Environmental Science: Chapter 3- The Basic Needs of Living Things

Producers

Change low-potential-energy raw materials into high-potential-

energy organic molecules

Photosynthesis

The conversion of water and carbon dioxide into useable

glucose in plants with sunlight

Cellular Respiration

Breakdown of glucose to obtain energy for cell functions

Ecology

Study of the distribution and abundance of organisms

– ESPECIALLY interactions between living things and the

environment

Species

Group of individuals that share certain characteristics distinct

from other such groups

Hierarchy of Ecology

Individuals > Populations > Species > Communities >

Ecosystems > Landscapes & Biomes > Biosphere

Population

– Individuals that make up an interbreeding group

– It refers only to individuals of a species in an area

Community

Grouping of populations in an area

Biota

the collective term for all living organisms found in a specific region, habitat, or geological period

Abiotic Spheres

Atmosphere

Hydrosphere

Lithosphere

Biotic Sphere

Biosphere

Abiotic

non-living physical and chemical components of an environment that influence living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems

Ecosystem

Interactive complex of communities and the abiotic factors

affecting them

Landscape

Cluster of interlocking ecosystems

Biome

Large area on Earth’s surface that have similar climates and

vegetation

Conditions

• Factors that vary in space and time

• Not used up or made unavailable to other species

Resources

Factors that are consumed by organisms

Range of tolerance

Conditions, resources, and factors that allow any growth

Limits of tolerance

The end points of any growth, resulting in decay or death of the

Habitats

The place a species is biologically adapted to living

Niche

Sum of all of the conditions

and resources under which

a species can live

– What the animal eats, where

it feeds and lives, how it

responds to abiotic factors

– Species coexist in an area

but have separate niches