Ecology I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.

Ecology Study of relationships between organisms and their environments.

Ecosystem Organization Populations Communities Ecosystems Biosphere Organisms Biome

Organism A single living thing

Population A group of organisms that belongs to the same species Species-is a group of individuals capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring. Population members breed with each other and live in the same area

Community Different populations in a certain area at a certain time. Changes in one population cause changes in other populations

Ecosystem All the different populations in a community and the community’s non- living factors There are two major kinds of ecosystems: terrestrial and aquatic

Biomes are a group of ecosystems with similar climates (temperature and rainfall) and organisms.

Portion of Earth that supports life Biosphere

Energy in the Biosphere The ultimate source of energy on Earth is the Sun Autotrophs-get energy from the sun to make food Heterotrophs-must eat other organisms to get energy Carnivores-eat animals Herbivores-eat plants Omnivores-eat both plants and animals Detritivore-eats dead/decaying things

Food Chain Shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystem Each organism in a food chain represents a trophic level Trophic level – the feeding step on the food chain; an organisms trophic level is which position it occupies on the food chain

Trophic Levels (feeding steps) Producers-Autotrophs Mostly Plants Primary Consumers-1 st order heterotrophs Eat Producers (herbivores) Secondary Consumers-2 nd order heterotrophs Eat Primary Consumers Tertiary Consumers-3 rd order heterotrophs Eat Secondary Consumers (top predators) Decomposers Eats dead materials, helps break down nutrients and return them to the environment

Food Web Models that show all possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community

RULE OF 10 Only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. Example: It takes 100 kgs of plant materials (producers) to support 10 kgs of herbivores It takes 10 kgs of herbivores to support 1 kg of 1 st level predator