1. Ecology Notes

2. Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.
biotic: refers to the organisms
abiotic: nonliving part of environment
Examples of abiotic factors include: sunlight, water, air, temperature, rocks, soil, weather, etc..
1 of 8

3. 5 levels of the environment
Organism – a living thing: animals, plants, fungi, protists, & fungi (ex: zebra)
Population – a group of organisms of 1 kind in an area (ex: a herd of zebras)
Community – all groups in an area
(ex: zebras, giraffes, lions, warthogs etc.)
Ecosystem (ex: all the biotic plus abiotic factors)
Biosphere (Earth)
“One pony comes each birthday”
2 of 8

4. The Food Web Community Producer Consumer Plants
Uses sun to produce food by photosynthesis
Consumer
Usually animals
Must eat/consume other organisms
Herbivore = eats plants
Carnivore = eats animals
Omnivore = eats both plants and animals
Scavenger = feeds on dead animals 1 2 3 4
3 of 8

5. Predator: an organisms that survives by preying on other organisms
Consumers can be a…
Predator: an organisms that survives by preying on other organisms
requires special adaptations such as speed, good eyesight or hearing, sticky tongue, special teeth, camouflage, etc...
Prey: an animal hunted or caught for food
requires special adaptations such as camouflage, warning colors, shells, chemical defense, etc...
Both!
4 of 8

6. Parasite: a special kind of consumer
Parasite: an organism that lives on or in another organism from which it gets some or all of its nourishment.
Examples: tapeworm, tick, lice
Host: the animal or plant on which a parasite lives.
The host is usually harmed
(but not always killed) by the parasite.
5 of 8

7. Food Chains Always start with a producer!
Decomposer
Gets energy from breaking down the remains of dead organisms
Return nutrients to soil
Examples are bacteria and fungi (such as mold and mushrooms)
Food Chains
Always start with a producer!
Use arrows to show the path of energy
Make up a food web for a community
6 of 8

8. Ecosystem Interactions
All populations in an ecosystem depend on food, habitat and water.
Organisms must compete for resources.
If a population becomes too large, then lack of resources will become a problem and some of the population may die out.
Abiotic factors determine what kinds of organisms can live in area – ex: type of soil and weather determines type of vegetation in an area
7 of 8

9. 3 classifications of Ecosystems
Terrestrial
land-based, such as prairies, deserts, forests
Aquatic
A. Marine
ocean – abiotic factor of salinity
producers include algae and plankton
b. Freshwater
not saline, such as ponds, lakes, rivers
8 of 8