1. The Biosphere
Chapter 3

2. Biotic = living Abiotic = non-living
Plants, animals, bacteria, fungus, etc…
Abiotic = non-living
Rocks, water, air, temperature, sunlight, dirt, etc..

4. 3-1 What is Ecology?
Ecology = scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
The biosphere contains the combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, including land, water, and air, or atmosphere.
8 kilometers above Earth's surface to as far as 11 kilometers below the surface of the ocean.

6. Levels of Organization
Individual = a single organism of a species (a species is a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring)
Population = groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area.
Community = groups of different populations that live together in a defined area.

7. An ecosystem is a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical, environment.
A biome is a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities.
A biosphere = highest level = all the biomes combined

9. 3–2 Energy Flow
Autotroph (Producer) = organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds
Photoautotrophs (photosynthesis)
Plants, protists
Chemoautotrophs (chemosynthesis)
bacteria

11. Consumers
Heterotrophs (consumers) = Organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply
Types of consumers:
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Detritivores
Decomposers

13. Feeding Relationships
from the sun or inorganic compounds  autotrophs (producers)  various heterotrophs (consumers)

14. Food Chains 
a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

16. Food Webs 
network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem

19. Trophic Levels 
step in a food chain or food web

20. Energy Pyramids Biomass Pyramids Pyramids of Numbers
Ecological Pyramids
a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web
There are 3 different kinds of pyramids:
Energy Pyramids
Biomass Pyramids
Pyramids of Numbers

21. Energy Pyramid 
Shows the relative amounts of energy available at each trophic level.
Organisms store about 10% of this energy; 90% is used up in life processes
Much energy is lost as heat.
Therefore, usually 4-6 levels in an energy pyramid.

23. Biomass Pyramid
Represents the amount of living organic matter at each trophic level.
grams of organic matter per unit area
represents the amount of potential food

25. Pyramid of Numbers 
Shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level.

27. Water Cycle

29. The Carbon Cycle

30. The Nitrogen Cycle

31. The Phosphorus Cycle