 List 10 words that come to mind when you see this image.  Where is life found?  How do living things interact with the Earth?  What is happening on Earth?  How does it affect me?

 Atoms – Molecules – Cells – Tissues – Organs – Organ Systems – Organism – Population – Community – Ecosystem – Biome~ Biosphere

Ecological Levels of Organization

 Organism – an individual living thing  Population › Groups of individuals that belong to the same species that live in the same area  Species = organisms that are able to breed and produce fertile offspring  Communities › Several populations of different organisms that inhabit the same general area.

 Ecosystem › Living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of an environment.  Biome › Group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities.  Biosphere › All portions of the planet where life exists (includes land, water, atmosphere)

 The sum of all the different types of organisms living on earth.  Common characteristics of organisms › Habitat – where it lives (water, land, etc) › Digestive cavity › Paired appendages (2 arms, 2 legs) › How does it obtain oxygen (gills, lungs, skin) › Sense organs visible (feelers, hands, etc) › Locomotion (how does it move)

 Observing › Use the 5 senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell)  Experiments › To test a hypothesis regarding a certain topic.  Modeling › Mathematic formulas created based on data collected through observation and experimentation.

 Endangered species!!!!! › We as a society want to protect all the different types of organisms present in our ecosystem.

 Bighorn Sheep - Bighorn Sheep  Bison - Bison  Black Bear - Black Bear  Dolphin - Dolphin  Gray Wolf - Gray Wolf  Grizzly Bear - Grizzly Bear  Humpback Whale - Humpback Whale  Lynx - Lynx  Manatee - Manatee  Mountain Lions - Mountain Lions  Ocelot - Ocelot  Polar Bear - Polar Bear  Pronghorn Antelope - Pronghorn Antelope  Seal - Seal Extinct – the permanent disappearance of a species from Earth

 Alteration of habitats › Human Population Growth  Pollution › SMOG is killing trees over a wide area of southern California › CO 2 Levels are increasing  Decrease in H 2 O  Forest Fires

 Tropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystem in the world.  Home to 2/3 of the worlds species

 Erases genetic material – what if that extinct species had favorable traits.  Simpler ecosystems are unstable – the biosphere becomes smaller  Future Importance of that plant or animal – what if that extinct plant could have been used to cure cancer in 10 years

 Every organism is connected to all other organisms  If we remove one of this pieces then it could effect everyone

 Sea otters → Urchin → Kelp  Because the kelp was depleted fish that relied on the kelp for habitat were reduced in number

 Keeping a balance is key  Restoring balance can be difficult and costly to Conservationists › Predictions are only a guess  Unbalanced ecosystems could be disastrous End of 9.1