Ecology Review

1. Ecology Review 2010-2011

2. Mav Mark11/28/11 What is the difference between a biotic and an abiotic factor?

3. Mav Mark11/29/11 List in order the levels of ENVIRONMENTAL organization.

4. Mav Mark11/30/11 Explain the difference between an organism’s habitat and its niche.

5. Mav Mark12/1/11 What is a structural adaptation? How can it help an organism survive?

6. Mav Mark12/2/11 What is a behavioral adaptation? How can it help an organism survive?

7. Mav Mark12/5/11 Explain the role of a producer, consumer, and a decomposer in an ecosystem.

8. Mav Mark12/6/11 Test Day Take out one sheet of paper and a pencil and clear your desk.

9. I. Levels of Organization • Cells → Tissues → Organs → Organ Systems → Organisms • Organism → Species → Population → Community → Ecosystem

10. I. Levels of Organization • An organism is a living thing. • A species is a group of organism that share most characteristics and can breed with one another. • A population is composed of all the organism of a species that live in the same place at the same time.

11. I. Levels of Organization • A community is made up of all the populations that live in an area at the same time. • An ecosystem is made up of one or more communities and their nonliving environment.

12. Biotic: Things living or were alive. Abiotic: Nonliving A. Factors in an ecosystem

13. Organism Population Community Ecosystem A Squirrel All the squirrels in the forest The squirrels, trees, grass, bushes, birds, insects, deer in the forest The squirrels, trees, grass, bushes, birds, insects, deer in the forest AND water, sunlight, rocks, soil I. Levels of Organization

14. B. Ecosystem • Aquatic: Marine & Freshwater ecosystems • Terrestrial: Land ecosystem

15. C. Roles in an ecosystem • Habitat: place where an organism lives • Niche: how an organism acts within its ecosystem (Its job)

16. II. Types of Adaptation • Adaptation is anything that helps an organism survive in its environment.  • It also refers to the ability of living things to adjust to different conditions within their environments.  • Structural adaptation • Protective coloration • Mimicry • Behavior adaptations • Migration • Hibernation/Estivation

17. A. Structural adaptations • A structural adaptation involves some part of an animal's body. • Teeth • Body coverings    • Movement

18. 1. Protective Coloration • Colorationand protective resemblance allow an animal to blend into its environment.  • Another word for this might be camouflage.  Their camouflage makes it hard for enemies to single out individuals.  

19. 2. Mimicry • Mimicry allows one animal to look, sound, or act like another animal to fool predators into thinking it is poisonous or dangerous.  

20. B. Behavior adaptations • Behavior adaptations include activities that help an animal survive.  • Behavior adaptations can be learned or instinctive. • Social behavior   • Behavior for protection  

21. 1. Migration • Animals migrate for different reasons.  • better climate • better food • safe place to live • safe place to raise young • go back to the place they were born. • This is a behavioural adaptation that involves an animal or group of animals moving from one region to another and then back again. 

22. This is deep sleep in which animal’s body temp drops, body activities are slowed to conserve energy. E.g. Bats, woodchucks & mice. 2. Hibernation

23. What about Bears? • Bears do not actually hibernate. Bears do go into long periods of sleep during the winter months, but do not drop their body temperature and wake up more often than animals that experience true hibernation.

24. 3. Estivation This is a period of reduced activity in the summer months that allows animals that live in very hot climates to conserve energy and resources. Ex. Desert squirrels and mice

25. III. Adaptation leads to Evolution • Evolution is the process by which species change over time. (Explained by natural selection.) • Variation: Differences in traits among members of the same species. (Ones with more useful traits survive and reproduce) • Extinction: Permanent dying out of species of organisms.

26. IV. Energy flow in Ecosystems • Producers (autotroph) : an organism that makes its own food usually through photosynthesis. • Plants, algae, and some bacteria • Consumers (Heterotroph): an organism that cannot make its own food, but must consume another organism to obtain energy (ex. All animals, some plants) • Primary Consumer: Eats producers/plants • Secondary Consumer: Eats primary consumers • Tertiary Consumer: Eats secondary consumers

27. IV. Energy flow in Ecosystems • Decomposers: an organism that meets its energy needs by breaking down the remains of dead organisms to feed on them. • Ex. Fungi and bacteria • Some organisms can be both decomposers and consumers like earthworms and insects

28. IV. Energy flow in Ecosystems • Food Chains: show the flow of energy from producer to different levels of consumers to decomposers. • Food Webs: an interconnected network of food chains within an ecosystem

29. IV. Energy flow in Ecosystems • Energy Pyramid: shows flow of energy • Wide base = amount of energy in producers • Next Levels = amount of energy obtained by each group of consumers. • Shape of pyramid shows a decrease in energy at each trophic level

30. Biome : large groups of ecosystems that have similar climates and organisms. Types of biomes: Desert Tropical Savannah Tropical Rain Forest Temperate Grassland Temperate Woodland Temperate deciduous forest Coniferous forest Taiga Tundra Marine Freshwater V. Biomes

31. VI. Symbiosis: Close interaction between species • Commensalism: 1 benefits while the other is unaffected. • Parasitism:1 benefits, while the other is harmed • Mutualism: Both Benefit