Chapter 4 The Organization of Life “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” - John Muir

4.1 Do Now

Ecosystems Communities of organisms and their abiotic environment. –Examples: oak forest or coral reef. No clear boundaries. Things move from one ecosystem to another. –Pollen can blow from a forest into a field, –soil can wash from a mountain into a lake, –birds migrate from state to state.

Components of an Ecosystem 1.Energy (sun) 2.Mineral nutrients 3.Carbon Dioxide 4.Water 5.Oxygen 6.Living Systems One change can disrupt the entire ecosystem

Biotic and Abiotic Factors Biotic environmental factors that are associated with or results from the activities of living organisms –plants, animals, dead organisms, and the waste products of organisms. Abiotic environmental factors that are not associated with the activities of living organisms –air, water, rocks, and temperature.

Levels of Organization

Biosphere –Area of the Earth where there is life Ecosystem –All of the living and non-living things in an area Community –All of the living things in an area Population –All of the living things of one species in one area –Species: group of organisms that can reproduce together Organism –An individual

Habitat Habitat: place where an organism usually lives. Has specific characteristics that the organisms that live there need to survive. –If any of these factors change, the habitat changes. Organisms tend to be very well suited to their natural habitats Niche: an organism’s role in the ecosystem –food it eats, what eats it, where it lives

Do Now Check the gradesheet being passed around Compare your grade with and without the test and decide which quarter you want it for Turn in your written section- if you don’t turn it in it’s a zero (counts for quarter 2)

4.2 Do Now

Do Now Just think about it… If you could have one super adaptation, what would it be?

Charles Darwin Observed that organisms in a population differ slightly from each other in form, function, and behavior. –Some of these differences are hereditary. Proposed that the environment exerts a strong influence over which individuals survive to produce offspring, and that some individuals, because of certain traits, are more likely to survive and reproduce than other individuals.

Evolution by Natural Selection Natural selection: process by which individuals that have favorable variations and are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do. Evolution: is a change in the characteristics of a population from one generation to the next.

Evolution by Natural Evolution All of the following must occur in order for Natural Selection to take place

Nature Selects Adaptation: an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral change that improves a population’s ability to survive.

Do Now How did THIS happen?

Coevolution Coevolution: The process of two species evolving in response to long-term interactions with each other –Example: Hawaiian honeycreeper

Evolution by Artificial Selection Artificial selection: selective breeding of organisms, by humans, for specific desirable characteristics. –Dogs –Fruits, grains, and vegetables –Livestock

Evolution of Resistance Resistance: the ability of an organism to tolerate a chemical or disease-causing agent. An organism may be resistant to a chemical when it contains a gene that allows it to break down a chemical into harmless substances. –Pesticides –Antibiotics

Homework Begin writing descriptions of adaptations, environment, and natural selection Project will be presented on Tuesday

4.3 Do Now

The Diversity of Living Things Classified into 3 Domains with 6 Kingdoms

The Kingdoms of Life Domain Eukarya Domain Eubacteria Domain Archaea