Download Unit 2 * Ecology

Unit 2 – Ecology and the
Enviroment
Levels of Organization in Ecology
atom
molecule
organelle
cell
tissue
organ
organ system
organism
population
community
ecosystem
Wikimedia Commons free use from NASA
Ecosystem
A biome is a group of ecosystems with
similar climate, plant and animal species.
Biotic Factor
Biotic = living things
life
Such as: animals, plants, bacteria, fungus,
protists, etc.
Abiotic Factors
A bio tic
Not
Life
Non living things such as:
Rocks, water, temperature, soil, light. Etc.
Populations vs. Communities
A population is a group of organisms, all of
the same species, which interbreed and live in
the same area at the same time
 community interacting populations
All the living things that
live together.
Symbiosis
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism
Predation
Carrying Capacity
Trophic Level
Energy travels up the
trophic levels
Position that organisms occupy on
the food chain or each step in the
food chain
Only 10% of
energy is
transferred
to the level
above it.
Ecological Pyramid
Food Web
Did you know?
The directions of the arrows in a food web
show which way the energy flows…not who
eats who.
Producer
Autotroph
Producers are usually plants but not
always!! They just have to make food
from the sun (autotroph).
Phytoplankton
Solar
powered
Sea Slug
Decomposers
Decomposers are mainly bacteria &
fungi. They break down dead organisms
Without them, we would be covered in
dead organisms in no time at all!!!
Consumer
Consumers are heterotrophs (get energy
from eating other organisms)
Hetero
Different
troph
feeding
Primary Consumer
Secondary Consumer
Lion - Secondary
consumer after
eating the goat
Tertiary Consumer
Tertiary consumers eat secondary
consumers.
Tertiary consumer
after eating the jackal.
Herbivore
Omnivore
Carnivore
Detritivore
Limiting Factors
Ecosystem Sustainability
Ecological Succession
Primary Succession
Secondary Succession
Climax Community
Secondary Succession ends in
the climax community, which
is the most stable community
and will remain until the next
disturbance.
In the Colorado mountains,
the climax community is the
pine forest!