Integrated Science - Ecology

Ecology

The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. Also called “The study of ecosystems”.

Species

Organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile ossprings.

Population

The amout of organisms of a species living in a restricted area at a particular time.

Community

The number of populations of different species that interact with each other in a specific area during a particular time period.

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. It encompasses both biotic and abiotic components.

Examples of abiotic components

include water, soil, air, and sunlight.

Herbivores

Organisms that primarily eat plants, serving as primary consumers in ecosystems.

Carnivores

Organisms that primarily or exclusively eat other animals, acting as secondary or tertiary consumers in ecosystems.

Omnivores

Organisms that consumes both plant and animal matter as a regular part of its diet to obtain energy and nutrients

Food chain

A linear sequence of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food, illustrating the flow of energy and nutrients in an ecosystem.

Components of a food chain

The various organisms that make up a food chain, including producers (like a plant), consumers (animals that eat others), and decomposers (like bacteria and fungi that break down dead matter), which interact through feeding relationships.

Food web

A food web illustrates the interconnected feeding relationships within an ecological community, showing how energy and nutrients flow through different organisms. It's a more complex representation than a simple food chain, as it depicts multiple interconnected paths of energy transfer within an ecosystem.

Producers (autothrops)

A producer (or autotroph) is an organism that produces its own food and energy, typically through photosynthesis (using sunlight) or chemosynthesis (using chemical energy).

Consumers (heterotrohs)

A consumer (or heterotroph) is an organism that cannot produce its own food and must obtain energy by consuming other living or dead organisms.

Decomposers

Decomposers are organisms (like bacteria and fungi) that break down dead or decaying organic matter (plants and animals) and return essential nutrients to the ecosystem for other organisms to use.

Speciation

The evolutionary process by which a single ancestral species gives rise to one or more new, distinct species. This process occurs when populations become reproductively isolated,

Saprothrops

• Saprotrophs are organisms (mainly certain fungi and bacteria) that obtain nutrients by breaking down dead or decaying organic matter through external digestion.

• They secrete digestive enzymes onto the dead material, which break complex organic molecules into simpler ones. These nutrients are then absorbed by the organism

Detrivores

• Detritivores are organisms (usually small animals) that feed directly on dead organic matter and waste (detritus), breaking it down into smaller pieces as they ingest it.

• They do internal digestion (inside their body), unlike saprotrophs.

Examples: Earthworms, woodlice, millipedes.

Habitat

The specific natural environment where a particular plant, animal, or other organism lives, providing the essential food, water, shelter, and space it needs to survive and reproduce

Do autothrops have to have chlorophil pigments?

Not all autotrophs need chlorophyll. Photoautotrophs (like plants and algae) use chlorophyll or similar pigments to capture light, while chemoautotrophs (like some bacteria) make food using chemical energy and don’t need pigments at all.

Nutrients

Essential chemical substances or compounds found in food that an organism requires to sustain its basic functions, grow, develop, and reproduce.

Nutrient cycling

The continuous process where essential chemical elements move between the environment and living organisms, transforming between organic and inorganic forms to sustain life

Scavengers

An organism that feeds on dead and decaying organic matter, such as the bodies of animals (carrion) or rotting plant material. Examples: Hyenas and raccons