Download Biological Oceanography

 Ecology-
the study of living things
and their interactions with their
environment (other living things and
non-living things)
Ecosystem- collection of all the organisms that
live in a particular place together with their
non-living environment
Habitat- the area where an
organism lives
Community- assortment of
populations that live together
in a specific place
Population- a group of
organisms of the same
species living in the same
area
Individual
 Variations-
Differences among
individuals of the same species
 Adaptation- Inherited trait that
increases an organism’s
chance of survival; allows the
organism to survive where it
lives
A variation can become
an adaptation if it
increases an organism’s
chances for survival

You observe a
population of crabs
that live on and under
rocks in a tidepool.
The crabs are different
colors – shades of
brown, tan, yellow,
and black. The rocks
in the tidepool are
also shades of brown,
tan, yellow, and
black.
 What
is the variation of the crab
population?
› Difference in color
 How
is the variation an
adaptation?
› The colors of the crabs are the same as
the color of the rocks, which means the
crabs will be camouflaged – it will be
harder for predators to see them
because they blend in with the rocks.

You are lying on the beach
watching the sanderlings play
a game of tag with the
waves. As the waves come in,
they run away. As the waves
go out they run back towards
the ocean. The birds are
digging into the sand with
their beaks to grab prey
buried beneath. The tide is
washing away sand making
easier for the birds to get their
meal. You notice most of the
birds have very similar lengths
of beaks. There are a few that
have slightly longer beaks.
These birds are farther away
from the incoming tide. They
are able to access prey
buried deeper in the sand.
 What
is the variation of the bird
population?
› Beak length
 How is the variation an
adaptation?
› Longer beaks allow the birds
access to more food
Food Chain- follows the feeding
relationships in one linear path
 Food Web- shows all feeding relationships
in an ecosystem
 Both trace the energy transfer through
trophic levels
 Arrows are drawn to show the transfer of
energy

› From food source to food consumer

Stability: the more connections (arrows)
between various organisms, the more
stable a food web is.
› Simple: dependence on very few organisms,
few interactions within the community
› Complex: distribution of dependence on a
variety of organisms, many interactions
between the organisms of the community
Producer- organisms that can make their
own food, autotrophs
 Consumer- organisms that cannot make
their own food, heterotrophs

› Primary- eats producers
› Secondary- eats primary consumers
› Tertiary- eats secondary consumers

Decomposer- organisms that break
down dead organic matter
 Symbiosis-
interaction between two
species of organisms in an ecosystem
 Three types of Symbiotic
Relationships:
› Commensalism
› Mutualism
› Parasitism
Commensalism- interaction in which one
organism benefits and the other is not
affected
 Mutualism- interaction in which both
organisms benefit
 Parasitism- interaction in which one
organism benefits and the other is
harmed

› Parasitism is different than predation
Type of Relationship
Commensalism
Mutualism
Parasitism
Species 1
Species 2
Type of Relationship
Species 1
Species 2
Commensalism
+
0
Mutualism
+
+
Parasitism
+
-