Chapter 1: Interactions of Life Sections 1 & 3 Life Science

Ecology is the study of interactions among living things and their environments. Ecologists are scientists who study those interactions.

What is a Biosphere? Biosphere- part of the Earth that supports life. Biosphere is made up of different Environments that are home to many different kinds of organisms.

What is an Ecosystem??? Ecosystems- consist of all the living organisms and the non-living things in their environment.

Living Things Biotic Factors – a living thing in an ecosystem

Abiotic Factor Abiotic Factors – any physical or chemical part of an ecosystem that living things NEED to survive. Sunlight Water Air Soil, Sand, Rocks, etc. Proper Temperature

iPads!!! Create your own Ecosystem using the LINO APP!

Populations Populations- made up of all the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species. Example- Human Population!

Community Community- all the populations in an ecosystem. Example- Arctic Community: fish, seals, polar bears.

Habitat- the place in which organisms live Provides: food & shelter, proper temperature, and Living space the organism NEEDS to survive. - Example – Pond Niche – an organism’s role or job in the habitat.

Section 3: Interactions with Communities What is a Community?

Where does all the Energy come from? SUN! What is affected? How?

Energy from the sun is stored in chemical bonds that holds together Atoms. When these chemical bonds are broken, what must be released?

All organisms need energy in one way or another….

PRODUCERS Producers: organisms that use a source of energy to make food Example: Plants use sun for Photosynthesis

What if organisms can’t receive sunlight? Chemosynthesis – is when bacteria produces food using heated chemicals released from underwater vents.

CONSUMERS Consumers: Organisms that cannot make their own food AKA - Heterotrophs

Herbivores- “vegetarians” plant eaters Ex- Rabbits, Deer, Cows Carnivores- animal eaters Ex- Lions, Coyotes Omnivores- eats plants & animals Ex- Humans, Bears Decomposers- consume waste & dead organisms Ex- Earthworms, Mushrooms, Mold, Fungi - help recycle once-living matter

Scavenger – an organism that feeds off of once-living organisms Ex – turkey vulture

What are some things that organisms depend on other organisms for?

FOOD CHAIN Food Chain- a model to show the feeding relationships between a single producer and a chain of consumers

FOOD WEB Food Web – model of the feeding relationships between many overlapping food chains

ENERGY PYRAMID -shows the amount of Energy available at each feeding level.

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What are some “cycles” in nature?

Section 2 Cycles – Picture Notes (see Binder)

BIOMES – Section 4 See Biome Project in Binder

Chapter 2: Interactions Within Ecosystems Life Science

Habitats & Niches

Habitat- the place in which organisms live Provides: food & water, shelter, proper temperature, and Living space the organism NEEDS to survive. - Example – Pond Niche – an organism’s role or job in the habitat.

Niches What is a Niche? Niches- how an organism survives, how it obtains food and shelter, how it finds a mate and cares for its young, how it avoids danger. Special adaptations that improve survival are often part of an organism’s niche.

Patterns Exist in Populations Patterns in SPACE - how animals or plants place themselves, depends on how they meet their needs to survive. Space is needed for food or water. Examples – School of fish, herd of elephants

Patterns in Populations Patterns in TIME Population sizes change depending on climate. Examples – Cicadas emerge every 17 years, bears hibernate, birds migrate, jelly fish in August! Population sizes can also depend on predators.

SECTION 2.2

Symbiotic Relationships Symbiotic Relationship – means a close relationship between two species

MUTUALISM Mutualism- where both species benefit Example: Bee and Flower Explain…

COMMENSALISM Commensalism- where one organism benefits and the other is not affected Example: Clown Fish and Anemones Explain…

PARASITISM Parasitism- where one organism benefits, and the other is harmed Example- Dogs and Ticks

PREDATOR/PREY Predator- consumers that capture and eat other consumers Predators can limit the size of populations Predators can also increase & decrease the number of different organisms in an ecosystem.

PREDATOR/PREY Prey- organism that is captured by a consumer (or predator)

Competition Competition- two or more organisms that seek the same resource at the same time.

Effects of Competition Competition for food, living space, or other resources can LIMIT the population. Prevents Pop. Growth Competition is most intense among individuals of the same species.

Measuring Pop. Methods Count the # of species Trap-Mark-Release Sample Count (used to estimate the sizes of larger populations)

Population Size Pop. Size- indicates whether population is healthy and growing. Population Density- the size of a population that occupies a specific area

Limiting Factor- anything that restricts the # of individuals in a population. Can be living or nonliving Can affect other populations Carrying Capacity- the largest # of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support.

What if the Carrying Capacity exceeds? Not enough resources, death occurs, species are forced to move.

What Affects Pop. Size? List some things that can affect Population Sizes…

Exponential Growth Exponential Growth- the LARGER a population becomes, the FASTER it grows.

Changing in Pop. Populations can change in size when new members enter or exit the pop. BIRTH RATE- # of births in a given time DEATH RATE- # of deaths in a given time