Ecology
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The study of the interactions among
organisms and their environment
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Biotic – Living or once-living
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(list 5)
Abiotic – Non living
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(list 5)
Levels of Organization
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Do you remember the previous levels??
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Organism – a deer
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Population – a herd of deer
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Community – deer + rabbits
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Ecosystem – deer + rabbits + trees + water etc.
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Biome – make up the earth
Limiting Factors

Any biotic or abiotic factor that limits the
number of individuals in a population

Ex: a drought might reduce the number of
plants which means that animals would
have less food
What is another limiting factor?
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Ecosystem Vocabulary
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Habitat – The place where an organism lives

Niche – an organism’s particular role in an
ecosystem (producer, consumer etc)
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Biodiversity – the number of different species of
plants and animals in a ecosystem

Competition – the struggle between organisms for
the limited resources in a habitat
Activity
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Pick an Environment that you are familiar
with (farm, lake, beach etc)
List as many organisms that you can think
of that live in that environment
How do they interact with each other?

Ex: what eats what? – lives where?
Food Chains

Herbivore –
Carnivore –
Omnivore Decomposer –
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Scavenger –
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Producer -
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Define:
Example:
plant eater
meat eater
both plant and meat eater
an organism that breaks
down dead organisms
a carnivore that feeds on
the bodies of dead
animals
Makes its own food
Food Chain

a community of
organisms where
each member is
eaten in turn by
another member
Food Web


A food web shows a FLOW OF
ENERGY through an ecosystem
Multiple food chains connected
Arrows show direction
of energy, not what
eats what!!!

Energy Pyramid
A diagram that
shows the
amount of
energy available
at each level of
an ecosystem
Energy Transfer in an Ecosystem


Fold your paper in half – hamburger
On the inside bottom part, copy what is
written below
Tuna
Herring
Copepods Sardines
Diatoms Plankton
Energy Transfer in an Ecosystem
Get a piece of transparency
 Food Chain: shows the transfer of energy
through a single pathway in an ecosystem
 On the first layer, label the following
(you don’t recopy the words, just draw on top)

Tertiary consumer
Tuna
Secondary consumer
Herring
Herbivore or primary
Copepods Sardines
consumer
producer
Diatoms Plankton
Energy Transfer in an Ecosystem
Food Web: shows multiple pathways through
which energy flows in an ecosystem
 On the second layer, label the following
(you don’t recopy the words, just draw on top)

Tuna
Herring
Copepods Sardines
Diatoms
Plankton
Energy Transfer in an Ecosystem
Energy Pyramid: shows how energy is lost as it
travels through an ecosystem
 On the third layer, label the following
(you don’t recopy the words, just draw on top)

Tuna
10%
10%
10%
Herring
.1%
1%
Copepods Sardines
Diatoms
Plankton
10%
100%

What animal would be the most affected if
the butterfly were removed?
Symbiosis – any close interaction
between 2 or more species

Commensalism – one benefits and the
other is not harmed (ex: hermit crab)

Mutualism – both organisms benefit (ex:
sea anemone and clownfish)

Parisitism – one benefits while the other is
harmed (ex: fungus)
Clownfish and Sea Anemone
Shark and Lamprey
Egret and any large Animal
Crocodile and Plover
Adaptations

Adaptations are traits of an organism that
has been favored by natural selection and
increases the fitness of its possessor

These adaptations allow the organism to
survive and produce offspring which
insures that these traits will be passed on
Examples of Adaptation
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Structural Adaptations
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Teeth, beaks etc
body coverings - fur, scales
movement – how they find food
Mimicry – look like more dangerous
animals
Protective Coloration (camouflage) –
allows an animal to blend in to environment
More Adaptations
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Behavioral Adaptations
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Can be learned or instinctive
Social behavior
Protection
Migration – move from one region to
another
Hibernation – a deep sleep that some
animals participate in
Effects of the environment

Growth – trees grow better in different
environments

Appearance – Siamese cats coloring is
affected by the amount of heat it receives

Gender – some animals can change their sex
due to their environment (fish, alligators)

What is Photosynthesis?

What is Respiration?
Photosynthesis

Plant cells contain chloroplasts. These little
'factories' within the plant cells use the compound
chlorophyll to take the energy from sunlight, and
combine it with carbon dioxide and water ... to
produce oxygen and glucose (a form of sugar).

6CO2 + 6H2O + energy --> 6O2 + C6H12O6
Respiration

Other 'factories' within the cell make use of the
glucose molecule; these cell parts are called the
mitochondria. Each mitochondrion takes
glucose, breaks it down into atoms, and by
mixing it with the atoms from more oxygen,
produces carbon dioxide, water and energy ...
energy in a form that can be used by all cells.

6O2 + C6H12O6 --> 6H2O + 6CO2 + energy
Importance of these Processes

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are
two processes that affect concentrations of
carbon dioxide and oxygen in the
atmosphere. They are the main source of
energy in all living things and provide
power for different activities of cells.
Ecological Succession

A process in which a plant community replaces another in a
predictable manner until a final community is established
Primary – after a area that has not been disturbed
lava flow, glacier etc
Secondary – after disturbed by natural or man made causes
forest fire, volcano eruption
Write list and define

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Producer
Primary Consumer
Secondary Consumer
Tertiary Consumer
Decomposer
Warm Up
What is a Wetland? –
(not the former Ranger Closer!! )

Conclusion Question
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Why are wetlands so important to Earth?
(at least 4 sentences in your spiral)
Your packet and homework from Monday
are due tomorrow!!!