Ecology

1. Ecology Please take notes on page 41 of your spiral.

2. Ecology Ecosystem- All of the living and non-living things that interact in a particular area. Biotic –living things: plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria Abiotic – Non-living things: soil, rocks, water, air, temperature, and the Sun.

3. Interactions of life Population- organisms of the same species in a particular place. Community- All the populations of plants and animals (organisms) in an area Two types of communities are: Aquatic- in or around a body of water Terrestrial- on land

4. Interactions of life continued • Biomes- large areas with similar climates and ecosystems • Biosphere- the part of the Earth that supports life which consists of the top portion of the Earth’s crust, all waters on the surface, and surrounding atmosphere.

5. Interactions of life continued • The Sun is the original source of energy on the Earth. • Organisms need food, water, and living space.

6. Energy Roles • Niche- The role or function of each species of organisms in the ecosystem in which it lives. Includes: • Type of food it eats • How it obtains this food • Physical conditions it needs to survive and reproduce. • Organisms that feed on it.

7. Energy Roles • An organism’s energy role is determined by how it obtains energy and how it interacts with the other living things in its ecosystem. • Producer (autotrophs): Organisms that are able to capture the energy of sunlight through photosynthesis and store it as energy.

8. Energy Roles continued • Consumers (Heterotrophs): Organisms that feed on other organisms. {can not make their own food} Examples are animals – Classified by what they eat: Herbivores- eat only plants. Carnivores- eat only meat. Omnivores- eat both plants and animals. Scavengers- carnivore that eat dead organisms.

9. Energy Roles continued • Decomposers: Organisms that bring about decay of dead organisms: Example are: fungi, mushrooms Carnivores & Omnivores can be predators (those that kill for food) or can be prey ( the animal hunted by the predator)

10. Energy Movement • Food chain: The transfer of energy through a community of organisms. Simple food chain – a series of producers and consumers in which energy is passed on when the consumer eats a producer or another consumer. • Food web: A complex feeding system which contains several food chains. This documents that consumers eat more than on type of food.

11. Energy Movement continued • Energy Pyramid- Shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web. On an energy pyramid the producers are the bottom and consumers are on the top. More producers than there are consumers. At each level there are fewer and fewer consumers. Only about 10% of energy is transferred to the next level and 90% is used for the organisms’ life process or is loss as heat.