Ecology Unit 2

Flashcard Warm-up Biotic relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms. My picture: My sentence: Abiotic non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment. My picture: My sentence:

Levels of the Biosphere  Biosphere: Area on earth where life exists  Biome: Areas of similar climate and vegetation

 Ecosystem: System formed by the interaction between living and non-living factors in a given area.

Levels of Biosphere  Community: Interaction of biotic factors  Population: Group of individuals of the same species that occupy the same community/ecosystem  Niche: Total way of life  Includes = habitat, resource needs, symbiotic relationships,

Ticket out the Door 1.Organize the following from smallest to largest community, biosphere, ecosystem, population, biome 2.What abiotic factors would a maple tree require? 3. What types of interactions would be observed in a community in the environment? 4. What is difference between a community and population?

Flashcard Warm-Up Ecosystem  an area that contains organisms (e.g., plants, animals, bacteria) interacting with one another and their non- living environment. Ecosystems can be of any size (e.g., forest, meadow, and log).  My picture:  My sentence: Producer  An organism that obtains its energy by using sunlight, CO 2 and H 2 0 to synthesize Carbohydrates (sugars) Examples include: plants and algae  My picture:  My sentence:

Trophic Levels = Levels of Feeding  Producers: Produce food for themselves  Consumers: Must take in food  Herbivores: primary consumers (eat plants)  Omnivores: eat at many levels (plants and animals)  Secondary and Tertiary: may be carnivore (eats animals) or omnivore  Decomposers: break down wastes and dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil

Ecological Efficiency  10% rule: only 10% of available energy is passed to the next trophic level Plants (1000 cal) Herbivores (100 cal) Carnivores (10 cal)

Ticket out the Door 1.What do the arrows represent in a food web? 2.Where would the greatest available energy be found in a food web? 3.What happens to the energy in a food web as it moves from one trophic level to another trophic level? 4.What will happen to the rabbit population if the snakes are removed from the food web? Use food web for question 4

Flashcard Warm-Up Autotroph  an organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and produce their own food (ex. plants, algae);also known as producers My picture: My sentence: Heterotroph  organisms that obtains energy from the food it consumes; also known as a consumer My picture: My sentence:

Biogeochemical Cycles  Water Cycle  Enters through precipitation or infiltration  Exits through evaporation or transpiration

Biogeochemical Cycles  Carbon Cycle  Powered by respiration and photosynthesis  Humans influence by burning fossil fuels

Biogeochemical Cycles  The Nitrogen C ycle  Bacteria are responsible for converting nitrogen gas to usable forms  Importance of Nitrogen cycle: Nitrogen is essential for living organisms so they can build proteins

Ticket out the door 1.What two processes drive the carbon cycle? 2.What role do animals play in the carbon cycle? 3.What role do plants play in the carbon cycle? 4.What type of impact do humans have on the carbon cycle?

Flashcard Warm-up Photosynthesis A process used by plants to make their own food. It uses energy from the sun, CO 2, and H 2 0. Photosynthesis and respiration power the carbon cycle. (Rewrite the definition of respiration here: from unit 1) My picture: My sentence:

Biotic Relationships  Competition: A struggle for resources among organisms  Predator/Prey: Predator feeds upon another organism, Prey is organism being feed upon Competition in animals Competition in plants

Biotic Relationships  Symbiosis: Living together in a permanent relationship  Mutualism: (+,+) both organisms benefit

Biotic Relationships Commensalism: (+,0) one organism benefits and the other not benefitted or harmed Parasitism: (+, -) one organism benefits and the other is harmed

Population Growth Limiting factor: Controls population; Ex: Food, space, water Carrying Capacity: The number of individuals an environment can support

Population Growth  J-curve: Period of “exponential” growth  S-curve: Population growth stabilizes as carrying capacity is reached

Ticket out the Door 1.A friend of yours is always cheating off of your paper and you get caught and punished but your friend gets an A. What type of symbiotic relationship could this represent? 2.What factors keep a population at carrying capacity? 3.What would the graph look like if a population had a unlimited supply of resources? 4.How can a predator-prey relationship help maintain carrying capacity of an ecosystem?

Flashcard Warm-up Symbiosis (Read pg. 93 in the Bio textbook. Give a definition of symbiosis and the three classes of relationships.) My picture: My definition:

Technology  GPS: Global Positioning System  GIS: Geographic Information Systems – to store, manage, and integrate data  Mark/Recapture: Animals captured, tagged, released, and then recaptured Use of GIS: Bird banding for mark/recapture

Technology  Quadrant Analysis : A small section of a large area that reduces the space that a scientist must analyze  Water/Soil Analysis : sampling techniques to determine chemical or physical properties

Ticket out the Door 1.Give an example when a quadrant analysis would be a useful technique to use? 2.Give an example when mark and recapture would be useful? 3. Why would take water samples be important?