Transcript Unit 10: Ecology

Unit 10: Ecology
The living and non living environment
Ecology is the study of Ecosystems. Studying the interactions
and interdependence of biotic and abiotic factors
A. Levels of Organization
SMALL & NUMEROUS
atom 
molecule 
organelle 
cell (start of life) 
tissue 
organ 
organ system 
organism 
___________ 
____________ 
____________ 
____________ 
__________ (Earth)
LARGE & FEW
1. __________ – members of the
____________ living in the same area
All the red eye
bull frogs in the
All
the red eye
pond
2. ____________ – groups of
bull frogs, the
_________ living in the same area
turtles, plants,
heron, flies,
3. _____________ – interaction and
All
theand
redall
eye
ants,
interdependence of _____ and ____
bull
livingfrogs,
in thethe
factors in a specific area
turtles,
pond plants,
_____________ = ________
heron, flies,
parts of the environment
ants, and all
____________ = all the _____
living in the
organisms in an environment
pond plus all
the non-living
4. ______ – group of _________ with the
same _______ and similar dominant _______parts of the
pond
5. __________ = area from high in the atmosphere to
deep in the oceans that supports life
B. Stability in the Ecosystem
1. ____________________
energy needs to be incorporated into the ecosystem
2. _____________________
reuse and recycle materials between organisms and
environment
3. ____________ – non-living material in the ecosystem
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Abiotic factors often act as _____________, determining
how many organisms can survive in the
ecosystem.
4. ________________ – living material in the ecosystem
a) _________ – organisms that can capture energy to make
their own food from inorganic compounds  _____________!
Autotrophs = ________________
CO2 + H2O + Light  C6H12O6 + O2
b) _____________ – eat preformed organic compounds
Heterotrophs = _______________
1) ____________ – feed exclusively on plants
2) ______________ – feed on animals
3) ________________ – feed on both plant and animal matter
4) _______________ – feed on dead animals
5) __________ / ____________ – feed on decaying matter
Detritivore = __________________
c) _______________
the ways in which organisms in the ecosystem __________
1) __________ (+,+) – both organisms benefit
2) _______________ (+,0) – one organism benefits from the
relationship the other organisms is neither helped nor
harmed in the relationship
3. __________ (+, -) – one organism benefits (parasite) the
other organism is harmed (host)
4) ________________________
- one organism feeds on the other
- It may seem that one organism is harmed but it actually helps
the species by removing ______________ from the population
 Stops ______________
d) _________________
- role of the organism in the ecosystem
- not just the organism’s feeding relationships but also
space, food, habitat, and other conditions it needs to survive
and reproduce
e) ______________
- organisms compete for food, shelter, space, mates
- determines which organisms survive  evolution
f) ____________________
- variety of life in an ecosystem
- more biodiversity  the more niches filled  more stable
ecosystem
C. ______________ in the Ecosystem
- For an ecosystem to be self-sustaining it needs a _______
flow of energy
- Life activities that organisms must perform to stay alive
require an ___________________
- Producers convert the ____________ into the ________
__________ in the bonds of ___________________
- Energy flows in __________ from the source to producers
to consumers
1. Food Chains
- simple representation of the
____________ through
organisms in the ecosystem
- Arrow shows the direction
of energy flow
- The arrow points to the
organism doing the _________
2. Food Webs
- many food chains put together – more accurate
representation of the ecosystem
- Energy has ____________________ to flow through
*Each step in the
food chain / web
represents
trophic levels
*At every level
decomposers
work to recycle
energy and
materials
3. Energy Pyramid
- represents the relative amounts of energy in each trophic
level
- 10% Rule – no more than ____________________________
to the next level
- At each successive energy level there is __________ energy
- The less energy the ____________ (amount of living matter)
- What happens if there are more organisms and more biomass
on a top level as compared to a level below it?
D. Material Cycles
- Materials and matter must be recycled in the ecosystem
- Materials must flow between biotic and abiotic systems
- Matter is not used up – it is only transformed
1) Water Cycle
a) Water moves between
the ocean, atmosphere,
and land
b) ______________,
__________________,
________________, and
___________________
c) Contamination
2) Carbon – Oxygen – Hydrogen Cycle
a) Carbon the key ingredient in all living organisms
b) transformed by the processes of _____________,
_____________, and _________________
1. What process transforms
low energy carbon
compounds to high energy
carbon compounds?
2. What can happen to the
carbon compounds in
organisms that die and decay
in the absence of O2?
3. What process releases
CO2 to the atmosphere?
4. What are the two major
reserves of CO2 on Earth?
5. How do plants and animals
help maintain a balance of
CO2 in the atmosphere?
6. Atmospheric CO2 produces
the “green-house effect” by
trapping heat near the Earth’s
surface. What human
activities increase the amount
of CO2?
3) Nitrogen Cycle
a) Organisms need nitrogen for amino acids  build proteins
b) Nitrogen Gas (N2) 78% of atmosphere, Ammonia (NH3),
Nitrates (NO3-), Nitrites (NO2-) found in wastes and decay
c) Nitrogen Fixation
 bacteria on legumes
N2  NH3  NO2-  NO3d) Denitritfying Bacteria
NO3-  N2
1. What percent of the Earth’s
atmosphere is composed of nitrogen
gas?
2. How do plants obtain the nitrogen
they need?
3. How do animals obtain the nitrogen
they need?
4. What is the role of decomposers in
the nitrogen cycle?
5. How is nitrogen returned to the
atmosphere?
6. What would happen to the
ecosystem if there was a decrease in
decomposition?