Part 1

Ecology: Ecology studies how organisms interact with each other and their environment, focusing on energy transfer.

Environment: Includes biotic factors (living organisms) and abiotic factors (non-living elements like temperature and soil).

Levels of Organization:

Biosphere: Sum of all ecosystems on Earth and where all life exists, e.g., global ecosystems.

biome: is a large area on Earth with specific plants,animals, climate and geography.

Ecosystem: Communities interacting with abiotic factors, e.g., the savannah ecosystem.

Community: different populations and species in a habitat, e.g., lions, zebras, and grasses on the savannah.

Population: Group of the same species in one place at the same time e.g., a pride of lions.

Organism: An individual living thing e.g., a lion.

1.

Habitat vs. Niche:

* Habitat: Where an organism lives throughout its life , e.g., a lion in the African savannah.

* Niche: Role and way of life in a community, e.g., lion as a top predator feeding on herbivores.

Feeding Relationships:

* Producer-Consumer: Plants (autotrophs,producers) bottom of food chain.

* herbivores (heterotrophs-consume food that contains the sun’s energy) (consumers), e.g., grass eaten by zebras.

* —————————

* Predator-Prey: Predators hunting prey, e.g., lions hunting zebras.—————————

Parasite-Host: Parasites feeding on hosts, e.g., ticks on a giraffe.

* Decomposer: Breaking down dead organisms, e.g., fungi decomposing fallen leaves.

Part 2

Symbiotic Relationships:

* Commensalism: One benefits, other unaffected, e.g., orchids growing on trees.

* Parasitism: One benefits, other harmed, e.g., fleas on dogs.

* Mutualism: Both benefit, e.g., bees pollinating flowers for nectar.

Trophic Levels:

* Each step in a food chain or web is a trophic level, e.g.,

* Producers (Plants): Convert sunlight into energy.(always at the bottom of food chains/webs)

* Primary Consumers (Herbivores): Eat plants, e.g., zebras.

* Secondary Consumers (Carnivores): Eat herbivores, e.g., lions.

* Tertiary Consumers (Top Carnivores): Eat other carnivores, e.g., apex predators like tigers.

Adaptations:inherited characteristics that help an organism to survive long enought to go through life processes such as respiration

* Structural: Physical features that help with survival.

* Camouflage: Blending in with surroundings, e.g., chameleons.

* Mimicry: Copying appearance for protection, e.g., viceroy butterfly mimicking monarch.

* Body Structures: Specialized for function, e.g., sharp teeth of carnivores.

* Behavioral: ways an organism act to survive.

* Migration: Seasonal movement for better conditions, e.g., birds migrating south.

* Hibernation: Winter dormancy to conserve energy, e.g., bears.

* Living in Groups: Safety in numbers, e.g., lions in prides.

* Tool Use: Using objects for tasks, e.g., chimpanzees using sticks to extract insects.

* Playing Dead: Pretending to be dead to escape harm, e.g., possums.

* Communication/calling: Signals for mating or warning, e.g., bird songs or alarm calls.

Plants make their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in a process called photosynthesis.

They store this food as glucose and use it to grow and stay healthy. Some plants, like those that live on dead matter (saprophytes), and others that rely on living hosts (parasitic plants), get their nutrients in different ways.

Both plants and animals release energy from glucose through respiration, which happens in every cell and doesn't need sunlight. This process produces carbon dioxide and water as by-products.

Respiration is how organisms use glucose for energy to keep cells working. Aerobic respiration needs oxygen and makes more ATP (energy), while anaerobic respiration doesn't need oxygen and makes less ATP, along with lactic acid or ethanol as by-products.