What is Ecology? The study of the ________________ between organisms and their environment interactions

Biotic examples include any ________ or ___________ plants animals

________ Sunlight Abiotic examples include: A)

________ water B)

__________ Air CO2 O2 C)

Soil Soil D)

6- BIOSPHERE 5- BIOME 4- ECOSYSTEM 3- COMMUNITY 2- POPULATION 1- INDIVIDUAL ECOLOGY

1. Individual A plant or animal belonging to a specific ____________ species Ex: 1 zebra

2. Population A _________of individuals from the ______ species living in a specific area group same

Members of a population usually ____________ interbreed Ex: A herd of zebras

3. Community A group of ________________that interact with each other Ex: Zebras, lions, antelope, hyena, elephants, bushes, trees, grass populations

4. Ecosystem One or more _____________ that interact with each other. communities

5. Biome A region of the world that has a particular ____________ climate

Deserts, tropical rain forests For example:

6. Biosphere A place on the Earth Where ________ can exist life

Man-made Biosphere

Ecological Niche: is the role that each species plays in the ecosystem Your job!!!!

Habitat: A place where a species ________ lives

Competition Is the struggle for resources

Limiting factors: In the environment limit the size of the population and may include :

The number of and their _____________

Who is the Prey? The one that is eaten There must always be more prey than predators

In this snowy environment, the polar bear is white to avoid being noticed as it approaches the seal, and the seal pup is white to avoid being noticed by the bear.

Other Limiting factors include: For plants the amounts of: ______________ & _____________

Other Limiting factors include: Temperature pH Type of rock or Minerals in the rock or soil

Carrying Capacity

What is Carrying Capacity The number Of organisms Of any single Species an Ecosystem Can support

What Can Effect Carrying Capacity? Energy Water Oxygen Minerals Food

Why does the white-tailed deer population drop when the carrying capacity is exceeded? 1.Resources are too low to support the population. 2.Weather changes reduce the deer population. 3.The height of edible plants exceeds the height of the deer. 4.Competition by other animals is greatly reduced.

1. Autotrophs: Also known as _________ Because they can make their own food Ex: producers Plants

Heterotrophs: A.k.a. - _________ Cannot make their own food Ex: people animals Consumers

a) Herbivores: Eat ________ Ex: Cows, horses, rabbits, panda plants

b) Carnivores: Eat _______ ex: Lions tigers hawks meat

Carnivore - Wolf

c. Omnivores: Eat BOTH ________ _______ Ex: Bears, humans, chimps, plants & animals

Pigs - Omnivores

3. Decomposers: Break down And re-cycle Materials that can be used by consumers Ex: fungus, worms, bacteria

Maggot-covered Sea Lion

deadEat dead animals or plants Ex: Flies, maggots, vultures, hyena, sea gulls, pigeons 4. Scavengers

Hyenas and Vultures

5. Parasites: attack other living organisms called ______________ they live on or in the body of their host. Ex: Tapeworms and fleas examples: _________________________ a host

Food Web: Interconnected food chains

1: Producer or Consumer?

2. Producer or Consumer?

3. Producer or Consumer? ?????

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Mutualism Relationship in which both organisms benefit Ex: Rhino and tick bird (oxpecker) Ex: Bacteria living in guts of animals Ex: Flowers and bees

Zebra and Oxpecker Oxpeckers land on rhinos or zebras and eat ticks and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and the beasts get pest control. Also, when there is danger, the oxpeckers fly upward and scream a warning, which helps the symbiont (a name for the other partner in a relationship).

Bacteria in your Guts There are good bacteria that live in the human digestive tract The bacteria help break down food They get food and a nice place to live, and we get aid in digestion!

Flowers and Bees Bees fly from flower to flower gathering nectar, which they make into food, benefiting the bees. When they land on a flower, the bees get some pollen on their hairy bodies, and when they land in the next flower, some of the pollen from the first one rubs off, pollinating the plant. This benefits the plants. In this symbiotic relationship, the bees get to eat, and the flowering plants get to reproduce.

Commensalism When one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped Ex: shark and remora fish (fish get free food, protection and ride) Barnacles and whale Orchid atop palm trees (flower closer to sun) Eyebrow mites and people! (mites get free food, we don’t even know they are there!)

Barnacles live on Gray Whales

Parasitism Parasites are small animals that live off larger “host” animals Parasite benefits, host is harmed Parasites must be careful though. If they sap too much energy from a host, they too will die Ex: leech, ticks, tapeworm, malaria

Hookworms feed off your intestines!

Tapeworm

Food Chains

Food Chain: Feeding relationships in which a series of organisms pass food energy to each other

Food Chain: Sunlight is essential for most food chains Plants use the Sun’s energy to make their own food – starch – which they store in their leaves Herbivores eat the plants (rabbits) Carnivores or omnivores eat herbivores They, in turn, are eaten by other carnivores

Humans are just another link on the food chain!

Producers Consumers Decomposers Energy Flow: Least amount of energy Most Energy

Energy Pyramid: Producers (autotrophs): make their own food and possess the greatest amount of energy (leaves, grasses, algae) Primary (1 st ) Consumers: eat the leaves, grasses, algae, etc. Ex: grasshoppers, crickets Secondary (2 nd ) Consumers: eat the primary consumers. Ex: frogs Tertiary (3 rd ) Consumers: eat the secondary consumers. Ex: snakes, hawks, owls, lions Decomposers: break down dead animals and plants (possess the least amount of energy)

Food Webs: In order to meet their energy requirements, most animals are a part of more than one food chain. Not many animals feed on only one kind of food The risk of becoming overly dependent would be too great. These interconnected food chains form a food web Food webs are more accurate than food chains in representing what actually goes on in nature

Microbes decade organic matter and use up dissolved oxygen No more dissolved oxygen and fish die 

Healthy lake Pollution, heavy in organic matter, enters lake