1. Ecosystems

2. Producers Producers – autotrophs Make their own food Photosyntheis
chemosynthesis

3. Consumers Heterotrophs obtain their food by feeding on other organisms
Herbivores – eat plants
Carnivores – eat meat
Omnivores – eat plants
and animals

4. Decomposers
Consumers that release nutrients in the process of obtaining nutrients
Detritivores – feed on wastes or decaying bodies of other organisms

5. Food chain/food web
Sequence of organisms each acting as a nutrient for the next organism
Complex network of interconnected food chains

6. Ecology How organisms interact with one another Five levels:
Organisms – an individual being
Populations-a group of individuals of the same species
Communities-populations of different species living in a particular area
Ecosystems-a community interacting with one another and their nonliving environment
Biosphere-parts of earth where life is found

8. Evolution
Process whereby earth’s life changes over time through changes in the genetic characteristics of populations
Begins with a mutation (change in DNA) that results in a new genetic trait
Natural selection-environmental conditions favor some individuals with certain traits that give them an advantage enabling them to survive and reproduce at a higher rate

9. Spreads northward and southward and separates Early fox population
Adapted to cold through heavier fur, short ears, short legs, and short nose. White fur matches snow for camouflage.
Arctic Fox
Northern population
Different environmental conditions lead to different selective pressures and evolution into two different species.
Spreads northward and southward and separates
Early fox population
Gray Fox
Figure 4.10: Geographic isolation can lead to reproductive isolation, divergence of gene pools, and speciation.
Southern population
Adapted to heat through lightweight fur and long ears, legs, and nose, which give off more heat.
Fig. 4-10, p. 91

10. Niche
A species’ way of life in a community and includes everything that affects its survival and reproduction
How much water and sunlight it needs how much space it requires
What it feeds on and what feeds on it

11. Figure 4.14: This diagram illustrates the specialized feeding niches of various bird species in a coastal wetland. This specialization reduces competition and allows sharing of limited resources.
Fig. 4-14, p. 96

12. Species Interact in Five Major Ways
Interspecific Competition-species compete for resources
Predation-predator feeds on all or part of the prey as part of a food web
Parasitism-one species feeds on or inside the host; host is often harmed
Mutualism-two species behave in such a way that both benefit
Commensalism

13. Interspecific Competition
Competition for limited resources
One species becomes more efficient than another species
When 2 species compete their niches overlap
Greater overlap – more intense competition

14. One species takes the larger share of resources
Competing species must:
Move to another area
Adapt by shifting feeding habits/behavior through natural selection to alter its niche
Suffer population decline
Become extinct

15. The variety of species and the genetic variety within a species
What is biodiversity?
The variety of species and the genetic variety within a species

17. Abiotic factors – the nonliving parts of an ecosystem
sunlight
water
Rocks and soil

18. Biotic factors - the living parts of an ecosystem
Plants, animals and microorganisms

19. Identify biotic and abiotic factors in each picture.

20. biome
Large regions with distinctive climates and organisms (especially vegetation) adapted to them

21. Biomes of the 39th parallel of the US

22. Threats to biodiversity
H – habitat destruction
I – invasive species
P – population growth
P – pollution
C – climate change
O - overexploitation

23. Native versus nonnative
A native species is a species that normally lives in and thrives in an ecosystem.
A nonnative species is a species that migrates into or is introduced into an ecosystem (also referred to as exotic species)
Invasive species are species that are nonnative and harmful to their new ecosystem (invasive because they have no natural predators or competition to control their numbers)

24. Invasive species Kudzu – brought from Japan to control erosion
Zebra mussels – clog water lines – brought in accidentally on ships
Fire ants
nutria