Interactions of Living things Ecology

Two parts of an Environment Biotic – All the living organisms in an environment. Abiotic – All the non-living objects and factors in the environment.

How an organism makes a living. Niche How a population responds to the abundance of its resources and enemies. How an organism makes a living.

Organization in the Environment Organism – individual Population – group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific location.

Organization in the Environment Community – all the populations of species that live in the same habitat and interact with each other. Ecosystem – A community of organisms and their abiotic environment. Biosphere – the part of Earth where life exists.

Producers – make food from the sun. Flow of Energy Producers – make food from the sun. Consumers – Eat producers and/or other consumers to get energy. Decomposers – break down waste and dead organism. Natural recyclers.

Kinds of Consumers: Herbivores – Eat nothing but plants Carnivores – eats other animals Omnivores – eat both plants and animals Scavenger – omnivores that eat dead plants and animals. Example turkey vultures.

Food Chains and Food Webs Food Chain – The flow of energy from one organism to the next. Food Web – Diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.

Energy Pyramid A triangular diagram that shows an ecosystem’s loss of energy, which results as energy passes through the ecosystem’s food chain.

Types of Interactions: Limiting Factors – When a resource that is so scarce that it limits the size of a population. Carrying Capacity – The largest population that can live in the environment can support.

Interactions between Organisms Competition – organisms compete for food, water, shelter, space, sunlight. Predator and prey Symbiotic relationships Coevolution

Predator and Prey: Predators and Prey each of adaptations to use against the other. Prey have camouflage, defensive chemicals, and warning colorations.

Symbiosis- relationship between two different organisms Mutualism – When two organisms benefit Commensalism – When one organisms benefits and the other is not affected. Parasitism – When one organism benefits and the other is hurt.

Coevolution The evolution of two species that is due to mutual influence often in a way that makes the relationship more beneficial to both species.