Warm-Up / EOC Prep
1. Which question would ecologists most
likely research?
A.
B.
C.
D.
How do point mutations effect protein synthesis?
How do aquatic plants react to pesticides?
What is the chemical structure of sucrose?
How does color in petunias pass from parent to
offspring?
2. All of these characterize most laboratory
accidents exceptA. Carelessness
C. Inappropriate behavior
B. lack of attention
D. reduced risk-taking
Agenda
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Warm Up
Ecology Quiz 2
Notes
Practice Multiple Choice Questions 1
Ecology Review Worksheet
Clean-Up
Cool-down
Review for Ecology Exam 1
Guided Notes 12
Types of organisms
Two main types:
1. Autotroph (producer)-makes its own food
must rely on itself to get energy
2. Heterotroph (consumer)-cannot makes its
own food must rely on other organisms for
energy
Types of Organisms
• Heterotrophs
1. Herbivore-eats plants Ex: deer
2. Carnivore-eats meat Ex: wolf
3. Omnivore-eats both plants and meat Ex:
humans
4. Decomposer-breaks down organic material to
get energy Ex: Fungi
5. Scavenger-eats organisms that are already dead
Ex: vulture
Nutrient Cycles
• Carbon Cycle
Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and energy
to produce oxygen
Cellular Respiration uses oxygen and energy to
produce carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is also released while burning
fossil fuels and in factories
Nutrient Cycles
• Water Cycle
PrecipitationEvaporationTranspiration
Condensation
Nutrient Cycles
• Nitrogen cycle
Bacteria can “fix” nitrogen, meaning they can
bring it out of the air into a form the plants
can use
Nodules on plant roots contain this nitrogen
fixing bacteria
The bacteria on the roots get nourishment and
the plants get nitrogen (MUTUALISM)
Food Chains
• Grass
Producer
Autotroph
Autotroph

Rabbit 
Snake  Hawk
 Primary Consumer Secondary ConsumerTertiary Consumer

Herbivore

Carnivore

Carnivore

Heterotroph 
Heterotroph  Heterotroph
Energy pyramid
• Only 10% of the energy
is passed between each
trophic level
• Therefore much more
energy is found at the
bottom than at the top
Ecological Niche/Habitat
• Ecological Niche-an organism’s role in the
environment (birds on different parts of the
tree)
• Habitat-physical location (an organism’s
home)
Mutualism
• Symbiotic relationship in which both
organisms benefit
• ++
Win-Win!
• Examples: Flowers and bees (bees get food
and the flowers get to reproduce)
Commensalism
• Symbiotic relationship in which one organism
benefits and the other is unaffected
• +0
Win-unaffected
• Examples: Barnacles on whale (the barnacles
get food and the whale does not know they
are there)
Parasitism
• Symbiotic relationship in which an organism
feeds off a host
• +Win-lose
• Examples: Tapeworm, tick, hookworm, leech
Reminders
• Biome Brochure Friday. (Feb. 18rd)
Warm-Up / EOC Prep
1. Which statement best describes an activity that will
contribute to the maintenance of homeostasis in an
organism?
A. A desert rattlesnake enters an underground burrow on a hot
summer day.
B. A shark swims toward a highly polluted region of the ocean.
C. Roots of a willow tree grow away from a moisture rich region
of the soil.
D. A polar bear sheds most of its fur during the coldest months
of winter.
2. Which of the following would be the niche of
decomposers in an ecosystem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Break down nitrogen and oxygen
Break down waste and dead matter
Provide nutrients for carnivores to make energy
Provide nutrients for omnivores to make energy
Agenda
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Warm Up
Ecology flip-flop
Notes
Practice Multiple Choice Questions 2
Ecology Poster
Clean Up
Cool-Down
Review for Ecology Exam 2
Guided Notes 13
Levels of Organization
Organism
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biome
Biosphere
Levels of Organization
• Population-same species, same place Ex:
group of bears in my backyard
• Community-different species, same place Ex:
group of bears, beavers, and deer in my
backyard
Levels of Organization
• Ecosystem-different species + abiotic factors in
the same place Ex: group of bears, beavers,
and deer in my backyard and the sunlight and
wind
• Biome-similar climate conditions and
characteristic plants and animals Ex: desert
• Biosphere-basically the entire planet
Succession
• Succession-series of changes made to a
community after a disruption
• Two types:
1. Primary-starts from scratch
Caused by: volcanoes and glaciers
2. Secondary-starts from existing community
Caused by: forest fires and hurricanes
Population Growth
• Exponential Growth
• Logistic Growth
• (J-shape)- the
• (S-shape)- growth slows
individuals in a
or stops following a
population reproduce at
period of exponential
a constant rate
growth
Population Growth
• Human population shows exponential growth
because of improved medicine, sanitation,
and health care
• Limiting factor-something that causes
population size to decrease
• Two types: Density-dependent and densityindependent
Density-Dependent Factors
• Depends on population size
• Gets worse as population becomes more dense
• Examples:
1. Competition
2. Disease
3. Predation
4. Parasitism
REMEMBER: Cats Don’t Pet Piranhas
Density-Independent Factors
• Does NOT depend on population size
• It does not matter how big the population is
Examples:
1. Human Activities
2. Seasonal Cycles
3. Unusual Weather
4. Natural Disasters
REMEMBER: Hot SUN
Predator-Prey
• Predator-prey populations mirror each other
• Predator-eater
• Prey-organism being eaten
Competition
• Competition-Occurs when two organisms
want the same resource at the same time
• Example: Two lions fighting over a zebra
Reminders
Ecology Poster
• Divide your paper into 4.
• In each square, draw
1. A logistic graph (labeling axes with units and
carrying capacity)
2. An exponential graph (labeling axes with units)
3. A food chain with pictures (labeling a producer,
primary co., secondary co., and tertiary co.)
4. An ecological pyramid (labeling a producer,
primary co., secondary co., and tertiary co. and
starting with 5000 joules of energy at the
bottom)
Warm-Up / EOC Prep
1. Which of these statements is NOT true?
A. The process of succession resulting in a climax
community always happens within one year.
B. Secondary succession happens in areas where
organisms previously lived.
C. Primary succession occurs when communities
populate barren land.
D. Ecological change does not always equate with
destruction.
2. The carrying capacity of a given environment is
least dependent upon
A. Recycling of materials
C. Availability of food
B. The availability of energy
D. Daily temperature fluctuations
Agenda
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Warm Up
Ecology Word Scramble
Notes
Ecology “Quiz”
Finish Ecology Poster
Practice Questions
Clean-Up
Cool-down
• Metabolism
• Homeostasis
Review for Ecology Exam 3
Guided Notes 14
Biodiversity
• Variety = Diversity
• Biodiversity-the total of the genetically based
variety of all organisms in the biosphere
Biodiversity
• Human activity can reduce biodiversity by
causing the following:
1.Habitat Destruction
2. Wildlife Products Demand
3. Pollution (DDT)
4. Invasive species
Michael Barron of the National Park Service took this
picture of a carcass of an alligator as it protrudes out
from the body of a dead Burmese python in Everglades
National Park, Florida. The Burmese python is an
invasive species -- 144,000 have been imported to the
U.S. in the past five years for the pet trade.
Biodiversity
• Extinction-when a species disappears from all
or part of its range
• Endangered species-a species whose
population size places it in danger of
extinction
• Conservation -the wise management of
natural resources including the preservation
of habitats and wildlife
Climate Change
• Ozone Layer-the atmosphere between 20-50
km above Earth’s surface and protects the
Earth from harmful UV radiation
• UV radiation causes sunburn and cancer
• Holes in the Ozone layer have been discovered
above Antarctica. These holes were caused by
CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons found in aerosol
cans and refrigerators
Climate Change
• Greenhouse effect-where radiation produced
by the atmosphere warms earth
• Global warming-the increase the average
temperature of the biosphere
Evidence: 1. melting polar ice 2. increased
carbon dioxide levels due to burning fossil
fuels
Effects: 1. rise in sea levels (flooding) 2. increase
in global temperature 3. Organisms go extinct
Review
• 1.What processes get water from the earth
into the air?
• Transpiration and Evaporation
2. GrassRabbitHawk
Which is the primary consumer?
• Rabbit
• GrassRabbitHawk
• Which is the autotroph?
• Grass
• 4. Carbon from the air is made into organic
compounds through which process?
• Photosynthesis
• The increase in the overall global temperature
is called what?
• Global Warming
Reminders
• Study hard and smart tonight!
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
(Who said that??)
EMBRACE THE STRUGGLE!
Warm-Up / EOC Prep
1. An epidemic of black plague hit Europe in the 17th century
and killed many people in the urban areas but not as many in
rural areas. What type of limiting factor is this?
A. Density independent B. density dependent
C. Competition
D. predation
2. The bottom layer of the pyramid can be described as:
A. heterotrophs, producers, smallest amount of energy, largest
number of organisms
B. autotrophs, producers, largest amount of energy, smallest
number of organisms
C. autotrophs, consumers, largest amount of energy, largest
number of organisms
D. autotrophs, producers, largest amount of energy, largest
number of organisms
Agenda
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Warm Up
Review time
Ecology Exam
Article 4 Worktime
Clean Up
Cool-Down
Warm-Up / EOC Prep
1. Which sentence best states the importance of using
control groups?
A. Control groups provide a method by which statistical
variability can be reduced.
B. Control groups allow comparison between subjects
receiving a treatment and those receiving no treatment.
C. Control groups eliminate the need for statistical tests and
simplify calculations.
D. Control groups eliminate the need for large sample sizes,
reducing the number of measurements needed.
2. A country that has a stable population is characterized by
an age structure that is____?
A. Largest among post-reproductive years
B. About the same among all groups
C. Largest among pre-reproductive years
D. Largest among reproductive years
Agenda
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Warm Up
Journey to Planet Earth Video
DDT Letter to Obama
Clean Up
Raffle