Transcript Ecology is…the study of how living things interact with their

Ecology is…the study of
how living things interact
with their environment.
Living
things have an effect on their
environment and the environment has an
effect on living things.

Okay…turn to your neighbor and see if you
can come up with an example of each.
Ecological Heirarchy (Whaaa?)
1. Biosphere
2. Ecosystem
3. Community
4. Population
5. Organism
1. The Biosphere
 All
of the world’s ecosystems
together.
 The
inhabitable portion of the
lithosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere.
2. ECOSYSTEMS
An ECOSYSTEM is…all of the living AND
non-living things within an area.
 A HABITAT is the place where an
organism gets FOOD, WATER, and
SHELTER.
 An ecosystem can have many different
types of habitats within it.
 Let’s look at the components that make up
an ECOSYSTEM…shall we?

Types of Factors in an Ecosystem
1.
2.
BIOTIC Factors- These are the living
things in the ecosystem…all of ‘em! This
includes the plants and animals as well as
microorganisms (like bacteria).
ABIOTIC Factors- These are the nonliving things. They include WATER,
SUNLIGHT, OXYGEN, TEMPERATURE,
and SOIL. Let’s look at these a little
closer.
ABIOTIC FACTORS
1.
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Water- Ok, that’s a no-brainer…ever
been thirsty? Well you ain’t alone. So
has every other living thing on the planet.
You’re not special…get over it.
Most living things are mostly
water…mostly (70% +/-)!
Water is a crucial reactant in
photosynthesis and respiration. Oh…now
you wanna know what crucial means.
2.
3.
Sunlight- Yup…you need that for
photosynthesis (well…not “you”
unless you happen to be a
photosynthetic
autotroph…uhhh…that’s a plant or
certain bacteria).
Oxygen- Most living things need this
gas. Air breathing critters get it from
the air (duh!). Others get it from the
water (there’s oxygen dissolved in
the water).
2.
Temperature- Every living thing has a
range of temperatures within which it can
survive. Ever go outside in the middle of
winter without a coat? Well…there’s yer
limit right there. Come on in or DIE
(ok…not instantly or anything dramatic like
that…but eventually…never mind…just
come back inside). There’s actually a
name for this…Range of Tolerance.
Shhhh! It’s high school stuff…don’t tell
anyone you learned that 
3. COMMUNITIES
A
COMMUNITY consists of all of
the populations that live in an
area…that’s all of the bunches of
different living organisms.
 So…now…turn
to another person
and see if you guys can think of a
specific ecosystem and list the
community members within it.
4. POPULATION
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What are these? Well, I am glad you
asked…a population consists of ALL of the
members of ONE SPECIES that live in a
particular area.
The area can be huge (the entire Earth) or
really small (a drop of water).
Some populations migrate (they don’t stay
in one place)
5. Organism

An individual living thing.
One saguaro cactus
One Atlantic sailfish
One Escheria coli bacterium
One grey wolf
1.List: as many BIOTIC and ABIOTIC factors as you can find...separate lists
please 
2. What is the difference between a population and a community?
3. How is a community different from an ecosystem? How are they similar?
Interactions Among Living Things
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An Organism’s Adaptations Enable it to Survive.
Populations of organisms can accumulate
beneficial adaptations over time depending upon
the nature of their environment…that’s called
NATURAL SELECTION…more on that when we
study evolution.
Anyway, every organism has a unique role in it’s
ecosystem…that’s called a NICHE.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The NICHE includes:
Type of food
How food is obtained
What organisms eat THIS one.
When and how reproduction takes
place
Physical conditions required for
survival
How the organism interacts with
other organisms.
Interactions Among Organisms
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1.
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Let’s look at some major types of
interactions
COMPETITION
The struggle between organisms to
survive in a habitat with limited resources.
Resources include food, water, space,
and mates.
Predator-Prey Relationships
Predators their behavior is
called…PREDATION.
One organism hunts and kills another.
The predator does the killin’ and eatin’.
The prey does the gettin’ killed and et.
PREDATOR ADAPTATIONS: speed,
sharp teeth and/or claws, venom, night
vision, radar, infrared spotting scopes and
air to ground rockets…ok…I made that
last one up.
2.
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PREY ADAPTATIONS: Camouflage,
protective coverings, warning coloration,
mimicry, false coloring
Predation can have a major affect upon
prey populations.
If the death rate exceeds the birth
rate…population goes down.
Predators and prey have an important
relationship. When we interrupt this natural
balance…trouble 
SYMBIOSIS
A close relationship between two
species in which at least one species
benefits.

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MUTUALISM: Both benefit (+/+). Such as
the clownfish and sea anemone. Each one
protects the other against predators.
COMMENSALISM: One benefits, the other
gets squat (+/0). Example: remoras hitch
rides on sharks and eat the scraps from the
shark’s meal. The shark don’t get nuthin’.

PARASITISM: One organism benefits; the
other organism is harmed (+/-). The
organism that benefits is called the parasite,
and the one that is harmed is called the
host. Example Fleas and dogs.