B IO 20 U NIT B Section 4.1 Interactions within Ecosystems

T O START THINGS OFF... Let’s see what we know...show me your skills Complete questions on pg 82 #3(a,b), 4, 5

Ernst Haeckel (German Biologist) First used the word “ecology” in 1866 Derived from the Greek words “oikos” (meaning a place where one lives) and “logos” (study of) Ecology- the study of interactions between organisms and their living and non-living organisms Living = biotic factors Non-living = abiotic factors

Q UICK W ORK Air Aluminum Apple seeds Bread Clock Clouds Corpse Cotton fabric Finger nails Fish Glass Gold Grapes Hair Paper Pipe Plant Plastic Pork chops rain Salad Sand Snail Steak Water Shale Wooden ruler wool Working with your neighbor, create a Biotic vs. Abiotic Table. Place the following objects in the appropriate position in the Table.

E COTONES AND B IODIVERSITY Ecotones A transition area between ecosystems Contain species from both bordering ecosystems Often has an increase in biodiversity compared to other ecosystems A predator may have alternative prey if something happens to the population of its main prey By providing alternative food sources ecotones help guard against extinction

A RTIFICIAL VS. N ATURAL E COSYSTEM Artificial ecosystem Planned or maintained by humans Natural ecosystem Lakes, rivers, forests, deserts, meadows, etc The living community is free to interact with the physical and chemical environments

R OLES IN E COSYSTEMS Every organism has it’s “place” in an ecosystem Ecological Niche – an organism’s role in an ecosystem, consisting of its place in the food web, its habitat, its breeding area, and the time of day at which it is most active Species that live in the same area occupy a different niche so that they can live with less competition Figure 6 – pg 90 Reading: Examples on pg 90 What will have a greater biodiversity: a natural forest or a planted forest? Why?

E XOTIC S PECIES Exotic species are species that are not native to an ecosystem Leads to competition Can happen naturally or artificially Plant seeds spread by the wind, animals transport themselves Humans move species through discovery of new land, hulls of ships, etc. Reading: pg 91

D ANGERS OF E XOTIC S PECIES Can cause species depletion, extinction, or habitat loss Problem: ecosystem lacks predators and disease for exotic species which allows the species population to grow uncontrollably Native species are unable to compete for space, food, or reproduction sites and may also fall prey to the exotic species Invasive Species

A SSIGNMENT Complete Case Study – The Zebra Mussel individually. WARNING: Do NOT plagiarize. Complete this assignment using your own words and not ones from the article or from your friends. This assignment is to be done on your own.

A SSIGNMENT Complete questions on pg 93 #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7