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Ecology
Define Ecology
Define Ecology
• study of the interactions that take place
among organisms and their environment
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Biosphere
• Biotic
• Abiotic
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Biosphere - part of Earth that supports
life, including the top portion of Earth's
crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on
Earth's surface
• Biotic - living
• Abiotic – non-living
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Biome
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Biome - large geographic areas with similar climates
and ecosystems
• Includes:
–
–
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–
–
–
–
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TUNDRA
TAIGA
DESERT
TROPICAL RAINFOREST
TEMPERATE RAINFOREST
DECIDUOUS FOREST
DESERT
GRASSLAND
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Organism
• Population
• Community
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Organism – one of any living thing
• Population - all the organisms that belong
to the same species living in a community
• Community - all the populations of
different species that live in an ecosystem
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Ecosystem
• Habitat
• Niche
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Ecosystem - all the living organisms that live in
an area and the nonliving features of their
environment
• Habitat - place where an organism lives and
that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture,
and temperature needed for survival
• Niche - in an ecosystem, refers to the unique
ways an organism survives, obtains food and
shelter, and avoids danger
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Limiting factor
• Carrying capacity
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Limiting factor - anything that can restrict
the size of a population, including living
and nonliving features of an ecosystem,
such as predators or drought
• Carrying capacity - largest number of
individuals of a particular species that an
ecosystem can support over time
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Producer
• Consumer
• Decomposer
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Producer - organism, such as a green
plant or alga, that uses an outside source
of energy like the Sun to create energyrich food molecules
• Consumer - organism that cannot create
energy-rich molecules but obtains its food
by eating other organisms
• Decomposer – consume wastes and
dead organisms
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Predator
• Prey
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Predator – an animal that hunts and kills
other animals for food. A predator is a
consumer [carnivore or omnivore]
• Prey – an animal that is hunted and
caught for food. Prey is a consumer; it
may be a herbivore, omnivore, or
carnivore.
Describe each of the following
terms:
•
•
•
•
Species
Carnivore
Herbivore
Omnivore
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Species-a class of individuals having some
common characteristics or qualities; related
individuals that resemble one another, are able
to breed among themselves, but are not able to
breed with members of another species.
• Carnivore – eat omnivores or other carnivores
[other consumers]
• Herbivore – eat producers
• Omnivore – eat producers and consumers
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Adaptations of consumers:
– Carnivore - meat-eating animal with sharp
canine teeth specialized to rip and tear flesh
– Herbivore - plant-eating mammal with incisors
specialized to cut vegetation and large, flat
molars to grind it
– Omnivore - plant- and meat-eating animal
with incisors specialized to cut vegetables,
premolars to chew meat, and molars to grind
food
Review food chains, herbivores,
carnivores, omnivores,
decomposers
http://www.planetpals.com/foodch
ain.html
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Energy flow through an ecosystem
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Energy flow through an ecosystem - the
movement of energy through an
ecosystem through food webs. The
transfer of energy from one organism to
another.
Review the flow of energy
through plants and animals here:
http://www.ftexploring.com/me/me
2.html
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Food chain
• Food web
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Food chain - chain of organisms along
which energy , in the form of food passes.
An organism feeds on the link before it
and is in turn prey for the link after it.
• Food web - Complex network of many
interconnected food chains and feeding
relationships; a group of interconnecting
food chains
Review food chains here:
http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodch
ains.htm
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Energy pyramid
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Energy pyramid – a way of showing
energy flow. As the amount of available
energy decreases, the pyramid gets
smaller. Each layer on a pyramid is called
a trophic level.
Describe each of the following
terms:
Review energy pyramids here:
http://www.ftexploring.com/me/pyr
amid.html
Describe each of the following
terms:
•
•
•
•
Mutualism
Commensalism
Symbiosis
Parasitism
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Mutualism - a type of symbiotic relationship in
which both organisms benefit
• Commensalism - a type of symbiotic
relationship in which one organism benefits and
the other organism is not affected
• Symbiosis - any close relationship between
species, including mutualism, commensalism,
and parasitism
• Parasitism -a type of symbiotic relationship in
which one organism benefits and the other
organism is harmed
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Succession
• Primary succession
• Secondary succession
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Succession - natural, gradual changes in
the types of species that live in an area;
can be primary or secondary
• Primary succession – takes where no
soil exists
• Secondary succession – takes place
where soil is already present
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Pioneer species
• Climax community
Describe each of the following
terms:
• Pioneer species - a group of hardy
organisms, such as lichens, found in the
primary stage of succession and that
begin an area's soil-building process
• Climax community - stable, end stage of
ecological succession in which the plants
and animals of a community use
resources efficiently and balance is
maintained by disturbances such as fire.
Review succession here:
http://library.thinkquest.org/17456/
succession1.html
List the types of biomes:
List the types of biomes:
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Tundra
Taiga (Coniferous Forest)
Deciduous Forest
Desert
Tropical rain forest
Temperate rain forest
Grasslands
Describe each biome
• Tundra - cold, dry, treeless biome with
less than 25 cm of precipitation each year,
a short growing season, permafrost, and
winters that can be six to nine months long
Tundra
Tundra
Tundra
Tundra
Describe each biome
• Taiga (Boreal or Coniferous Forest)world's largest biome, located south of the
tundra between 50° N and 60° N latitude;
has long, cold winters, precipitation
between 35 cm and 100 cm each year,
cone-bearing evergreen trees, and dense
forests
Taiga
Taiga
Taiga
Describe each biome
• Temperate rainforest - biome with 200
cm to 400 cm of precipitation each year,
average temperatures between 9°C and
12°C, and forests dominated by trees with
needlelike leaves. About 1/4 of all the
medicines we use come from rainforest
plants. Usually near the Ocean
Temperate Rainforest
Temperate Rainforest
Temperate Rainforest
Describe each biome
• Tropical rain forest - most biologically
diverse biome; has an average
temperature of 25°C and receives
between 200 cm and 600 cm of
precipitation each year. Usually near the
equator. About 1/4 of all the medicines we
use come from rainforest plants.
Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Rainforest
Describe each biome
• Grasslands - temperate and tropical
regions with 25 cm to 75 cm of
precipitation each year that are dominated
by climax communities of grasses; ideal
for growing crops and raising cattle and
sheep
Grassland
Grassland
Describe each biome
• Desert - driest biome on Earth with less
than 25 cm of rain each year; has dunes
or thin soil with little organic matter and
plants and animals specially adapted to
survive extreme conditions
Desert
Desert
Desert
Describe each biome
• Deciduous forest - biome usually having
four distinct seasons, annual precipitation
between 75 cm and 150 cm, and climax
communities of deciduous (Leafy) trees
Deciduous Forest
Deciduous Forest
Deciduous Forest
Biomes
Describe each biome
• Freshwater - flowing water such as rivers
and streams and standing water such as
lakes, ponds, and wetlands
Describe each biome
• Saltwater - oceans, seas, a few inland
lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah,
coastal inlets and estuaries
Review biomes here:
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/m
sese/earthsysflr/biomes.html
More information on biomes
can be found here:
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/