2. 1. How Biotic & Abiotic Factors influence the Biosphere/Ecosystem? 2. What impact Biotic & Abiotic factors have on biodiversity?

3. Ecology – Unit 2 KEY CONCEPT (Day 1) Every ecosystem includes both living and nonliving factors. Key Voc – use to make unit 2 flash cards 1.Biotic & Abiotic factors 9. Biosphere 2.Biodiversity10. Keystones Species 3.Population11. 4.Organism 5.Biome 6.Community 7.Niche 8.Ecosystem

4. Ecology - the branch of biology that deals with the interactions between organisms and their environment Biodiversity – Population - includes all the members of a species in a given area ex. all of the white tail deer in the Adirondacks is a population Organism – a living thing Biome – the biosphere is organized into smaller parts called biome Community - all of the populations in a given area. E.g. deers, dogs Niche - Ecosystem – the living (biotic) community and the nonliving (abiotic) physical environment functioning together is an ecosystem Biosphere - is the portion of the earth in which LIFE exists s made up of many complex ecosystems. * ALL OF THE ECOSYSTEMS COMBINED MAKE UP THE BIOSPHERE!

5. Level of organization is used to show how organisms interact with each other & their environment

7. Abiotic vs. Biotic Factors Abiotic factors = non-living components that affect living organisms –Ex. Temperature, –sunlight, rocks Biotic Factors = all living things or their materials that directly or indirectly affect organisms in its environment (includes interactions) –Ex. Plants, animals, – fungi, bacteria

8. Affect of Biotic and Abiotic Factors Interactions with biotic and abiotic factors can have an effect on several different levels: cellular, organismal, population, ecosystem Cellular Level: ex. temperature, water availability can affect a cell’s function. Organismal level: ex. interactions (such as mutualism, predation) as well as abiotic factors (water, temperature)

9. Changing one factor in an ecosystem can affect many other factors. Population, Ecosystem, Community Level: –ex. Water availability, availability of nesting materials and sites, species diversity, can all contribute to the stability of these groups. Biodiversity is the assortment, differences or variety, of living things in an ecosystem. Rain forests have more biodiversity than other locations in the world, but are threatened by human activities.

10. Biomes Ecosystem types that are classified according to the dominant vegetation Locations are closely tied to abiotic factors such as temperature and rainfall Ex. Desert, tropical rain forest, tundra

11. Geological & Meteorological Events Impact ecosystem distribution Biogeographical studies –Studies that determine the distribution of species Ex. Continental drift –Marsupials fill ecological roles in Australia similar to those filled by placental mammals on other continent

12. Species-specific events Keystone species = have a strong influence on other species in the ecosystem Loss of keystone species can result in drastic changes to or the collapse of the ecosystem.

13. Human Activities Occurs on a local, regional, and global scale Speeds up changes to ecosystems locally and globally Ex. Urbanization, global climate change, introduced species