Ecology

Everything is Connected

• __________- the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

Ecology

Living part = ____________ environmentMade up of all the organisms that live together

Examples: _____________________________

The environment is made up of living and non-living parts.

biotic

mushrooms, ferns, monkeys, bacteria

Non-living part = ______________ environmentMade up of all the physical factors

Examples: ____________________________

abiotic

soil, sun, water, rocks

The Six Levels of Environmental Organization

1st ____________ - individual life form

Example: ______________________________

organism

sea sponge, platypus, euglena

2nd ____________ - group of individuals of the same species that live together in the same area at the same time.

Examples:__________________________

population

hive of bees, flock of birds, colony of yeast, grove of trees

3rd ___________ - all of the populations of different species that live and interact together.

Examples:________________________________

community

all the populations on the prairie or wetland

4th _____________- a community of organisms and its abiotic environment

Examples: __________________________

ecosystem

coral reef, desert

5th ____________- all the related ecosystems in an area

Example: _____________________________

biome

rainforest, desert, grassland

6th _____________ - the part of the Earth where life exists.

biosphere

Living Things Need Energy

_____________ - make their own food

examples: __________________________

producers

plants, some bacteria, some protists

_____________ - obtain their energy by eating producers or other consumers

consumers

__________ - eat plants and other producers

examples: ___________________________

herbivores

deer, bison, zebras

______________ - eat animals

examples: _________________________

carnivores

polar bears, T-rex, wolves

______________ - eat producers and animals

examples: ________________________________

omnivores

squirrels, turtles, humans

______________ - eat bodies of dead animals

examples: _____________________________

scavengers

vulture, hyena, cockroach

_____________ - obtain their energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms

examples: _________________________________

decomposer

fungi, some bacteria, some protists

• We can make drawings to illustrate how energy is transferred from one living thing to another in a community.

• __________- shows how the energy moves from one organism to another

•  Note: energy always goes in only one direction.

For example, owls eat mice but mice never eat owls.

Food Chain

Draw a food chain:

• __________-all of the interconnecting pathways of food chains

Food Web

• ____________- represents the loss of energy at each level of the food chain.

• The energy levels in the pyramid are called ___________.

• Look at the picture in your notes.

Energy Pyramid

Trophic levels

Habitat and Niche

• __________ - the environment in which the organism lives

• _________- an organism’s way of life within an ecosystem, including its habitat, food, predators, competitors, abiotic factors

Habitat

Niche

Very Close Interactions

__________- close, long-term relationship between two or more species

1. ___________- both organisms benefit

example: Bacteria in your intestine, they get free food, you get the vitamins they produce

Symbiosis

Mutualism

2. ____________- one benefits and the other is unaffected

example: Remoras get a ride and eat scraps of food left over by shark

Commensalism

3. ___________- one benefits and the other is harmed

Example: Tapeworms

The organism

that has the

parasite is called

the host.

Parasitism