1. Ecology

2. Ecology is the study of the interactions among organisms and their environment

3. What is the Biosphere? The portion of the earth in which all living things exist Only about 20Km of total diameter of earth From ocean floor to about 8Km above earths surface

4. Two types of factors in Biosphere Biotic: all things living –Examples? Abiotic: all things non-living –Examples?

5. Many subcategories Population: all individuals of a certain species within a certain area Community: all the populations of different species within an area

6. Many subcategories Ecosystem: includes a community and its physical environment –Includes both biotic and abiotic

8. Individuals have a habitat and a niche Habitat: where an individual organism lives; its home – where is yours? Niche: the role that organism plays in its ecosystem –What is yours?

9. Relationships between organisms Competition: if two individuals occupy the same niche they will compete –Limited resources like? –Only one will win

10. Relationships between organisms Symbiosis: two organisms living in close association –Three types: mutualism, commensalism and parasitism

11. Relationships between organisms Mutualism: both species benefit Example? Why?

12. Commensalism: one benefits; the other is neither hurt nor helped Relationships between organisms

13. Parasitism: one species benefits at the other’s expense Relationships between organisms

14. All organisms require Energy As one organism eats another energy moves through ecosystem Forms food chain Many food chains make food web

15. Food Chain

16. Food Web

17. Mother Nature Recycles All essential inorganic nutrients cycle between biotic and abiotic parts of ecosystem - Water - Oxygen - Carbon - Phosphorus - Nitrogen

18. Water Cycle

19. Organisms give off water Water evaporates into atmosphere Water condenses in cloud Falls back to earth in rain/snow Taken back in by Organisms

20. Carbon cycle

21. Nitrogen Cycle

22. Phosphorous Cycle

23. Oxygen Cycle

24. Energy Pyramid

25. Producers/Autotrophs: make food from sunlight or other inorganic molecules – examples: plants, algae and bacteria

26. Energy Pyramid Primary consumers: eat producers –Herbivores –Examples: rabbits, plankton

27. Energy Pyramid Secondary or High order consumers: eat primary consumers carnivores –Larger animals –Top consumers are not eaten by anyone

28. Where do they go then ? Decomposers: bacteria; break down dead organisms and return nutrients (nitrogen) back to the soil for producers to use

29. Biomes Large groups of ecosystems all with a similar climate Distributed across earth by large shifting blocks of land called – tectonic plates

30. Shifting Land Sea Floor Spreading

31. As land shifts so does sun exposure, temperature and rainfall Explains the different climates in different biomes