Biology - Chapter 2: Organisms and their environment

Ecology

Branch of biology that studies, the interactions between organisms and their environment (living and nonliving)

How is ecology used in life?

• Food

• Pets

• Survival

• Garbage

• Energy

When was ecology developed?

Ecology was developed as a science and the 1960s as we began to realize the profound effect of its actions on the living world

What are biotic factors?

Living factors in the environment

What are abiotic factors?

Nonliving factors in the environment

What are the seven abiotic factors?

• Soil

• Temperature

• Moisture/ water

• Light

• Wind

• Air composition

• Natural disaster

What is an ecosystem?

Area where organisms interact with one another and the living and nonliving environment

What is a population?

A group of organisms are the same species living in an ecosystem

What is a community?

ALL populations in a given area

What are the levels of organization?

• Biosphere: all biomes

• Biomes: group of ecosystems

• Ecosystem: living and nonliving

• Community: all species

• Population: one species

• Organism: organisms

What is a habitat?

Where organism lives

What is a niche?

An organisms role in the community

Two organisms cannot share a niche

What is symbiosis?

A close and permanent association between organisms of different species

What are the three kinds of symbiosis?

• Mutualism

• Commensalism

• Parasitism

What is mutualism?

Both species benefit

Example: bees and flowers

What is commensalism?

Species benefits, and the other is neither harm nor benefited

Example: puffins and rabbit holes

What is parasitism?

One organism benefits, and the other is hard, but usually not killed

Example: brood parasites (cowbirds)

What is an autotroph/producer?

Organism that makes their own food photosynthesis, or chemosynthesis (self feeder)

How efficient is an autotroph

50% efficient

What is a heterotroph/consumer?

Organisms that depend on others for nutrients, they cannot make their own food

How efficient or heterotrophs?

10% efficient

Why are autotroph more efficient than heterotrophs?

They do not have to spend energy on moving digestion and other actions

What is a herbivore?

Plant eaters, they feed only on producers

What is a carnivore?

Meat eaters, they feed only on consumers

What is an omnivore?

They eat both plants and animals

What is a scavenger?

Animals that feed on other dead animals

What is a decomposer?

Organism that breaks down organic material

Example: fungi

What is the trophic level order??

• Quaternary consumers

• Tertiary consumers

• Secondary consumers

• Primary consumers

• Autotroph

How is energy transferred, percentage?

Lose 10% difference as they go up the trophic level

What are food chains?

Models showing how matter and energy move through ecosystem

What are food webs?

Model showing all possible, feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community

What are the advantages of a food web?

• Network of interconnected, food chains

• More accurate shows many options for food