Chapter 4 - Ecology

All of the organisms living in an area together with their physical environment.

Ecosystems

what are the five main components of an ecosystem?

Energy, Mineral Nutrients, Water. Oxygen, and Living Things

what are the two parts of ecosystems?

abiotic and biotic factors

All the living and once living things in an ecosystem

Biotic Factors

All the nonliving parts of the ecosystem

Abiotic Factors

what are the Levels of Organization in an Ecosystem?

organism, species, population, and community

an individual living thing

Organism

a group of organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring

species

All of the same members of a species living in the same place at the same time

population

All of the species living in a certain area. Only includes the biotic components

community

the physical place of an organism

habitat

first to make a theory of evolution

Jean Baptiste Lamarck

Based on species having a similar appearance, meaning that traits are acquired and passed down from parent to child

theory of evolution

traits gained through behavior or experience not through genetics

Acquired traits

these animals had short necks, but they couldn’t all reach the leaves on tall trees so only the taller organisms lived and reproduced (represents the theory of evolution)

giraffes

Attended medical school and seminary before taking an interest in natural history, then took a job as the naturalist onboard a ship named the H.M.S. Beagle

Charles Darwin

collects and keeps records of organisms

Naturalist

Darwin read a book that lead him to believe changes to the Earth take place very…

slowly

Darwin also guessed that organisms would have to adapt to these slowly changing conditions in order to…

survive

What did Darwin bring back that were different species from the Galapagos Islands?

13 finches

Because each species had a beak specialized to eat a certain food, what did Darwin theorize about the finches?

they each came from a common ancestor and evolved to fit changing environments

Darwin was forced to put his work out there and published On the Origin of Species by Means of…

Natural Selection

Descent with modification, Mutation, Genetic drift, Migration

Darwin’s theories

describes the genetic code that is passed from parent to offspring

Descent with modification

change in a gene that the offspring inherits

Mutation

change in gene frequency due to random changes in populations

Genetic drift

change in gene pool because of a shifting population

Migration

Organisms with favorable traits have more offspring than those without the traits so the population adapts as more and more individuals inherit the favorable trait

Modification by Natural Selection/ “survival of the fittest”

single organisms genetic contribution to next generation

Fitness

well adapted and reproduces often

High fitness

The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce with more success than less adapted individuals

Natural Selection

the change of two or more species in close association with each other

Coevolution

selective breeding of organisms by humans for specific characteristics

Artificial Selection

the ability of one or more organisms to tolerate a particular chemical designed to kill it

Resistance

Get food in different ways and have different kinds of cells

Six Kingdoms

Name the six kingdoms?

Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Plants, Protists, Fungi, Animals

Single celled prokaryotes (have no nucleus)

Bacteria

What are the two categories of Bacteria?

Archaebacteria and Eubacteria

Ancient bacteria that live in harsh environments (volcanoes)

Archaebacteria

recycle mineral nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, helps humans digest food

Eubacteria

How does bacteria help ecosystems stay balanced?

they are decomposers that help in cycling nutrients by converting nitrogen from the air for plants to use, which helps animals get nutrients from food

What are the two Fungi?

Eukaryotes and Heterotrophs

(have nuclei), cell walls, and no chlorophyll

Eukaryote

Absorb nutrients from other organisms and help break down decaying materials

Heterotrophs

reproductive part of a fungus; the rest of the fungus is underground

Mushroom (Eukaryote)

Usually single celled that can be animal-like (Protozoa) or plant like

Protists

Protists that float on ocean’s surface

Diatoms

Protists that cause Malaria

Plasmodium

Protists that are most important, photosynthetic

Algae

Multicellular, autotrophs that have cell walls and most live on land, where their roots tap into soil to access water and nutrients

Plants

tubes that carry water and nutrients through plant

vascular tissue

Early plants that had no roots and had to live in moist areas to reproduce; Mosses and ferns are the descendants of these plants

Lower plants

Seeds not enclosed in fruit, usually in a cone, and reproduce with pollen and seeds

Gymnosperms

Flowering plants that produce fruits

Angiosperms

Multicellular, heterotrophic, and no cell walls

Animals

What are the two animals?

Invertebrates and Vertebrates

Waterproof external skeleton, fast, reproduce quickly, flight, small size, coevolution with plants and other organisms: Most successful organism on earth

Insects

No backbone, but many have either an exoskeleton or a shell (snails, clams, insects)

Invertebrates

Have backbones

Vertebrates

the first vertebrates

Fish

the first land vertebrates

Reptiles

Vertebrates that are warm blooded with feathers

Birds

Vertebrates that are warm blooded with fur and mammary glands

Mammals

What travels through a food chain or web?

energy

What is the ultimate energy for all life on Earth?

sun

What do food chains start with?

sun

The first organism in a food chain must always be what?

primary producer/ autotroph

Name 2 food making processes?

Photosynthesis and chemosynthetic bacteria

Where do chemosynthetic bacteria get their energy?

from chemicals in hydrothermal vents

primary consumer that eats autotrophs

herbivore

animals that eat herbivores

secondary consumers

What are secondary consumers eaten by?

larger predators

larger predators/ consumers that eat secondary consumers

tertiary consumers

What is used to indicate the flow of energy in a food chain or web?

arrows

What happens to energy as we move from step to step in a chain or web?

energy is lost at each step

a network of many food chains

food web

the position an organism holds in the food chain

trophic level

organisms that make their own food using energy from the sun

autotroph

Name the trophic levels

primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, quaternary consumers, top predators

eat dead organisms (vultures, crabs, worms)

detrivores

organisms that eat dead plants and animals to help recycle them?

decomposers

Which organisms are single-celled with cell walls but no nuclei?

bacteria

The two kingdoms that use the sun for energy

protists and plants

Characteristics are usually shared by bacteria, fungi, and plants

cell walls