Learning Target: Principles of Ecology Learning Target: Principles of Ecology Ch pp. 396 – 400 Ch pp

I Can.…List and Identify the organizational levels in a biome Identify how both biotic and abiotic factors affect an ecosystem I Will… Label the levels within a biome Describe how an ecosystem is affected by An abiotic factor A keystone species

Ecology – Study of the relationships among organisms and their environment. Gr. Oikos = house

Levels of organization Organism – any individual living thing Population – group of the same species Species – organisms of the same type genetically similar enough to reproduce viable (alive), fertile (capable of reproduction) offspring. Community - various populations living together in one area

Levels of organization (continued) Ecosystem - all the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components in an area interacting together Abiotic factors Temperature, wind, moisture level, air pressure, sunlight Biome – major regional or global community of organisms characterized by climate conditions and plant life Earth – 7% is Tropical Rain Forest (Producers!) Accounts for 50% of Earth’s plant and animal species Remember talking about biodiversity changing across the biosphere in unit 1

Organism Population Community Ecosystem Biome Changing one factor, biotic or abiotic, in an ecosystem can affect many other components of the system

creation of wetland ecosystem increased waterfowl Population increased fish population nesting sites for birds keystone species Keystone species – Species that has an unusually large effect on an ecosystem

Learning Check  : Principles of Ecology Learning Check  : Principles of Ecology Give an example of a keystone species and describe its impact on its ecosystem. Use the vocabulary terms; biotic, abiotic, population, community, and ecosystem in your description.