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ECOLOGY
The study of how organisms interact with
and are dependent upon the environment
and each other
Environmental
Organization
Lesson 1
Do Now

BrainPop video: Ecosystems

List the examples worksheet
Environment

Made up of living and nonliving things that surround
an organism
ECOSYSTEM
1. Biotic – living things such as bacteria, plants, animals
and fungi
2. Abiotic – nonliving things such as the soil, water, air,
gases, minerals, temperature and pH
Levels of organization
Organisms = individual
Population = all organisms of a specific species
living in a particular area (ex: goldfish in a
pond)
Community = all populations in a given area (ex:
goldfish, turtles, lilies and frogs in a pond)
Levels of organization
Ecosystem = communities plus abiotic
environment, must have input of energy and
recycling of materials
Biomes = large geographic areas with similar
climate and ecosystems
Biosphere = portion of Earth where living things
live
HABITAT = Specific place that is an organism’
s home
NICHE = The role of the organism in its
habitat
Only 1 species can be in a niche at the same time
** If 2 attempt to fill this role there will be
competition
In class assignment

Graphic Organizer and Vocab worksheet
Homework

Ecology Listmania!
Relationships within an
Ecosystem
Lesson 2
Do Now


BrainPop video: Food Chains
Tree chart
Relationships in the ecosystem
2 Basic groups of organisms:
1.
Autotrophs = Producers make their own food by
photosynthesis (plants,
algae)  source of energy
2.
Heterotrophs = those who
cannot make food so must
consume it = consumers
CONSUMERS
a.
Herbivores = primary consumers who graze
on plants (cows, deer, moose, insects,
elephant, buffalo)
b.
Carnivores = eat other animals
Predators – hunt and attack prey and
eat them
Scavengers – “clean up” feed on
remains of animals already dead
CONSUMERS
c.
Omnivores = eat both plants and animals
d.
Decomposers = consume wastes and dead
bodies of organisms and
recycle materials for use
by producers
FOOD CHAIN

Illustrates the
relationships
between producers
and consumers and
decomposers. Also,
shows how energy
flows from one
organism to another
FOOD WEBS

Interconnected Food Chains
RESOURCES
In any relationship in an ecosystem, resources are
limited! Organisms compete for resources for
survival
COMPETITION = struggle for limited resources
 this keeps a population stable – some
populations vary with seasons
LIMITING FACTORS
1.
2.
Abiotic – amount of oxygen dissolved in pond
limits the # of fish or the amount of light
reaching the forest floor limits # of plants that
grow
Biotic – predator/prey  predators eat prey 
decreases # of prey  predators starve and their
# goes down  # of prey increases again
Carrying Capacity

The number of organisms of any single species
that an ecosystem can support – determined by
available energy, water, food, oxygen, space or
minerals
In class assignment


Food web
Food web 2
Homework

Build a food web online
Food Chains and Energy
in Ecosystems
Lab
Do Now


Compare your food chain with your partners?
How are they different? How are they alike?
Natural Controls of
Populations
Lab
Do Now

BrainPop video: Population Growth
Symbiosis
Lesson 3
Do Now


BrainPop video: Symbiosis
Multiple Choice quiz
SYMBIOSIS
Close relationship between 2 different organisms
3 Types of SYMBIOSIS:

1. Mutualism

2. Commensalism

3. Parasitism
MUTUALISM
Mutual benefit from the relationship +/+
a. Termites – eat wood and protozoa in gut and digest
wood
b. Acacia Tree – hollow thorns with sugar and stinging
ants live in thorns and keep other insects away
c. Legumes – nodules on their roots + nitrogen fixing
bacteria live in nodules and make N for the plant while
getting food from the roots
COMMENSALISM
One organism benefits while the other is unaffected
+/0
a.
b.
c.
Pilot fish and Shark – when the shark eats,
pieces of food are eaten by the pilot fish
Barnacles on a whale – barnacles get a free
ride but don’t help or harm whale
Cape buffalo and egrets (birds) – as the
buffalo grazes it disturbs insects which the
egrets eats
PARASITISM

TAPEWORM
FUNGUS OR
ATHLETES FOOT


TICKS OR FLEAS
PARASITISM
One organism benefits while the other is
harmed +/- . The host usually does not die
a.
b.
c.
Tapeworm – sucks nutrients in gut of
human (pain, less nutrients and weight loss)
Fungus of athletes foot – sucks nutrients
from skin on humans (itchy, red and
uncomfortable feet)
Ticks or Fleas – suck blood from dogs
(discomfort and sometimes disease, ex:
lymes)
In class assignment

Symbiosis worksheet
Homework

Good buddies worksheet
Energy Flow
and
Environmental Cycles
Lesson 4
Do Now


BrainPop video: Natural Resources
Three Column Chart
Energy Flow through an Ecosystem
Solar energy
 stored as food to power life processes
 organisms break chemical bonds to make ATP
then use it for metabolism
 most energy converted to heat and lost to the
environment
 rest is used by organisms
 each step of the food chain has less available
energy to use
Energy Pyramid
Used to illustrate the transfer of energy through
the food chain
Recycling and Reusing Materials
Self-sustaining = must have recycling of
materials between organisms and the abiotic
(nonliving) world
Chemical elements in living organisms – Carbon
(C) Hydrogen (H) Oxygen (O) and Nitrogen
(N)  make up the molecules of life! Pass
through the food chain – broken and
recombined
CYCLES
1. Carbon/Oxygen/Hydrogen
CYCLES
2. H2O
CYCLES
3. Nitrogen
In class assignment

Cycles worksheet
Homework
Threats to Global
Stability
Lesson 5
Do Now

Alphabet Summary
Threats to Global Stability
1. Direct Harvesting = destruction or removal
of species from their habitat  can lead to
endangered species or extinction – humans caused
extinction of passenger pigeon
Ex: exotic pets, animals killed for body
parts such as pelts or tusks
2. Deforestation
Destruction of forests that causes widespread
habitat destruction (area covered by rain forest
is only ½ that of 150 years ago)  reduces
biodiversity
3. Imported species
New species brought to a place
(ex: rabbits brought to
Australia) can become pests
especially if they disrupt food
chains. They often have no
natural enemy and can
overpopulate and may
eliminate native species
Some countries “quarantine” any new animals
and plants brought into the country until sure
they are free of pests
Safer pest controls (instead of chemicals that
pollute the environment) include:
a. chemical scents to attract insects
b. sterilizing male insects
c. releasing native predators
d. repel or attract with hormones
e. genetically resistant to pests
4. Industrialization
Machines produce products
- Power plants pollute air
and water
- Nuclear plants  thermal
pollution of water and disposal
of nuclear wastes
- Uses large amounts of
water
5. Pollution
Introduction of contaminants into a natural environment
that causes harm
Water: caused by dumping wastes, runoff from
chemicals and acid rain from factory smoke
Toxic wastes in water  moves through the food
chain and become most concentrated in organisms at
the top of the chain (like humans)
Air – releasing harmful substances into the air
Consequences of Burning fossil
fuels:
1. Sulfer and nitrogen in air combine with rain  acid rain (lower pH)
damages plants and animals
2.
Smog – toxic pollutants react with sunlight
and produce gray haze  causes respiratory
problems
3. Global warming
CO2 is a “greenhouse gas” that traps light and
keeps the Earth warm.
- Too much can cause ice caps to melt
- Planting trees can help!
4. Ozone Depletion
Release of industrial gases causes
destruction of the ozone layer
that shields the Earth from
harmful UV light which can
causes cancer and destroy
producers * main causes are
CFC’s (chlorofluorcarbons)
5. Land Use
Decreases space and available resources
In class assignment

Create a newsletter
Homework

Recycle City
Environmental
Awareness
Lesson 6
Do Now

It’s not easy being green
In class assignment

Create a public service announcement
education teens on environmental awareness
Homework

Create a foldable listing and illustrating 6
methods of environmental conservation
Ecological Succession
Lesson 7
Do Now


Videos and picture montages depicting natural
and man made disasters
Disasters of the 21st century
Ecological Succession




Gradual changes in an ecosystem
Can be initiated by natural disaster (flood,
tsunami, fire, landslide, volcanic eruption)
Primary vs. secondary
MOST stable ecosystem is a forest!
Primary vs. Secondary Succession


Primary – begins where no soil is present. First
bacteria colonize then lichens, small plants and
grasses, trees etc.
Secondary – begins where soil is already
present.
Pioneer Species




Species which colonize previously
un-colonized land
First organisms to start chain of
events leading to a livable
ecosystem
Ex: Bacteria, lichen, durable plants
Pioneer species will die, creating
plant litter to form new soil for
secondary succession
In class assignment

Bio Poem or Autobiography of a pioneer
species
Homework

Ecology Review
Review