1. Ecology
…the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environments

2. Ecology- scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

3. How Everything Fits Together
The study of how the living and nonliving things fit together in nature is the science of ecology
How are this bee, the flowers,
and the sun interacting?

4. Like a set of nesting dolls…
We can think about the interactions and types of living things by organizing them into groups, smallest to largest.
A species (individual) includes only one type of organism.
Example: pigeon
A population includes all members of one species that live in the same area.
Example: all the pigeons in Denton
Modify the species/ city here to your own.

5. …bigger and bigger groups!
A community includes all of the different species that live in the same area.
Example: all the pigeons, ants, maple trees, dogs, etc. that live in Denton
An ecosystem includes both the community and the abiotic factors.
Example: the Denton community plus the cars, buildings, rocks, air…
Continue modification of city here.

6. Levels of Organization

7. Levels of Organization
Individual
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biome
Biosphere
Make a sentence using the first letters of each level to remember the order!

8. The organisms in a habitat can be organized in the following way…
ecosystem
Species/
organism
community
population
Click for labels to appear in order from species to ecosystem. Prompt students to predict how this diagram will help them remember the order.

9. Ecosystem Groups of animals live in specific habitats.
There are two factors included in every habitat:
Biotic factors
Living things, like…?
Abiotic factors
Nonliving things, like…?
Review the prefixes “bio” and “a.” Review “habitat” if needed.
Examples of biotic factors: moose, shrubs, humans, dogs, flowers etc.
Examples of abiotic factors: water, soil, rocks, air, etc.

10. Abiotic Vs. Biotic Factors
Abiotic Factors
The nonliving environment
Ex.: air currents, temperature, light, moisture, and soil
Determine which species survive in a particular environment
Biotic Factors
The living organisms that inhabit an environment
Ecologists study how biotic factors affect different species

11. Habitat vs. Niche
Each species occupies a particular position within the community, both in a spatial sense (where it lives, referred to as its habitat) and a functional sense (how it lives, its niche).
A number of species may occupy a particular habitat but the niches of those species differ to avoid competition.

12. Habitats A habitat is the place where an organism lives out its life
Organisms use a variety of different strategies to live and reproduce in their habitats
Habitats can change or disappear from an area through both natural and human causes

13. Niches
How an organism meets its needs for food and shelter, how it survives, and how it reproduces

14. What niche does this lizard occupy?
Niches
A species niche includes all of its interactions with the biotic and abiotic parts of its habitat
It is an advantage to have a unique niche in an environment
This reduces competition
What niche does this lizard occupy?

15. Niches
In the coastal habitat in Florida there are a number of species of wading birds, each with a unique niche

16. Niches
These species differ in their beak depth. Beak depth corresponds to the size of seed the bird eats.
On two islands, only one of these species is found. Note that there is a difference in beak depth when the species is alone compared to when it is with the other two species. In the presence of these other species, beak depth differences have evolved that reduce competition.

17. Biomes

18. Biome Major communities that occur over wide areas on land
Scientists have divided the Earth into 7-9 major biomes
Climate – temperature and precipitation.
Climate dictates biomes.

19. Major Biomes of the Earth

20. Biomes Terrestrial Tropical rainforest Temperate rainforest
Temperate deciduous forest
Tiaga (boreal forest)
Tundra
Desert
Temperate grassland
Savannah
Chaparral/Steppe
Urban
Marine
Open ocean
Antarctic ocean (edge of the ice)
Estuary
Coral Reef
Barrier Island
Shallow ocean/bay
Mangrove forests
Freshwater
River
Lake
Pond
Wetlands (Swamps, marshes, etc.)

21. Taiga

22. Tiaga (Boreal Forest)

25. Animals of the Taiga
Rodents, snowshoe hares, lynx, caribou, bears, wolves, birds in summer

28. Deciduous Forest
A forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves each autumn

29. Temperate Deciduous Forest

31. Animals of the Deciduous Forest
Wolves, deer, bears, and a wide variety of small mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects

34. Tropical Rain Forest
A hot, humid biome near the equator, with much rainfall and a wide variety of life
equator

35. Tropical Rainforest

38. Animals of the Tropical Rain Forest
More species of insects, reptiles, and amphibians than any place else; monkeys, other small and large mammals, including in some places elephants, all sorts of colorful birds

39. Desert
A sandy or rocky biome, with little precipitation and little plant life

40. Desert

42. Animals of the Desert
Rodents, snakes, lizards, tortoises, insects, and some birds. The Sahara Desert in Africa is home to camels, gazelles, antelopes, small foxes, snakes, lizards, and gerbils

43. Tundra
A cold biome of the far north; the ground is frozen even in summer

46. Animals of the Tundra
Musk oxen, migrating caribou, arctic foxes, weasels, snowshoe hares, owls, hawks, various rodents, occasional polar bear.

47. Arctic Fox

50. Grassland
A biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life. Prairies are one kind of grassland region.

52. Grassland animals
American Grasslands: Prairie dogs, foxes, small mammals, snakes, insects, various birds

57. Marine Biomes Open Ocean
Coral Reefs - Barrier Islands - Shallow Marine…

58. Name the Biome Temperate Forest Desert Tundra Grasslands
Tropical Rainforest
Tiaga