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Transcript
Characteristics of Life: 1. All living things are composed of cells: a. The cell is the simplest unit that is classified as living, anything smaller is not considered alive (i.e. atoms, molecules) i. Unicellular: microscopic organisms composed of only one cell (includes bacteria, archaea, and some eukaryotes); simple and self-sufficient ii. Multicellular: organisms made of more than one cell (eukaryotes); different types of cells perform specialized functions within an organism—each cell is NOT self-sufficient 2. All Living things reproduce: a. Organisms reproduce to continue their species b. Organisms do not need to reproduce for their own individual survival, but are driven to in order to promote the survival of their species c. Organisms can reproduce in two ways: i. Asexual Reproduction: An organism essentially clones itself; offspring are produced from a single parent who contributes 100% of the DNA ii. Sexual Reproduction: Two organisms combine genetic material to produce offspring; 50% of the offspring’s DNA comes from each parent 3. All living things display heredity: a. Organisms pass traits to offspring via a hereditary molecule— Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) i. Organisms receive their DNA and traits from their parent/parents (body structure, behaviors, appearance, etc.) 4. All living things grow and develop a. Living things can increase the number of cells, size of cells, arrangement of cells, and function of cells to grow (size) and develop (functionality) i. Cell enlargement (hypertrophy): Cells grow larger; cells are limited by the laws of physics on how large they can grow ii. Cell division (mitosis): Cells divide and increase in number; 1 become 2, 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 8, etc. 5. All living things respond to stimuli a. Organisms will respond to stimuli from their environment in order to continue life functions b. A stimulus (singular form of stimuli) is a sensory cue from the environment that causes a response from an organism—typically to aid survival or reproduction. 6. All living things undergo the processes of adaptation and evolution a. Adaptation is modification an organism undergoes in order to maximize survival in a given environment b. Over time and many generations, an organism can evolve through continual adaptation to improve its survivability and reproductive success c. Genetic variation and diversity are important factors for adaptation and evolution 7. All living things require energy a. In order to maintain life functions (growth, development, reproduction, metabolism, etc.) organisms need to obtain and process energy b. The ultimate source of energy that enables life on earth is the SUN. 8. All living things maintain homeostasis a. Living things maintain a stable and relatively constant internal conditions b. An organism has a range (temperature, pH, hydration, etc.) that is must stay in or risk harm/death. c. Some organisms have evolved mechanisms of dormancy or hibernation to endure in particularly harsh environmental conditions. Ecology The study of interactions between organisms and their environments. Ecology includes the study of individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere. Biotic Anything that is, or has ever been, alive. Examples of biotic factors in an environment include organisms, organic molecules, and cells. Biotic is the opposite of abiotic. Abiotic Anything that is not, nor has ever been, alive. Some examples of abiotic factors in an environment include precipitation, sunlight, and minerals. Abiotic is the opposite of biotic. Niche An organism's role in an environment, including how it uses its resources, relates to other organisms, and times its reproduction. Each individual organism has a niche in its population, community, and ecosystem, but niches are flexible and change depending on circumstances. Habitat The physical environment where a population of a single species lives, or inhabits. A habitat consists of all the abiotic, or nonliving, resources influencing the population. A habitat is only understood in terms of the population it describes. For instance, we say "the black bear habitat" or "the whale habitat." It doesn’t describe the entire ecosystem, or a community of organisms, or even the home of a single individual. Habitats of different species can and almost always do overlap. Autotroph Any living organism that makes its own food by converting simple inorganic molecules into complex organic compounds like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Autotrophs are often the "producers" in a food chain or web. Photoautotrophs use energy from light to make food, while chemoautotrophs obtain their energy from chemical reactions. Heterotroph An organism that cannot convert sunlight or chemicals into "food" (and by food, we mean carbohydrates). Heterotrophs must obtain their nutrients by consuming other organisms. All animals, all fungi, and some kinds of bacteria are heterotrophs. This means that all carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores are also heterotrophs. Trophic Level A description of the position occupied by an organism in a food chain or food web. Simply put, an organism’s trophic level is defined by what it eats and what eats it. Examples of trophic levels include producers, consumers, and decomposers. Primary Producer An autotrophic (food-making) organism at the base of a food chain or food web that obtains all of its energy from the nonliving environment. Examples of primary producers include plants, algae, and some types of bacteria. Primary producers obtain their energy either from the Sun, through photosynthesis, or from the surrounding abiotic environment, through chemosynthesis. Primary producers are always the first biotic sources of energy for an ecosystem. That’s why we call them "primary." They are eaten by primary consumers. Primary Consumer A heterotrophic organism near the base of a food chain or food web (see definitions) that obtains all or some of its energy by consuming primary producers (see definition). Examples of primary consumers include all the strict herbivores, like bovines, deer, and most insects, and all the omnivores, like most humans, many birds, and some monkeys. Strict herbivores are always primary consumers and are only eaten by secondary consumers. Omnivores can be primary, secondary, and even tertiary consumers, depending on what they are eating. They, themselves, can be eaten by secondary or, tertiary consumers. Energy Pyramid A triangularly shaped drawing showing how energy from the Sun moves through the biological components of an ecosystem. Producers, like plants and algae, are at the bottom of the pyramid, and tertiary consumers, like carnivores that eat carnivores, and detritivores, or decomposers, are at the top. Food Chain A simple, direct, and trophic, or eating, relationship among a group of organisms, where one organism, like a plant, is the food source for the next organism, like a cow, which in turn is the food source for the next organism, like a human, and so on and so forth. Food Web A complex trophic relationship among a group of organisms, consisting of interactions among multiple food chains (see definition above). A food web describes how multiple producers and consumers directly or indirectly interact in an ecosystem. Biomagnification The process by which some substances increase in concentration in a food chain or food web. Biomagnification occurs because certain substances, including some pesticides and heavy metals, are not easily degraded and can accumulate in organisms’ tissues or internal organs. Pregnant women are advised not to eat certain kinds of fish because of the potential for biomagnification of mercury, a heavy metal, in aquatic systems. Herbivore An organism that only eats tissue from autotrophic organisms, like plants and algae. Some examples of herbivores include members of the bovine family, like cows, bison, antelope, and sheep; members of the deer family, like moose, reindeer, and elk; and many insects, like leaf beetles, lady bugs, and aphids. Carnivore An organism that only eats animal tissue. Most predators and scavengers are exclusively carnivorous. Some examples of carnivores include members of the feline family, like lions, tigers, and house cats, and birds of prey, like eagles, hawks, and owls. Omnivore An organism that eats tissue from both plants and animals. Some examples of omnivores include members of the hominid family, like humans, chimpanzees, and orangutans, and many bird species, like hummingbirds, ducks, and woodpeckers. Decomposer An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead or decaying matter in the process of ecological decomposition. Examples of decomposers include fungi, like mushrooms and molds; worms, like earthworms and some nematodes; and some bacteria. Decomposers are also called saprotrophs, meaning "putrid eaters." Detritivore An organism that consumes detritus, aka decomposing organic matter, to obtain nutrients. All decomposers are detritivores, including fungi, worms, and some bacteria. Competition An interaction where individuals of different species—interspecific competition—or the same species—intraspecific competition—vie for limited resources. Examples of interspecific competition include trees of different species vying for limited sunlight in a rainforest, birds of different species vying for limited prey in a prairie, and even bacteria of different species vying for limited oxygen in your large intestine. Examples of intraspecific competition include lions vying for limited antelope in the Savannah; piglets vying for limited milk from their sow, or mom-pig; and even humans vying for limited space to build a home. Predation A type of species interaction where one organism, aka the predator, consumes, in part or in whole, another organism, aka the prey. Examples of predators include snakes and members of the big cat family, such as lynx. The difference between parasitism and predation is not always clear, but in general, predators kill their prey almost immediately while parasites live in or on their hosts for an extended period of time. Symbiosis An interaction between individuals of different species. Symbiotic relationships include mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism. They do not include predator-prey interactions. Mutualism: Two organisms interact in a way that is BENEFICIAL to both Ex. Bees and Flowers Commensalism: Two organisms interact in a way that is BENEFICIAL to one organism and has no impact (either beneficial or harmful) on the other. Ex. Clownfish and Sea Anemone Parasitism: Two organisms interact in a way that is BENEFICIAL to one organism and HARMFUL to the other Organism A single living member of a species. Ex. Humans, wolf, cucumber plant, etc. Population A group of organisms of the same species living in the same geographic area, like a swamp, a lake, a mountaintop, or an island. Ecologists sometimes debate the concept of a population, but in general, they accept that a population consists of individuals that all have a greater chance of breeding with each other than with individuals inhabiting areas beyond the population’s geographic "borders." Keep in mind, though, that population "borders" are often fuzzy and may overlap with other populations. Hey, we told you that there was a debate. Community A group of two or more populations of organisms from different species inhabiting the same location at the same time. While humans often refer to their "community" as being a part of a group of other humans who live in the same small geographic location, a human population’s true ecological community includes all of the other organisms from other species in the area as well. Communities are composed only of biotic factors, aka living organisms. Abiotic factors like sunlight, temperature, and terrain are not considered part of a community; these factors are part of the ecosystem, which can contain one or more communities of organisms. Ecosystem A term describing all the living and nonliving things in a certain location. Ecosystem studies in ecology explore the interactions between organisms, like individuals, populations, or communities, and the abiotic components in the environment, like chemicals, landscapes, and the like. Biome A large grouping of area that contains a number of different ecosystems. The defining characteristics of a biome are the dominant plant life and the climate. Examples include Deserts, Rainforests, Deciduous Forests, Savannahs, etc. Biosphere The entire area of the earth that supports life. The biosphere is made up of all of the individuals, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes found on Earth.