UNIT 1:
ECOLOGY
EBR.8.B.1:
EXAMPLES OF BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS
 Biotic:

Living things
 Examples:





Plants
Animals
Insects
Bacteria
Etc.
 Abiotic:

Non-living
things
 Examples:





Rocks
Soil
Sunlight
Water
Etc
The root word ‘bio’ means life
The prefix ‘a’ means without
EBR.8.B.2:
COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF BIOMES
BIOMES: TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Greatest
biodiversity of any biome
Threatened by habitat destruction
Receives the most rain
Abiotic
Factors:
 Hot
and wet year-round
 Nutrient poor soil
*Picture the Amazon
BIOMES: TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Animal
Adaptations:
 Specialized
to eat specific things
 Bright colors warn of danger
Plant
 Thin
Adaptations:
bark to let water escape
 Leaves with drip tip to allow
excess water to drip off
BIOMES: TEMPERATE/DECIDUOUS
FOREST
Biome
we live in
Abiotic
Factors:
 Distinct
seasons: hot summers,
cold winters
 Nutrient rich soil
BIOMES: TEMPERATE/DECIDUOUS
FOREST
Animal
Adaptations:
 Hibernate
during winter
 Store food for winter
Plant
Adaptations:
 Trees
shed leaves to conserve
water
 Water storage tissues
BIOMES: SAVANNA
Abiotic
 Warm
Factors:
year-round with seasonal
rains
 Compact soil
 Frequent fires (from lightning)
*Picture Africa
BIOMES: SAVANNA
Animal
Adaptations:
 Long
legs for migration
 Animals burrow underground for
safety
Plant
Adaptations:
 Long
tap roots to get ground
water
 Thick bark to resist fire
BIOMES: DESERT
Least
biodiversity
Least rainfall
Abiotic
Factors:
 Highly
variable temperatures
(warm day/cold night) and very
little rainfall
 Soil rich in minerals; poor in
organic matter
BIOMES: DESERT
Animal
Adaptations:
 Nocturnal
 Get
Plant
water from eating seeds
Adaptations:
 Store
water in leaves and stems
 Long root system to get water
BIOMES: TAIGA
Abiotic
Factors:
 Cold
winters; short mild summers
 Moderate rainfall
 Nutrient poor soil
*Picture Canada
or Alaska
BIOMES: TAIGA
 Animal


Adaptations:
Protective layer of fat
Wide paws that work like snowshoes
 Plant
Adaptations:
Needle shaped leaves to conserve
water
 Evergreen to photosynthesize as
soon as temp. increases

BIOMES: TUNDRA
Least
biodiversity
Coldest biome
Abiotic
Factors:
 Strong
winds; low rainfall; long,
cold, dark winters
 Soil is permafrost
*Picture northern Canada or Greenland
BIOMES: TUNDRA
Animal
Adaptations:
 Thick
fur coats
 Small size
Plant
Adaptations:
 Grow
small and close to the
ground
 Dark in color to absorb more heat
BIOMES: TEMPERATE GRASSLAND
Abiotic
Factors:
 Hot
summers, cold winters and
moderate rainfall
 Fertile soils
 Frequent fires
*Picture Kansas
BIOMES: TEMPERATE GRASSLAND
 Animal
Adaptations:
Digestive systems specifically
designed to feed on grass
 Coloring allows them to blend in or
camouflage

 Plant
Adaptations:
Deep roots to absorb moisture
 Roots withstand fire to re-sprout
quickly

Identify which biome
goes with which number
on the graph.
• Grassland / Savanna
• Tundra
• Temperate /
Deciduous Forests
• Desert
• Taiga
• Tropical Rainforest
Answers:
1. Tropical Rainforest
2. Temperate /
Deciduous Forests
3. Grassland / Savanna
4. Desert
5. Taiga
6. Tundra
 Which
biome has the most biodiversity?
 Which
biome has the least biodiversity?
 Which
biome(s) get the least amount of
rainfall?
 Which
biome gets the most rainfall?
EBR.8.B.3:
DIAGRAM THE CARBON, NITROGEN,
PHOSPHATE, AND WATER CYCLES IN AN
ECOSYSTEM
CARBON CYCLE
CARBON CYCLE CONT.
Moves carbon between land, water, atmosphere,
and organisms
 Enters atmosphere through:

Respiration (breathing)
 Combustion (burning fossil fuels)


Leaves atmosphere through:
Photosynthesis
 decay


Stored:
In organisms
 As fossil fuels
 In water

PHOSPHATE CYCLE
PHOSPHATE CYCLE CONT.
Moves phosphate through land, water, and
organisms
 Only cycle that does NOT enter atmosphere
 Moves via:

Water run-off
 Food eaten
 Decomposition of organisms


Stored in:
Rocks
 Organisms
 Soil
 Water

WATER CYCLE
WATER CYCLE CONT.
Moves water through atmosphere, land,
organisms, and bodies of water
 Enters atmosphere through:

Transpiration
 Evaporation


Leaves atmosphere though:


Precipitation
Stored:
In bodies of water
 Ground water
 In organisms

NITROGEN CYCLE:
NITROGEN CYCLE CONT.
Moves
nitrogen though atmosphere, land,
water, and organisms
Nitrogen is the only cycle requiring
bacteria to change its form
 Moves





via:
Denitrification
Nitrogen fixation
Decomposition
Eating food
Excreting wastes
 Stored:
In soil
 In organisms
 In atmosphere

EBR.8.B.4:
ANALYZE AN ECOSYSTEM’S ENERGY FLOW
THROUGH FOOD CHAINS, FOOD WEBS, AND ENERGY
PYRAMIDS
ECOLOGICAL/ENERGY PYRAMIDS
 Show
larger
amount of energy
at base
 Each
level up has
less energy
 10%
of energy
moves up each
level
0.1% Energy
1% Energy
10% Energy
100% Energy
FOOD CHAINS
 Simple
way to
show energy flow
 Arrows
show
where energy goes
Quaternary
Consumer
Tertiary
Consumer
Secondary
Consumer
Primary
Consumer
Producer
 Complex,
FOOD WEBS
more
realistic picture of
energy flow
 Arrows show
where energy goes
EBR.8.B.5:
IDENTIFY AND PREDICT THE FACTORS THAT
CONTROL POPULATION, INCLUDING: PREDATION,
COMPETITION, CROWDING, WATER, NUTRIENTS,
SHELTER
LIMITING FACTORS AND CARRYING CAPACITY:
 Limiting
factor: limits how big a
population can get

Examples: food, water, sunlight, etc.
Carrying
capacity: max
# of
individuals an
ecosystem can
support
indefinitely.
PREDATION AND COMPETITION:
 Predation:
another
one animal eating
Predatory population can limit the
populations of what they eat.
 Prey populations can limit the
populations of what eats them

 Competition:
organisms using the
same resources

Limited resources limits populations
HABITAT VS. NICHE
 Habitat:

where an organism lives
Their address
 Niche:
role an organism plays in
environment
Considered their ‘job’
 Includes what they eat, where they find
food, when/where they sleep, how/when
they reproduce, etc.

EBR.8.B.6:
IDENTIFY WAYS INDIVIDUALS INTERACT WITH EACH
OTHER IN A COMMUNITY, INCLUDING:
COMMENSALISM, MUTUALISM, PARASITISM
SYMBIOSIS
A
close long-term interaction
between two organisms of different
species.
 At least one organism benefits.
3
kinds of symbiosis:
Mutualism-both benefit
 Parasitism-one benefits, one is harmed
 Commensalism-one benefits, one is
unaffected

EXAMPLES OF SYMBIOSIS:
 Mutualism:

bees pollinating flowers
Bees get food, flowers are pollinated
 Parasitism:
tapeworm living in a dog
intestine

Tapeworm gets a habitat and food, dog
loses nutrients
 Commensalism:
bison walking through
grasses and birds following behind

Bison unaffected, birds are able to see
insects (food) after bison passes
EBR.8.B.7:
COMPARE AND CONTRAST PRIMARY
SUCCESSION AND SECONDARY SUCCESSION
SUCCESSION
 Word
means to follow an order or
sequence
 Environments re-grow after
destruction in a specific order or
sequence.
 Starts with pioneer species

The first organisms to inhabit the area
 Ends
with climax community

The final community (fully grown)
2
kinds: Primary and Secondary
PRIMARY SUCCESSION:
 Occurs
where there is NO LIFE
 Begins on rock (NO SOIL)
 Pioneer species include:
Lichens
 Mosses

 Examples
include:
After a glacier melts
 When a new island forms

SECONDARY SUCCESSION
 Occurs
where life exists (but is
damaged)
 Begins on soil
 Pioneer species include:

Small plants
 Examples
include:
After a tornado
 After a forest fire

EBR.8.B.8:
IDENTIFY PROPERTIES OF EACH OF THE LEVELS OF
ECOLOGY: ORGANISM, POPULATION, COMMUNITY,
ECOSYSTEM, BIOME, BIOSPHERE
LEVELS OF ECOLOGY
 Organism-any
individual living thing
 Population-group of individuals of same
species
 Community-all living organisms in an
area
 Ecosystem-all living and nonliving
things in an area
 Biome-ecosystems with similar climates
and organisms
 Biosphere-part of earth where living
things exist
EXAMPLES OF LEVELS OF ECOLOGY
 Organism-a
rabbit
 Population-all
the rabbits in the forest
 Community-all
the rabbits, trees,
squirrels, mushrooms, etc in the forest
EXAMPLES OF LEVELS OF ECOLOGY CONT.



Ecosystem-all the rabbits, trees, squirrels,
mushrooms, soil, water, nutrients, etc in the
forest
Biome-temperate deciduous forests found on the
different continents
Biosphere-the earth and its atmosphere
EBR.9.B.1, EBR.9.B.2, & EBR.9.B.3

These frameworks are so broad that we will use
the articles to fill in these notes.