Ecology

 Ecology is the study of how living things interact with other living things in their environment in various ways.

Abiotic and Biotic Factors  Abiotic Factor: Non-living components of an ecosystem. Examples: Rocks, water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide.  Biotic Factor: Living components of the environment; Examples: Grass, animals, plants, algae, bacteria…

Name the biotic and abiotic factors of the ecosystem.

Populations  All members of one species in a particular area.  Examples: A lion pride or a pine forest

Community  Two or more populations form a community.

Ecosystem: The living(biotic) and non-living (abiotic) factors in one particular area.

Niche  An individuals role in an ecosystem

Habitat  Where an organism lives. Example; Desert, ocean, forest

Competition in an ecosystem  Competition: The struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource.  All organisms are in competition for resources such as; food, water, sunlight, space, air…

Producers (Autotrophs)  Organisms that make their own food from sunlight (Example: Plants).

Consumers (Heterotrophs)  Organisms that rely on an external food source from their environment.  Includes herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.

Decomposer  Breaks down food from dead organisms and waste materials, into a simpler form.  Examples: Bacteria, worms, fungi,

Omnivores  Consume plants and animals!  YOU!!!!  Raccoons, bears, ducks

Carnivores  Consume meat (animals and insects!)

Herbivores  Consume plants (leaves, grass, flowers, pollen,fruit, veggies, etc.)  Examples: Bees, rabbits, giraffes, deer, cows.

Energy Pyramids  Represents the flow of energy available to producers and consumers in an ecosystem.

 The bottom of the pyramid has the most available energy and the energy decreases as you travel up the pyramid. ( Each level only passes on 10% to the next level above it.)

 Organisms in food webs are grouped into categories called trophic levels.  These levels are divided into producers (first trophic level), consumers, and decomposers (last trophic level).

Trophic Levels

 Primary consumers are mostly herbivores (eat plants/plant products). Example: insects  Secondary consumers eat the primary consumers/herbivores. Example: mouse  Tertiary consumers eat the secondary consumers. Ex: Snake  Which can be eaten by a top predator like an owl.

Producer Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Primary Consumer

All energy in an ecosystem comes from the sun.

Food Chains  A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy.

 Each food chain is one possible path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem.

Draw this!

 Food webs are defined by their biomass(the energy in living organisms.)  Biomass decreases with each trophic level.  There is always more biomass in lower trophic levels (producers and primary consumers) than in higher ones (tertiary consumers).

 There are always more autotrophs than herbivores in a healthy food web. There are more herbivores than carnivores. An ecosystem cannot support a large number of omnivores without supporting an even larger number of herbivores, and an even larger number of autotrophs. A healthy food web has an abundance of autotrophs, many herbivores, and few carnivores and omnivores. This balance helps the ecosystem maintain and recycle biomass.

Food Web  An overlapping food chain in an ecosystem.

 Each living thing in an ecosystem is part of multiple food chains.  All of the interconnected and overlapping food chains in an ecosystem make up a food web.