Ecology - grade 9

abiotic carbon reservoirs

carbon stored in abiotic things, ex: ocean

ecosystem

the interactions of living things with their environment

biotic

living things

abiotic

non-living things

sustainable ecosystem

an ecosystem that can thrive and survive on it’s own

population

all organisms of the same species

community

populations of different species living together

biome

community of plants and animals living in a similar ecosystem

biosphere

all parts of earth where life exists

biodiversity

the number of different organisms living in an ecosystem

niche

the role an organism has in an ecosystem

habitat

where an organism lives

autotroph

an organism that makes their own food

heterotroph

an organism that consumes other organisms for food

herbivore

an organism that eats plants

carnivore

an animal that eats animals

omnivore

an animal that eats both plants and animals

grazer

an organism that eats living things but doesn’t kill them

predator

an animal that eats other animals (prey)

scavanger

an animal that eats already dead animals

decomposer

an organism that breaks down dead organisms and their waste for nutrients

atmosphere

air that acts like a blanket around earth

lithosphere

rocky outer shell on earth

hydrosphere

all of the water on earth

photosynthesis

preformed by producers

photosynthesis chemical formula

co2 + H2O + solar energy = glucose and oxygen

cellular respiration

performed by producers and consumers

cellular respiration chemical formula

glucose + oxygen = co2, water and energy

food chain

a visual depiction of energy transferring from one trophic level to another

trophic level

the position of an organism in a food chain

food web

interconnected food chains

intraspecific competition

competition between the same species

interspecific competition

competition between different species

predator-prey relationship

one hunting the other

mutualism

a relationship where both species benefit

parasitism

a relationship where the parasite benefits and the host gets harmed

commensalism

a relationship where one benefits and the other is neutral

10% rule

only 10% of the energy gets transferred to the next trophic level

carbon cycle

1. plants intake carbon via photosynthesis
2. animals consume the plants to eat carbon
3. organisms die and the carbon goes into the soil
4. decomposers and animals release carbon back into the air via cellular respiration

biotic carbon reservoirs

carbon found in biotic things

fossil fuels

decomposed organisms that have been compressed over millions of years

limestone

a carbon reservoir made up of shells/bones put under a lot of pressure in the ocean for millions of years

nitrogen cycle

1. nitrogen fixing bacteria convert nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds to be put into soil
2. producers use the nitrogen compounds as nutrients, the nitrogen then moves up the food chain
3. animal waste and dead organisms are decomposed by decomposers and release the nitrogen back into the soil
4. nitrogen compounds are converted back into nitrogen gas via denitrifying bacteria and is released back into the atmosphere

acid rain

extra nitrogen in the air combining with water

what are algal blooms caused by?

fertilizers containing nitrogen running off into lakes

3 sisters

1. legumes (beans) - natrually add nitrogen to soil
2. corn - gives the beans a strong support to grow onto
3. squash - adds moister into the soil for corn and beans

climate

weather patterns over a long period of time

weather

current condition of the atmosphere in a specific area

greenhouse gas effect

1. sun radiates heat
2. some of the heat is reflected, some absorbed by the earth
3. the absorbed heat is released
4. greenhouse gases trap it around the earth to keep the earth warm

5 greenhouse gases

water vapor

nitrous oxide

ozone

methane

carbon dioxide

impacts of global warming

less crops

more intense natural disasters

less biodiversity

tolerance range

abiotic conditions a species can survive in

optimal range

abiotic conditions a species can thrive in

green carbon

naturally occurring carbon that is already apart of the carbon cycle

fossil carbon

extra carbon added to the atmosphere via burning fossil fuels

ice cores

allow us to look at the air bubbles frozen in them to compare our atmosphere to different time periods

suess effect

ratio of c-12 to c-13 and c-14 becoming extremely unbalanced with c-12