Global Systems

What is ecology?

the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment at the different levels of organization

What are biotic factors?

living organisms (plants, animals, etc.)

What are abiotic factors? Examples?

nonliving entities that affect the biotic factors; soil, precipitation, sunlight

How do abiotic factors affect the biotic factors?

conditions such as sunlight; water; precipitation; and soil type, quality, and texture can influence the kinds of organisms present (ex: bad soil quality=less plants=less organisms that eat it)

What are the 4 major Earth spheres and what is in each?

hydrosphere: all water

lithosphere: solid Earth

atmosphere: the gases that surround Earth/air

biosphere: ALL life on Earth

Do the spheres stand alone? Why?

NO, they all overlap, interact, and influence life on Earth

What is biota?

all of the organisms that live in a particular region

The biosphere is a ________________ and ___________ system. Meaning no matter _______ or __________.

self-contained; closed; enters or exits; recycled endlessly

How is matter recycled endlessly in the biosphere?

the water and carbon cycles with the energy of sunlight that enters

T or F: the abiotic factors and biotic factors influence EACH OTHER in turn. Explain.

true; abiotic factors like soil and water influence the species, and biotic factors can influence these things through activity and plants providing soil nutrients, etc.

Order the levels of organization from smallest to largest

species, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

What are ecosystems?

a specific physical environment and its biotic AND abiotic components that make it up, abiotic factors influence biotic

What are communities?

all of the diverse LIVING (biotic) organisms from many different species living in the same environment, ONLY biotic factors without abiotic, plants and animals, etc.

What is a species vs a population?

species: a SINGLE TYPE of organism, does NOT have geographic boundaries

population: all of the members of the SAME SPECIES living in the SAME SPECIFIC AREA, has geographic boundaries

ex: ostrich is still in the ostrich species, but can be in a different ostrich population based on the geographic location

What is a biome?

large scale REPEATED geographic regions spreading over different continents, one of the highest levels of ecological organization

What are the two types of biomes?

terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water)

How are terrestrial biomes defined?

by climate and flora (plant) and fauna (animal) communities

What is climate vs weather?

climate: LONG TERM, average rainfall and temp.

weather: SHORT term

How are aquatic biomes defined?

by salinity, depth, and water flow

What are the main biomes?

rainforest, grassland, desert, temperate forest, boreal forest (taiga), tundra, polar, chaparral, wetland