Download Ecology =

Period: ____ Name: ___________________________________ Teacher: ___________________
Ecology Notes
6. MAKE A FOOD PYRAMID ON YOUR OWN:
a. Fish feed on zooplankton; Zooplankton on algae and sharks feed on fish. Make a food
pyramid.
b. What would happen to each of the following levels if sharks became extinct (increase or
decrease)?
 Fish – ___________________
 Zooplankton – ___________________
 Algae – ___________________

EVALUATING CHANGES IN AN ECOSYSTEM:
The tree is an organism in our ecosystem that is being overused. It is used as firewood, paper,
lumber and other various duties. Replanting trees is an effort that will increase tree numbers, yet
the time to grow the trees cannot keep up with how quickly trees are being cut and used….
a. How can this decrease in trees affect our ecosystem?
People begin to replant trees in an effort to increase the number of trees in our ecosystem.
b. How would replanting trees affect the rest of the other biotic factors of our ecosystem?
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Biological Magnification
I. Biological Magnification = organisms that are higher in the food chain will
obtain/retain/accumulate more pesticides or chemicals.
II. What happens to the amount of chemicals in an organism if the chemicals do not leave the
body?
III. As you move up a food chain, energy will __decrease__ because it is being used. As you
move up a food chain, pesticides will ___increase__ because it is not used (stays in the
body).
a. On the pyramid and food chain, identify where there is more energy and less
energy –and- more pesticide and less pesticide
SYMBIOSIS
I.
SYMBIOSIS--any relationship in which __ species live _____ _ together.
II. There are 3 Types of Symbiotic Relationships:
a. Mutualism — a relationship in which _____ __ species _______ from the
relationship.
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b. Commensalism — a relationship in which one species _____ __ from the
relationship and the other is _____________________ __.
c. Parasitism — a relationship in which one organism lives ____ or __ _ another
organism and _harms__ it.
III. EXAMPLES: Identify the symbiotic relationship being described in each situation below.
A. A flea feeds on the blood of a cat or dog.__________________________
B. Aphids and ants live together. The ants care for the aphids and protect them. The
aphids produce a sweet liquid that the ants drink.
______________________
C. Barnacles stick to the surface of whales. They benefit by finding a habitat on the
whale where nutrients are available. The whales are neither hurt nor are they
helped by this relationship.
___________________________
NON-SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
I. PREDATION – an interaction in which one organism _____ _____ and _____ __ on
another organism.
a. The organism that does the killing and eating is the ________ ___.
b. The organism that gets eaten is the _______ ____.
II. Predation EXAMPLE:_______________________________________
Ecological Succession
I. What is Ecological Succession?
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II. Primary Succession
a. Gradual growth of organisms in an area that was previously bare, such as rock.
b. Steps of Primary Succession.
Prediction
Picture
Description
1. Begins in a place without any soil Bare rock
2. The lichens grow on rocks. They
do not need soil to survive.
3. Simple plants like mosses and
ferns can grow in the new soil
4. The simple plants die, adding more
organic material (nutrients to the
soil). The soil layer thickens.
Grasses, wildflowers, small
shrubs begin to take over.
5. The simple plants die, and
they add more nutrients to
the soil. Shrubs and
trees can survive now
6. Forest (larger trees)
(Climax Community)
last stage of succession.
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Time-->--5yrs------10yrs-------------50yrs----------100yrs------------------------300yrs
c. Examples of primary succession:
i. __________________________________________________________
III. Pioneer Species- The first organisms to grow in a bare area.
IV. Climax Community- A stable group of plants and animals that is the end result of the
succession process
a. Will a climax community look the same in all environments?
b. What factors limit the type of climax community in a climax community?
___________________________________________________________
V. Secondary Succession:
a. Begins in a place that already has soil
and was once the home of living
organisms. (much faster than primary
succession because a thick layer of soil
is already present.)
b. Grasses grow first, followed by shrubs,
and then finally a forest.
Time---> ---5yrs---50-----100yrs-------200yrs
Time---> --------5yrs------10yrs----------50yrs-----------100yrs-----------------200yrs
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a. Example of Secondary Succession:
i. ________________________________
ii. ________________________________
iii. ________________________________
iv. ________________________________
VI. Identify each of the following as an example of primary succession or secondary
succession. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
a. An old house was torn down. Small weeds and grasses grew in the vacant lot.
Over the next few years, bushes and tree seedlings began to grow.
____________________________________________________________
b. An undersea volcano erupted and formed a small island. Mosses and lichens
began to grow on the bare volcanic rock.
__________________________________________________________
c.
A logging company cut down all the large spruce trees in an area of forest. After
the area was cleared, spruce seedlings began to sprout. Rabbits, birds, and deer
returned to the area.
Notes: Ecology
REVIEW BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS
Biotic –
Abiotic –
Elements are crucial for life and must ________________ through the environment
Cycles of elements are ________________
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Nitrogen Cycle:
1. Look at the picture and describe how nitrogen is used by both abiotic and biotic
factors in the environment. What is the relationship between these two factors?
2. Highlight the cycle.
3. Importance to life:
a. Nitrogen is an important component of ______________.
Elements=___________. Also a component of
___________________________________. Elements=____________.
b. The nitrogen found in the air is in form that
________________________________cannot use.
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c. Use the picture to determine how we get nitrogen in a form that living things can
use.
i. Nitrogen- _________________ __________________convert nitrogen into
that usable form. **Plants will then take in the nitrogen that the bacteria
converted.
d. Use the picture to determine how animals obtain this usable form of nitrogen.
i. Animals __________ _____________ and therefore _____________
nitrogen
e. Use the picture; determine how nitrogen is replaced in the soil.
i. Animals put nitrogen back into the soil when they _________ (when they
are decomposed)
The CARBON CYCLE:
1. Look at the picture and describe how carbon moves between biotic and abiotic
components.
2. Highlight the cycle.
3. Importance to life.
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a. Use the picture to determine the following:
i. Where do plants get their carbon? ________________ What form is that
carbon in? _____
ii. How do animals obtain carbon?
iii. How is carbon replenished in the soil?
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