. Water B. Pioneer organisms C. Climax Communities IV. Ecological Cycles A. Water B. Carbon C. Nitrogen 9-1 Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology 9-1a Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Ecology • the study of the relationships among __________ ___________ and their interaction with the environment • ______________________ (Ecological System): An interacting system of living and non-living components. •A forest, a pond, a stream, a decaying log, an aquarium are all ecosystems. Sometimes called a ____________________. • _________ and __________ factors interact in complex ways in communities and ecosystems Biotic Factors- ___________ factors in an environment – ExAbiotic Factors- ___________ factors in an environment – Ex- Ecosystem Interactions • Habitat- an area where an organism __________ – Ex- • Niche- the ___________ (job) an organism has – Ex- 9-2 Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Levels of Organization • ______________- individuals of a single species that share the same geographic location at the same time • _______________- a group of interacting populations that occupy the same geographic area at the same time • _______________- a community and all the abiotic factors (nonliving) that affect it • _______________- the part of Earth that supports life 9-2a Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology I) Autotrophs: organisms that make their own _________ a) Producers •photosynthetic ______________________ (green plants). •Examples: II) Heterotrophs: organisms that consume other organisms a) Primary Consumers: “__________________________” •Plant eating animals •Examples: b) Secondary Consumers “_________________________” • Meat eating animals • may be primary, secondary tertiary or higher. • Examples: c) Omnivores • Animals that eat both plants and _______________. • Examples: d) Scavenger Animal that feeds on other ________________ that are already dead Examples: e) Decomposers: •Break down complex _________________ to return them to the environment for reuse. •Examples: bacteria, molds, tree bract, mushrooms, insect larva f) _________________: • organisms that take nutrients from, or use systems of, other living organisms. • Examples: tapeworm, some protozoans, leech, some fungus g) Pathogens: - ___________________ causing microorganisms. Viruses, bacteria, some protists. - Examples: E. Coli, staph, strept, Flu virus, HIV virus 9-3 Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Community Interactions • ____________________ • Predation • Symbiotic relationships 1. ______________________- organisms benefit from each other 2. _______________________- one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed 3. Parasitism- one organism benefits while the other is __________ Predator-__________ Relationships: - Predator hunts prey -Example: The Canada Lynx and the Snowshoe Rabbit Carrying __________________: The number of organisms any habitat can support Limiting Factors: a ___________that controls a process, such as organism growth or species population, size, or distribution. Examples:_______, water, shelter, disease, predators, etc. 9-3a Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Energy in an Ecosystem • __________________ capture energy, making it available for all members of a food web • Where do they capture the energy from? ____________________ Energy Flow • Autotrophs (make their own food) _____________ (do not make their own food) • Decomposers: ______________ nutrients from any dead organism A) Food Chain: a series of organisms through which food ______________ is passed B) Food Web: many food chains ________________ 9-4 Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Draw a food web below: (include the following organisms: deer, grass, toad, berries, snake, fly, rabbit, wolf, bear, hawk, squirrel) Biomagnification: Accumulation of substances in larger and larger _________________ in bodies of organisms at each higher level of the food chain - Also known as bioaccumulation 9-4a Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Ecological Pyramids ______________ Consumer _________________ Consumer _________________ Consumer Primary ______________ Amount of energy available in an ecosystem -Greatest amount of energy = _________________ -Least amount of ____________ = highest level consumer -Pyramid of biomass- shows relative mass of organisms Energy Pyramid Bio-mass Pyramid Numbers Pyramid 9-5 Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Ecological Succession: The process by which an existing community is slowly replaced by another community Pioneer Organisms: The first ________________to inhabit an area Examples: In Water: algae On Land: lichen Climax Community: Stable _________________that develops as a result of succession Cycling of Matter • Essential ______________ are cycled through biogeochemical processes. Nutrient Cycles: 1) Water cycle 2) Carbon and ____________ Cycles 3) Nitrogen Cycle 4) Phosphorous Cycle 9-5a Living Environment: Unit 9: Ecology Carbon Cycle: The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen is needed for the ______________ of proteins and nucleic acids. Plants can synthesize them from nitrates, animals must eat _____________ and nucleic acids. 9-6