Parts of the Ecosystem

What is Ecology?  Study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

ECOSYSTEMS  An ECOSYSTEM is made of all the living & nonliving things that interact in a particular area  Ecosystems can be large or small large or small

ECOSYSTEMS The living parts of an ecosystem are called BIOTIC factors Examples: trees, plants, flowers, insects, animals

ECOSYSTEMS  The non-living things in an ecosystem are called ABIOTIC ecosystem are called ABIOTIC factors factors  Examples : water, rocks, soil, air, temperature, wind, carbon dioxide, nutrients, sunlight dioxide, nutrients, sunlight

Organization in the Environment  Ecologists have arranged the environment in different levels OrganismPopulationCommunityEcosystem Biosphere Biosphere

The 5 Levels: #1 Organism  1. An individual is a single organism. Ex: an alligator, a human, an oak tree

The 5 Levels: #2 Population A population is a group of individuals of the same species in the same area. Ex: group of alligators, herd of deer

The 5 Levels: #3 Community A community consists of all of the populations of different species that live and interact in an area.

The 5 Levels: #4 Ecosystem An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms and its abiotic environment

The 5 Levels: Level #5 Biosphere The biosphere is the part of Earth where life exists

Salt Marsh Ecosystem  Organism- egret, Seaside sparrow, Periwinkle snail, oyster, Laughing gull  Population- Laughing gull, Codgrass  Community- Sparrows eat the crabs, algae grows on grass, snail uses grass as shelter and protection  Ecosystem- how does temp., precipitation, soil affect the organisms?, river brings in nitrogen which helps the algae grow  Biosphere- where all life lives

Biotic and Abiotic Factors  Biotic: Laughing gulls, seaside sparrow, codgrass, snail, algae, jellyfish (any of the animals or plants)  Abiotic: sunlight, river (water), temperature, soil, rain (weather), nutrients from the nitrogen