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Name_____________________________________________ Date_____________ Period____________
Topic: Introduction
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) What is the environment?
2) What is ecology?
3) Components of the environment:
a) Group I:
b) Group II:
4) What is the smallest level of ecological organization?
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5) What is a population?
6) What is a habitat?
7 What is a community?
7) What is an ecosystem?
8) What is a biome?
a) Tropical Rain Forest Biome:
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9) What is the biosphere?
10) Identify each level:
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Topic: Limiting Factors & Carrying Capacity
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) Relationships in an Ecosystem:
2) What factors can affect the size of a population?
3) What abiotic factors limit the size of a population?
4) What biotic factors limit the size of a population?
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5) What are some examples of competition in an ecosystem?
a) Indirect Competition –
b) Direct Competition –
6) What is going on in these graphs?
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7) What is Carrying Capacity?
8) What will happen to new, small populations?
9) Can the carrying capacity of an environment change?
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Topic: Niche
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) Does everybody in a community have the same job?
2) What is the niche of a plant population in a community?
3) What is the role of herbivores in a community?
4) What is the role of carnivores in a community?
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5) What is the niche of bacteria and fungi?
6) Why are decomposers the “recyclers” of the ecosystem?
7) What is a scavenger’s niche?
8) What would happen if two organisms occupied the same niche?
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Topic: Food Chains
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) Why do organisms need to eat?
2) Organism Categories:
Organisms
3) Organism Categories:
Consumers
4) Ecosystem Relationships:
a) Parasitism –
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b) Mutualism –
c) Commensalism –
5) How do the cows we eat get their energy?
6) How do producers get their energy?
7) How is energy transferred in a community?
8) In which direction is energy moving?
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9) Food Chains:
10) Food Webs:
11) Energy Pyramid:
12) Sun’s Energy in the Ecosystem:
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13) Why is there so little energy at the top of the pyramid?
14) Ecological Pyramids:
Pyramid of Numbers
Energy Pyramid
Biomass Pyramid
15) In which direction is energy flowing?
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Topic: Biodiversity
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) What is meant by the “Circle of Life”?
2) Why are there so many different species on earth?
3) What is biodiversity?
4) Why is biodiversity so important?
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5) What happens to an ecosystem if the biodiversity decreases?
6) How does great biodiversity maintain ecosystem stability?
7) Which ecosystem has greater stability?
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8) How is biodiversity lost?
9) Why is biodiversity important to us?
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Topic: Cycles
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) Material Cycles:
2) The Water Cycle:
3) The Carbon/Oxygen Cycle:
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4) The Nitrogen Cycle:
5) Is energy ever recycled?
6) Could life on earth exist without a continuous influx of solar energy?
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Topic: Succession
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) What is ecological succession?
2) Ecological Succession in a Forest:
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3) Ecological Succession in Ponds & Lakes:
4) What is the final state of ecological succession?
5) Destruction of Climax Communities:
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Topic: Biomes (SAT II)
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
1) How are biomes classified?
2) Terrestrial Biomes
a. Tundra
1)
2) Mosses, lichens (mutualistic
relationship between fungi and algae),
grasses. No large plants.
3) Caribou, Reindeer, Arctic Hare
4)
b. Taiga (Coniferous Forests)
1) Towering cone-bearing trees
2)
3) Moose, elk, bears
c. Deciduous Forests
1)
2)
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d. Grasslands (Savanna)
1) Grasslands with scattered trees
2)
3) Grazing Animals- Zebra, Antelope
4) Carnivores- lions, cheetahs, hyenas
e. Grasslands (Temperate Grasslands)
1) Characterized by deep, nutrient-rich
soil that supports a variety of grass
species and other plants.
2)
3)
f. Tropical Rainforest
1)
2)
3)
4) Little light reaches the floor
5) Tree-dwelling animals- monkeys,
birds, snakes, bats
g. Deserts
1)
2)
3) Cacti are common
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3) Aquatic Biomes
a. Marine (Salt Water)
i. Zones (Distance from Shore)
 Intertidal Zone- the area of shore between high-tide and low-tide lines.
Subject to periods of dryness and total submersion in water.
Barnacles, clams, crab.
 Neritic Zone- extends from the intertidal zone to the edge of the
continental shelf. Water is fairly shallow and sunlight can reach the
bottom. Most coral reefs are found here, supporting a wide variety of
organisms.
 Oceanic Zone- the vast open ocean from the continental shelf outward.
Many species are large, free-swimming animals.
ii.
Zones (Depth of Ocean)
 Photic Zone- extends from the surface of the water to the depth to
which light will penetrate.
 Aphotic Zone- no photosynthesis can occur
 Benthic Zone- ocean floor
 Pelagic Zone- open water, above the benthic zone
b. Freshwater Biomes
 Littoral Zone- this zone is found near the shore of a lake. Plants grow
here.
 Limnetic Zone- This zone is farther from the shore and extends
downward as far as light will penetrate.
 Profundal Zone- this is the aphotic region of the lake.
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Topic: Animal Behavior (SAT II)
Aim # _______:___________________________________________________________________________
I.
Instinctive Behavior: Refers to behaviors that are not learned. It is an inherited behavior.
A. Fixed-Action Pattern: an instinctive behavior that occurs as an unchangeable sequence of
actions. A FAP is usually triggered by a specific stimulus. An animal can only perform a
FAP as a whole “script”, from the beginning to end.
Examples:
 Mother birds feeding offspring
 Baby ducks swimming
 Mating rituals
 Suckling behaviors
 Displays of territoriality
B. Imprinting: is learning that is limited to a specific time period in an animal’s life and that
is usually irreversible.
Example:
 The newly hatched bird will follow the first moving
object it sees. Imprinting occurs during a critical period
shortly after birth.
*Has learned and unlearned components.
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II.
Learned Behaviors: A change in an animal’s behavior resulting from experience.
A. Habituation: Occurs when a non-harmful stimulus is repeated over and over again and the
organism learns to ignore it.
Example: You first notice the ticking of a clock, but after several minutes you don’t notice it
anymore.
B. Conditioning: Learning that a particular stimulus or a particular response is linked to a
reward or punishment. Sometimes referred to as associative learning.
1. Classical Conditioning: The type of learning, in which an otherwise
meaningless stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment. Eventually,
the animal learns to respond to the stimulus even in the absence of a reward or
punishment.
Example: Pavlov’s Dog
2. Operant Conditioning: A form of trial-and-error learning. An animal learns to
associate one of its behavioral acts with a positive or negative effect. The animal
tends to repeat the response if it is rewarded and avoids the response if it is
harmed.
Examples:
 Lion learns to avoid porcupine
after being injured by quills.

Rat learns to press a button
because every time it presses the
button it gets a food pellet.
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C. Insight Learning (Reasoning): The ability to respond appropriately to a new situation
without previous experience.
III.
Intraspecific Interactions:
A. Pecking Order: Dominant member of the species will prevail over subordinate one. This
established hierarchy minimizes violent intraspecific aggressions and stabilizes social
groups.
B. Territoriality: Animals typically defend an area from other members of the same species.
Scent markings are common among mammals to alert other members of the species to stay
away.
C. Courtship Behaviors: Animals perform elaborate behaviors before mating. May indicate
signs of a healthy mate.
IV.
Rhythms of Behavior:
A. Circadian Rhythms: an innate rhythm with a cycle of about 24 hours. Is affected by
environmental cues.
Examples:
 Jet-Lag
 Sleep and wakefulness
 Eating times
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