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Ecosystems

Ecosystems. Levels of Organization in Ecology. What is the correct level of organization (think back to the card activity from our previous class)? a tom m olecule o rganelle c ell t issue organ o rgan system o rganism p opulation c ommunity e cosystem.

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Ecosystems

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  1. Ecosystems

  2. Levels of Organization in Ecology • What is the correct level of organization (think back to the card activity from our previous class)? • atom • molecule • organelle • cell • tissue • organ • organ system • organism • population • community • ecosystem Wikimedia Commons free use from NASA

  3. Populations vs. Communities • What is the difference between a biological population and a biological community? • A biological population is a group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same area at the same time, while a biological community is made of interacting populations in a certain time.

  4. Limiting Factors • Do populations often grow exponentially? • What are limiting factors? • Limiting factors are any factors (things) that affect an organism’s ability to survive in its environment. These factors affect population growth. • Examples? • availability of food and water, predators, temperature, space/shelter, and disease

  5. Density-Dependent Factors • What are density-dependent factors? • Factors that depend upon the size of the population. These factors will have an increasing effect as the population size increases. • Examples? • availability of food and water, competition, predators, and disease

  6. Competition • What is competition? • Competition is one of the many symbiotic relationships occurring in nature. Members of species compete for resources, especially for limited natural resources. • Examples? • trees that grow very close together vie for sunlight and soil nutrients, lions and tigers that vie for similar prey, and a farm of rice paddies with weeds growing in the field

  7. Competition • What happens to competition between individuals as population size increases? • Competition will also increase. • If the demand for resources exceeds the supply, then the population size will eventually decrease.

  8. Density-Independent Factors • What are density-independent factors? • Factors that are not dependent upon the size of the population and can affect any population. • Examples? • temperature, weather (storms, floods, drought), and habitat disruption by humans

  9. Carrying Capacity • The maximum number of individuals that an environment can support. • Why is knowing carrying capacity important to ecologists?

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