Download Unit1 - LiveText

Environmental Science
Unit 1
Exercise
• Place the four pieces of paper from your
baggie in an order that makes sense to your
group.
• Describe the relationship among these four
pieces.
Organization of Life
•
Species
– A group of interbreeding organisms that do not ordinarily breed with members of other
groups
– Definition works well in animals
– Example: Human
•
Populations
– All of the individuals of a given species in a specific area or region at a certain time
– Contain variation
– Example: Females in Colorado Springs in 2009
•
Communities
– All the populations in a specific area or region at a specific time
– Involves many interactions among species
– Example: People in Colorado Springs in 2009
•
Ecosystems
– Composed of the biological and abiotic environment
– Example: Grasses, trees, people in Colorado Springs
Organization of Life
• Connections
– Food Chain – A sequence or chain of organisms
existing in a natural community in which each link
of the chain feeds on the one below and is eaten
by the one above
– Food Web – A complex pattern of interconnected
food chains in a community. Organisms are
connected by arrows that show the direction of
energy flow.
Organization of Life
• Producers – Autotrophic photosynthetic plants that occupy level one of
the food chain
• Primary Consumers – Herbivores that occupy the second level of the food
chain
• Secondary Consumers – Carnivores that occupy the third level of the food
chain and feed on the herbivores of the second level
• Tertiary Consumers – Large carnivores of the fourth level of the food chain
that kill and eat the smaller carnivores (and herbivores) of the third and
second level
• Herbivores – Animals that eat plant material
• Omnivores – Animals that eat both plant and animal material
• Insectivores – Predatory animals that eat mostly insects (i.e. bat)
• Carnivores – Animals that feed on the flesh of other animals
Exercise
• Place arrows on your food web to show the
direction of energy flow among the species
• Identify the producers (P), primary consumers
(PC), secondary consumers (SC), and tertiary
consumers (TC)
• Also identify the herbivores (H), omnivores
(O), insectivores (I), and carnivores (C)
KEY