TEKS (10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that there is a relationship between organisms and the environment. The student is expected to: • 7.10A observe and describe how different environments, including microhabitats in schoolyards and biomes, support different varieties of organisms; • 7.10B describe how biodiversity contributes to the sustainability of an ecosystem; and • 7.10C observe, record, and describe the role of ecological succession such as in a microhabitat of a garden with weeds. Biodiversity Vocabulary Create a table in your lab notebook with these headings. The vocabulary words are underlined, the definition column should be the largest. You may choose to draw a picture or list examples. Only copy the vocabulary words that are new to you!!! Word Definition Examples Organism Any living thing Abiotic Not living rocks, water, sun Biosphere Ecosystem Community Population Organism Levels of Ecological Organization - way of grouping like things ecologically Biosphere Parts of the Earth needed to support life, top portion of Earth’s crust, all waters on Earth and the surrounding atmosphere Biome Large area that has similar weather and organisms • Terrestrial (land): desert, tropical rainforest, grassland • Aquatic or Marine (water): freshwater, saltwater Ecosystem Consists of all the living and nonliving factors of the environment. Abiotic nonliving things in an environment Never alive Examples: Light, soil, water, temperature, air Air Biotic living or once living (dead) things in an environment; plants and animals. Community All the populations in an ecosystem (includes different species). Ex. All the seals, sharks, whales, and seaweed by a corral reef Population All organisms in an ecosystem that are the same kind (species) (all the same kind of organism in an area) Ex. School of fish or a flock of birds Organism Any living thing. Ex. Plant, animal, fungi, bacteria etc. Producer Organisms (plants) that use the sun to make their own food (photosynthesis) AKA….autotrophs or vegetation Consumer Organism that cannot make their own food, eat other organisms Heterotrophs Decomposer: organism that breaks down wastes and dead plants and animals Plants use decomposer waste as fertilizer Fungi (mushrooms), bacteria, worms Predator • Hunter, eats others • Normally sharp teeth • Can be venomous • Examples: Lion, Bear, Shark, Spider Prey • Hunted or eaten • Normally the smaller organisms • Examples: Rabbits, Fish, Insects, Zebras Review Vocabulary • Herbivore – eats only plants • Carnivore – eats only animals • Omnivore – eats both plants and animals Food Chain • Diagram that shows predator prey relationships in an ecosystem • points in the direction energy travels Omnivore (Bear) Producer Herbivore Carnivore (Grass) (Deer) (Lion) Habitat Where an organism lives, includes everything an organism needs to survive Forest – habitat of a wolf Microhabitat small habitat Flower garden Decaying tree / rotting log bushes Niche How an organisms survives. • Obtains food & shelter • Finds mate & cares for young Adaptation A change developed over many generations that help an organism to survive. Animals depend on these features to help them obtain food, keep safe, build homes, withstand weather, and attract mates. Examples include: gills in fish, hollow bones in birds, xylem in plants, the shape of a bird's beak, color of the fur, the thickness of the fur, the shape of the nose or ears Competition • Organisms fight for resources (food, water, shelter, mate etc.) • Example: Trees growing taller in a forest competing for sunlight Symbiosis A close, long-term relationship between 2 or more species. Types of symbiosis: » Mutualism » Commensalism » Parasitism Mutualism • Symbiotic relationship • BOTH organisms BENEFIT • Examples: – Egyptian Plover (bird) and crocodiles – Insects and flowers – Clown fish and sea Anemone Commensalism • Symbiotic relationship • ONE species BENEFITS while the OTHER is UNAFFECTED. • Example – Remora fish and sharks or sea turtles Parasitism • Symbiotic relationship • ONE organism BENEFITS (PARASITE) • while the OTHER is HARMED (HOST) • Examples of parasite: leeches, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, microscopic organisms Carrying Capacity Largest number of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support. – Ex. When the robins (birds) have no more nesting space then their population has reached its largest number. Limiting Factor • Anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population to grow. (Food, Space, shelter, water) –Running out of space for nesting limits the birds from reproducing. Biological Diversity AKA… Biodiversity Variety of organisms in an area • More Biodiversity = healthy or stable ecosystem, like Tropical Rainforest or ocean • Less Biodiversity = unstable or fragile ecosystem, like Tundra Sustainability • Stable ecosystem that can survive and thrive on its own • Variety of plants and animals (biodiversity) Native Species • Species – all of one kind of organism • Native Species - Organism that naturally lives in an area • Invasive Species – (nonnative) introduced into an environment by people (alien) Invasive Species • Species – all of one kind of organism • Invasive Species – introduced into an environment by people • AKA – nonnative, nonindigenous, alien, exotic • No natural predators, so it often grows/spreads/reproduces quickly • Takes over, native species die • Examples: Zebra Mussels, Pest, Weeds Tundra Tundra .Located near North Pole (Alaska) .Extremely cold .Little precipitation, but limited drainage .Soil is frozen, called “Permafrost” .Low biotic diversity .Simple vegetation (plants) .Short season of growth and reproduction .Treeless .Plants: lichen, moss, grass, small shrubs .Animals: insects and migratory birds in summer, hawks, snow owls, mice, arctic hares, reindeer Taiga (TI guh) Largest Biome South of the Tundra Long cold, snowy winters and Short warm, rainy, humid summers Plants: Coniferous forest (cone bearing) Animals: Moose, lynx, shrews, bears, foxes Deciduous Forest •Eastern U.S., Russia, Japan, New Zealand, Southeastern Australia •4 distinct seasons •Deciduous trees (have leaves that change color that they lose in the Fall) •Lots of decomposition on forest floor: insect diversity •Plants: Oak, maple, and hickory trees •Animals: Bald eagles, coyote, platypus, squirrel, deer Tropical Rain Forest Near the equator Warm temperatures and lots of precipitation Temperature doesn’t vary much night and day Little nutrients in soil because of competition of abundance of plant life Very diverse plants and animals (Coconut trees) Desert .Driest Biome .Rain quickly evaporates or drains away .Animals: Few large animals, kangaroo rat, scorpions (Most nocturnal and burrowing because extreme temperatures .Few plants: cacti, joshua tree .Sandy soil with little organic matter Grasslands Located in mid and western U.S. Thin soil and a season with little rain Plants: grasses, small shrubs, few trees Animals: kangaroo, zebra, wildebeest, lion Freshwater Rivers, streams, creeks, lakes and ponds algae, moss, plankton, alligators, turtles Salt Water Ocean (Light & Dark zones), coral reef, seashore Starfish, crab, sharks, whales, fish, seaweed, kelp Intertidal zone Estuary • Transitional zone between freshwater (river) and saltwater (ocean) Ecological Succession Ecological Succession • gradual replacement of populations in an area (how barren land changes into a forest if left alone) Climax Communities • Stable stage of ecological succession • Equilibrium • Forest –Trees –Large animals Primary Succession • Begins in a place without any soil, or ROCK. (After a volcanic eruption) • Pioneer Species (arrive first) – living things that do not need soil to survive, they can survive in extreme conditions and start the soil-building process. Examples - Lichens and Moss. • Primary Succession takes up to 1,000 years to reach a climax community Secondary Succession • Begins in a place that already has SOIL and was once the home of living organisms • Normally occurs after a wildfire, flood, deforestation, or construction. • Pioneer species are grasses and small shrubs. • Secondary Succession may take a century (100 years) to reach climax Stages of Succession Stability Maturity Growth Birth .