Friday, June 6, 11:34:02 AM Topic 6 Ecology
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM The environment is every living and nonliving thing that surrounds an organism
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Ecosystem describes any portion of the environment
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM All the living things in an ecosystem are called biotic
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Non living influences are called abiotic factors
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM The specific environment in which organisms live is their habitat
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM All the organisms of a species that live in the same area make up a population
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM All the different populations are combined to form a community
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Collectively all of the Earth’s ecosystems make up the biosphere
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM The fundamental concept of ecology is that all living organisms are interdependent, and they interact with one another and with the physical environment
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Competition is the struggle for resources among organisms
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Factors in the environment that limit the size of populations are known as limiting factors
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Predators kill and eat other organisms
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Prey are killed for food
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM The number of organisms of any single species that an ecosystem can support is referred to as its carrying capacity
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM DISCOVERY CHANNEL VIDEO CLICK ON PLANET EARTH
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM The role that each species plays in the ecosystem is called its ecological niche
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM In predator – prey relationships food chains show what eats what
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Photosynthetic organisms make their own food. They are known as autotrophs or producers
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Heterotrophs must acquire food by consuming other organisms. Heterotrophs are also called consumers
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Herbivores are heterotrophs that survive on plant tissues
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Carnivores are heterotrophs that eat other animals
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM The wastes and dead bodies of all organisms are consumed by decomposers
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Scavengers are consumers that eat dead organisms they do not kill
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Parasites are organisms that attack other live organisms (called host organisms) but rarely kill them
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Food webs are diagrams that show more complex feeding relationships
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM CLICK FOR VIDEO
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Almost all organisms use the solar energy (the sun) in food to power their life processes
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM 1000 Calories 990 Calories lost to the environment 10 Calories of plant matter available as food 1 Calorie available as food 9 Calories lost to the environment As energy is transferred, much of it is lost to the environment
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM An energy pyramid is a diagram that illustrates the transfer of energy through a food web or chain
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Herbivores Carnivores Producers
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Release of oxygen (photosynthesis) Release of carbon dioxide Dead animals Decomposition nutrients
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM CLICK FOR VIDEO
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Biodiversity is a measurement of the degree to which species vary within an ecosystem
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Many species may be lost when natural disasters cause large scale destruction to habitats
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Species can also be lost when humans do not consider the environmental impact of their action
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Endangered species
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Biodiversity also represents one of the greatest resources known to humans. Medicinal herbs and plants are one example
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM The series of changes by which one habitat changes into another is called ecological succession
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM Climatic changes, natural disasters, and the activities of animals (including humans ) can alter stable ecosystems
Friday, June 6, 11:34:32 AM View the process of ecological succession as it occurs in coastal lowlands by clicking on the image below