Transcript Soil types determine what plants and animals can live in an area

Ecology is the study of interactions
among organisms and their
environment.
Ecologists are scientists who study these
relationships. Ecologists divide the
environmental factors that influence
organisms into two groups (abiotic and
biotic factors).
Many times,
ecologists must
travel to specific
environments to
examine the
organisms that live
there.
Abiotic factors are the
nonliving parts of the
environment.
Water is needed
by all organisms
for cell and life
processes.
Light and temperature
determine where plants and
animals can live.
Air gases such as oxygen,
nitrogen, and carbon
dioxide are needed by
most species.
Soil types
determine what
plants and animals
can live in an area.
Soil provides a
home for many
species of animals.
Biotic factors are living
or once-living parts of
the environment.
All
members of
one species
living
together
form a
population.
Communities
are groups of
populations
that interact
with each other
in a given area.
An ecosystem is the
biotic community and its
abiotic factors.
Examples of ecosystems
include coral reefs,
forests, and ponds.
Biomes are large areas
containing several
ecosystems.
The biosphere includes the top layer of the
Earth’s crust, all waters, and the
atmosphere.
Characteristics of Populations
The population size is the
number of individuals in a
population. The size of a
population is always
changing.
The size of the human
population is increasing each
year.
The population
density is the number
of individuals in a
particular area.
This shows the population density of the
northern bobwhite birds in the United States.
Population Spacing is how organisms
are arranged in an area.
•Evenly Spaced- consistent distance
between organisms
•Randomly Spaced- individual location
is independent of other individuals’
locations (wind/birds disperse seeds)
•Clumped Spacing- organisms group
together (herds, flocks)
A limiting factor is a biotic or abiotic
factor that restricts the size of a
population.
•Food can be a limiting factor if the
amount of food can only support a
certain number of an animal in a
population.
The carrying capacity is the
maximum population size
that can live in an
environment over time.
The biotic potential is the size a
population could reach if no
limiting factors stopped its
growth.
•Most populations never reach
their biotic potential.
•Symbiosis is the close interactions
between species.
•Symbiotic relationships can be
identified by the type of interaction
between organisms.
Symbiosis
• A symbiotic relationship that benefits both
species, it is termed mutualism. ex: moth
and yucca plant
• Commensalism is a form of symbiosis that
helps one species but has no effect on the
other. Ex: flatworms and horseshoe crabs
• When one species is harmed and the
other benefits, it is parasitism. Ex: some
mistletoe and trees
Predation- occurs when one
species hunts, kills, and eats
another organism.
Owls use their
senses of sight and
hearing to hunt for
mice (their prey) in
the dark.
Habitat- where the organism lives
Niche- an organism’s function in
its ecosystem. It can also be
described as its role or job in the
ecosystem.
An earthworm’s habitat is soil.
An earthworm’s niche includes
loosening, aerating, and
enriching the soil.