Download What is Ecology - Effingham County Schools

What is Ecology
The study of the interactions among
living things and their environment
Where on Earth does life exist?
Life exists in
the biosphere.
The levels of Organization in the
Biosphere
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Species
Biosphere
Biome
Let
me break
it
Down!
Part of Earth where life exits
Ecosystems with the same
climate and communities
Ecosystem
All living and nonliving factors in a
particular environment
Community
Group of different species that live
together in one area
A group of the same species living in
one area
An organism, an individual
Population
Species
Good job
my
friend!
Biomes
A biome is a large ecosystem
characterized by a distinctive type of
vegetation and maintained under the
climatic conditions of the region. Biomes
can be either terrestrial or aquatic.
Biomes
Terrestrial
• Tundra
• Northern Coniferous
Forest
• Deciduous Forest
• Grasslands
• Deserts
• Tropical Forests
• Shrub Lands
Aquatic
• Freshwater
• Marine Water
• Estuaries
Tundra
• Few plant species
survive the cold,
severe climate
• Permafrost: ground
below the surface is
always frozen
Georgia Lake Ecosystem
• Biosphere
• Biome:
Deciduous
Forest
• Ecosystem:
trees, animals,
rocks, air,
water, soil, etc..
• Community:
Georgia Lake
• Population:
fish
• Species: Trout
FIsh
Name:________________
Levels of Organization Illustration
• Create/Illustrate the levels of organization in a marine
aquatic environment or the tropical rainforest.
• Include: biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community,
population, species
• Have fun !!!
Ecology
• All ecosystems are made of living and nonliving
things.
• Biotic Factors: living things such as plants, animals,
fungi, and bacteria
• Abiotic Factors: nonliving things such as wind, air,
soil, and rocks
Think of the
rainforest biome and
list 5 biotic factors
and 5 abiotic factors
of this biome.
Take a Moment and Think
What is biodiversity?
Variety of living things in an
Ecosystem
Explain keystone species.
A species that has a large effect
on an ecosystem
All organisms in an ecosystem must have a
source of energy in order to survive.
• Producer/Autotroph: organisms that use the energy
from the sun through photosynthesis or utilize
chemosynthesis to make their own food.
• Consumer/Heterotroph: organisms that consume
other organisms for their food source.
There are 5 types of
Consumers/Heterotrophs
• Herbivores: eat only
plants
• Carnivores: eat other
animals
• Omnivores: eat both
plants and animals
• Detrivores: eat detritus
(dead organic matter)
• Decomposers:
detrivores that break
down dead organic
matter into simpler
compounds
Get with a friend
and think of 2
examples for each
type of consumer.
Food Chain and Food Web
Food chains and food
webs show the feeding
relationships and
movement of energy
from organism to
organism.
Food Chain
• Food Chain: a series
of steps in which
organisms transfer
energy by eating and
being eaten.
• Take a Moment :
Using the following
organisms, create a
simple food chain.
Remember the arrow
points to the belly the
organism goes in.
Rabbit
Sun
Hawk
Bacteria
Grass
• Each level in
a food chain
is referred to
as a trophic
level.
Food Web
• Food Web: a
complex
network of
feeding
relationships.
Symbiotic Relationships
Mutualism: both species benefit
Commensalism: one species benefits and the
other is neither harmed nor benefited
Parasitism: one species benefits and the other is
harmed