R Ecology Is the Scientific Study of ______

Ecology Chapter 3 and 4.2 3-1 What Is Ecology?  Ecology is the scientific study of ______

 All life on Earth is interconnected.  All life interacts with the nonliving environment.

The Biosphere The biosphere contains the combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, including: • • • The biosphere extends from about ______kilometers above Earth's surface to as far as ____ kilometers below the surface of the ocean.

Interactions and Interdependence – Interactions within the biosphere produce a web of interdependence between ______and the ______in which they live.

– The interdependence of life on Earth contributes to an ______, or dynamic biosphere.

Levels of Organization • The biosphere is divided into biomes. A biome is a group of ______that have the same ______and similar dominant communities. • An ______is a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical, environment.

Levels of Organization • Communities are assemblages of ______populations that live together in a defined area. • Populations are groups of individuals that belong to the ______species and live in the ______area. • A species is a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can ______and produce ______. Ecological Methods – Regardless of the tools they use, scientists conduct modern ecological research using three basic approaches: • • • – All of these approaches rely on the application of scientific methods to guide ecological inquiry.

Learning Checkpoint 1. The combined portions of the planet in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere, form the ______

2. A group of organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring is known as a

3. What does an ecosystem include?

4. An ecological method that uses mathematical formulas based on data collected is

5. An ecologist marks out an area in a specific ecosystem and proceeds to identify the number of insect species in the area. This is an example of ecological

3-2 Energy Flow Producers • Organisms that are able to capture energy and carbon from the non-living world and form organic compounds are called ______

• Autotrophs are also called ______because they are the source of energy for the rest of the living world. • Without a constant input of ______, living systems cannot function. – ______-is the main energy source for life on Earth. – ______can also be a source of energy for some bacteria. Consumers • Many organisms cannot harness energy directly from the physical environment. • Organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply are called ______• Heterotrophs are also called ______.

Typers of Heterotrophs • ______eat plants. • ______eat animals. • ______eat both plants and animals. • ______feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter. • ______like bacteria and fungi, break down organic matter.

Feeding Relationships • The relationships between producers and consumers connect organisms into feeding networks based on who eats whom.

• Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction: → →

Food Chain Food Web o Remember: arrows represent flow of energy! Ecological Pyramids –Ecologists recognize three different types of ecological pyramids: • ______pyramids (show the transfer of energy) • ______pyramids (show the organism mass at each level) • pyramids of ______(show the amount of organisms in each level) Energy Pyramid • Shows transfer of energy through trophic levels (who eats what) → → → →

• 10% Rule – Only 10% of the energy in the previous trophic level is passed on

• Biomass – Total quantity of living matter at each trophic level

Learning Checkpoint 1. The main source of energy for life on Earth is?

2. Organisms that feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter are?

3. How does a food web differ from a food chain?

4. In a biomass pyramid, the base of the pyramid represents the mass of?

5. The amount of energy represented in each trophic level of consumers in an energy pyramid is about?

3-3 Cycles of Matter • Remember CHNOPS? • Unlike energy, these important elements can be ______within and between ecosystems. • Biogeochemical cycles- the passing of matter from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another

Nutrient Limitation and Surplus • What is a limiting nutrient?

• Why do farmers use fertilizer? • How does the use of fertilizer disrupt other parts of the ecosystem?

4-2 What Shapes an Ecosystem? • Ecosystems are influenced by both ______(living) factors and ______(nonliving) factors.

• What are some examples of biotic factors in an ecosystem?

• What are some examples of abiotic factors in an ecosystem?

The area where an organism lives is called its Habitat.

A Niche is the role of an organism with in its habitat. What does it eat? What preys on it? What resources does it use? How does it interact with other organisms? Etc.

Community Interactions • When organisms live together they interact constantly. • Interactions include: – – –

Competition • No two species can occupy the same niche at the same time. This is called the ______• Organisms compete for ______and available ______.

Predation • An interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism

Symbiosis • 2 species living together – ______(both species benefit) – ______(one benefits, the other is not helped nor harmed) – ______(one organism lives in or on another and harms it by stealing nutrients Ecological Succession • Ecosystems are constantly changing naturally and due to human disturbances. • Older inhabitants ______, new organisms ______• When a habitat has been completely wiped out so that all that remains is rock ______occurs.

Secondary Succession • When a disturbance of some kind changes a community without removing the soil