1. Interactions of Living Things
Chapter 1
Interactions of Living Things

2. Bellringer
Make a list of all the things that are found in a pond ecosystem
Which of the things are living and which are nonliving?

4. Section 1: Everything is Connected
All living things are connected in a web of life.
Ecology is the study of the interactions of organisms with one another and with their environment.

5. Two Parts to an Environment:
Biotic – all of the organisms that live together and interact with one another in an environment
Abiotic – the part of the environment that consists of nonliving factors

6. The 5 Levels of Organization of the Environment
The organism – one single individual living in an environment

7. A Population – A group of similar organisms in the same species that live together

8. A Community – all of the populations of species that live and interact in an area

9. An Ecosystem – made up of a community of organisms and the abiotic environment of the community

10. The Biosphere – the part of the Earth where life exists

11. Find examples of each level of organization in this Salt marsh environment

12. Living Things Need Energy
Section 2
Living Things Need Energy

13. Bellringer
This is a flowering plant called Indian Pipe. It has no chlorophyll or chloroplasts.
Can this plant still be a producer?
If not, where does it get the energy to survive?

14. All living things need energy to survive.
Organisms can be divided into three groups based on how they get their energy:

15. Producers – organisms that use sunlight directly to make food using a process called photosynthesis
Most are plants but also includes algae and some bacteria
Examples: Grasses, algae, trees

16. Consumers – Organisms that eat other organisms
There are several kinds of consumers:

17. 1) Herbivore – only eats plants
1) Herbivore – only eats plants Examples: grasshoppers, prairie dogs, bison

18. 2) Carnivore – only eats animals
2) Carnivore – only eats animals Examples: coyotes, hawks, badgers, owls

19. 3) Omnivores – eat both plants and animals
Examples: grasshopper mouse, humans
Scavengers are omnivores that eat dead plants and animals.
Examples: turkey vulture

20. Decomposers – organisms that get energy by breaking down dead organisms
Examples: bacteria and fungi
Remove stored energy from dead organisms
They produce simple materials such as water and carbon dioxide which can be used by other living things
Decomposers are important because they are nature’s recyclers!

21. Food Chains and Food Webs
A food chain is a diagram that shows how energy in food flows from one organism to another

22. A food web is a diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem

23. `
An arrow goes from one animal to the next, showing where energy is going. The arrows point toward who is receiving the energy, or who is doing the eating.
Example above: Energy is moving from the grass, to the mouse, to the owl. Or the grass is eaten by the mouse, and the mouse is eaten by the owl.

24. An Energy Pyramid is a triangular diagram that shows an ecosystem’s loss of energy, which results as energy passes through the ecosystem’s food chain.
An energy pyramid has a large base and a small top
Less energy is available at higher levels because only energy stored in the tissues of an organism can be transferred to the next level.

27. Wolves and the Energy Pyramid
One species can be very important to the flow of energy in an environment
Example is Gray Wolves
Wolves are at the “top of the food chain” which means they are consumers that control a lot of other populations because they prey on large animals
When the gray wolf population declined, other species, such as elk, were no longer controlled
This led to overgrazing
This led to lack of food for the elk and all other species dependent on the grass for food.
Soon almost all of the populations in the area were affected by the loss of the gray wolves
In 1995 Gray Wolves were reintroduced in an attempt to restore the natural energy flow, bringing populations back into balance.

28. Balance in Ecosystems
As the wolf population returns, they will reduce the number of elk, which will allow more plants to grow, so the numbers in populations of animals that eat the plants will increase.

29. Section 3
Types of Interactions

30. Bellringer
Make a list of predators that are also prey

31. Interactions with the Environment
Most living things produce more offspring than will survive.
Example: Frogs lay hundreds of eggs. Why don’t ponds and such become overrun with frogs?
An organism, such as the frog, will interact with abiotic and biotic factors that can control population size.

32. Limiting Factors
Populations cannot grow without stopping because the environment contains a limited about of food, water, living space, and other resources
Limiting factors – resource that is so scarce that it limits population size

33. Carrying Capacity
Carrying capacity – the largest population that an environment can support
If a population becomes larger than its carrying capacity, limiting factors cause individuals to leave or die

34. Interactions Between Organisms
Four Main Ways that Species and Individuals affect each other are:

35. Competition – when two or more individuals or populations try to use the same resource such as food, water, shelter, space or sunlight.
Occurs between individuals within a population
Example: elks competing for food in the winter
Also happens between populations
Example: different types of trees competing for sunlight

36. Predators and Prey The organism that is eaten is the prey
The organisms that eats the prey is called the predator
Example: When a bird eats a worm, the bird is the predator and the worm is the prey

37. Predator Adaptations – any characteristic that makes a predator better at catching prey

38. Prey Adaptations – any characteristic that keeps prey from being eaten

39. Camouflage – blending in with the background

40. Defensive Chemicals: skunk or beetle smells,
the acid of bees, ants, wasps, and
deadly toxins on the skin of some animals like a poison arrow frog

41. Warning coloration – A physical advertisement that predators should look for another meal;
predators will avoid any animal that has the colors and patterns they associate with pain, illness, or unpleasant experiences.
The most common warning colors are bright shades of red, yellow, orange, black, and white
Locust Borer (beetle)
Yellow Jacket

42. Symbiosis – a close, long-term association between two or more species
Individuals in a symbiotic relationship can benefit from, be unaffected by, or be harmed by the relationship

43. There are 3 groups of Symbiotic Relationships:
Mutualism – symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit
Example: Bacteria living in your intestines
Clown Fish and Sea Anemone

44. Commensalism – A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected
Example: sharks and remoras

45. Parasitism – A symbiotic association in which one organism benefits while the other is harmed
The organism that benefits is the parasite
The organism that is harmed is the host
The parasite gets nourishment while the host is weakened
Sometimes a host dies
Example: Mosquito and human

46. Coevolution – When a long-term change takes place in two species because of their close interactions with one another
Example: the ant and the acacia tree
Takes place between any organisms that live close together, but changes happen over a very long period of time

47. Coevolution and Flowers
A pollinator is an organism that carries pollen from one flower to another
Flowers have changed over millions of years to attract pollinators
Because flowers and their pollinators have interacted so closely over millions of years, there are many examples of coevolution between them.