Download Unit 1 Flip Card 2012 Ecosystems

Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The following is a set up
“Flip Card”
to help learn the definitions
of the ecosystem unit
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Ecology
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The science
of the relationships between
organisms and their environments.
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Ecosystem
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
All living organisms that share
a region and interact with
each other AND non-living
components of their
environment…that is,
their physical and chemical
environment
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Biotic Factor
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Living things, their remains and
features such as nest that are
associated with the living thing’s
activities.
It includes insects, mammals,
micro-organisms, plants, plant
and animal remains, etc.
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Abiotic Factor
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The non-living physical and
chemical components of an
ecosystem.
Examples include
temperature, wind, rainfall, air,
water and minerals
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Autotroph
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
An organism capable of
synthesizing its own food
from inorganic substances
using light or chemical
energy.
Green plants, algae and
some bacteria are
autotrophs.
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Heterotroph
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
An organism that cannot
synthesize its own food and
is dependent on complex
organic substances for
nutrition.
Consumers are heterotrophs
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Sustainability
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Ability to maintain a natural
ecological balance without
weakening, interruption or
loss of value
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Symbiotic
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The living together
(…or living relationship…)
of two dissimilar organisms.
It includes relationships such
as mutualism, commensalism,
predation and parasitism.
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Mutualism
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
A symbiotic relationship between
individuals of different species in
which both individuals benefit from
the association.
An example is the oxpecker (a bird)
and the rhinoceros. An oxpecker
eats ticks and other parasites that
live on the rhino’s skin. The oxpecker
gets food and the rhino gets pest
control.
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Commensalism
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
A symbiotic relationship between two
different kinds of organisms when one
receives benefits from the other organism
while the second organism in unaffected.
An example a flatworm and a horsecrab.
The flatworm attaches to the horsecrab
and eats the scraps from the crab’s food;
yet, the crab is unaffected.
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Parasitism
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
A symbiotic relationship where one
organism (parasite) lives off of another
organism (host) harming it and
possibly causing death. The parasite
lives on or in the body of the host.
An example is Lyme disease. It is a
bacteria that transmitted by blacklegged ticks. Once in the host, the
bacteria thrives while the host suffers
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Competition
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
A symbiotic relationship wherein
two organisms occupying the
same area try to utilize the
same resource (e.g., eat the
same food) that is limited in
supply
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Photosynthesis
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Process in which the Sun’s
energy is converted to
chemical energy (i.e., sugar)
6CO2 + 6H2O + Sun energy
=
6O2 + C6H12O6
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Cellular Respiration
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Process by which sugar is
converted to carbon dioxide,
water and energy
6O2 + C6H12O6
=
6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Producer
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Organism that makes its own
energy-rich food compounds
using the Sun’s energy
(i.e., light)
On land, most producers are
green plants, and their colour
comes from chlorophyll which
captures light energy
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Consumer
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Organism that obtains its
energy from consuming other
organisms.
Consumers CANNOT
photosynthsize
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Food Chain
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Sequence of organisms, each feeding
on the next, shown how energy is
transferred from one organism to the
next.
NOTE:
Food Chains do NOT exist in nature.
Rather, they are part of a complex set of
relationships
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Food Web
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
A representation or
illustration of the
feeding relationships
within a community.
A Food Web is a
group of interwoven
Food Chains
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Trophic Level
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The level of an organism in an
ecosystem depending on its
feeding position along a food
chain
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Ecological Niche
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The relational position of a species or
population in an ecosystem
The ecological role and space that an
organism fills in an ecosystem
The function a species serves in its
ecosystem (e.g., consumption patterns,
behaviour, habitat preferences
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Carrying Capacity
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The maximum population size of a
particular species (i.e., number of
individual organisms) that a given
ecosystem can sustain indefinitely
NOTE:
Carrying Capacity is not fixed.
It can be altered by human intervention
(e.g., draining part of a swamp) or by
naturally by “species invasions”
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Biodiversity
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Variety of life in a particular area.
It is measured by counting the
number of species in a specific
habitat or ecosystem
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Biome
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
A large geographical region defined by
climate (e.g., temperature and
precipitation) with a specific set of biotic
and abiotic features
For example, a tundra biome is
characterized by very low temperatures,
little precipitation, poor soil quality, low
biodiversity, small plants
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Tolerance Range
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Abiotic conditions within
which a species can survive
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Species Richness
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Number of species in an area
A diverse and healthy ecosystem
has high species richness
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Limiting Factor
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Any factor that restricts the size
of a population
Limiting factors can be biotic
(e.g., number of prey) or abiotic
(e.g., hours of sunlight)
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Succession
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
The gradual and usually
predictable changes in the
composition of a community
and the abiotic conditions
following a disturbance
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Primary Succession
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Succession on a
newly exposed
ground where “no
life” previously
existed.
Usually follows a
catastrophic event
such as a volcanic
eruption
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Secondary Succession
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Succession in a
partially
disturbed
ecosystem.
Follows a minor
disturbance such
as a forest fire
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Equilibrium
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Describes the state of an
ecosystem with relatively
constant conditions over a
period of time
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Pollution
Grade 9 Academic Science – Unit Ecosystems
Harmful contaminants
released into the
environment