Ecology Study of interactions between organisms and their environments

Biotic Factors Biotic factors – all living organisms in a biosphere Biology - study of living things Biosphere – life-supporting layer of Earth

Abiotic Factors Nonliving factors in an environment Examples: Water Sunlight Oxygen Temperature Soil

Ecological Organization Organisms Populations Communities Ecosystems Biosphere

3 Types of Interactions Competition – struggle for limited resources Predation – predator/prey Symbiosis – “living together”

Competition Niche – ecological role

Feeding Relationships Autotrophs – “self feeder”, producer Heterotrophs – “other feeder”, consumer Carnivores Omnivores Herbivores Scavengers/Detritivores Decomposers

Food Chains, Food Webs, Energy Pyramids Food chain – a series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy Food web – the pattern of overlapping food chains in an ecosytem Energy pyramid – a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web

Symbiosis – “living together” Relationship Type Species ASpecies B Mutualism ++ Commensalism +0 Parasitism +-