Ecology Define Ecology Define Ecology study of the

Ecology

Define Ecology

Define Ecology • study of the interactions that take place among organisms and their environment

Describe each of the following terms: • Biosphere • Biotic • Abiotic

Describe each of the following terms: • Biosphere - part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth's crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on Earth's surface • Biotic - living • Abiotic – non-living

Describe each of the following terms: • Biome

Describe each of the following terms: • Biome - large geographic areas with similar climates and ecosystems • Includes: – – – – TUNDRA TAIGA DESERT TROPICAL RAINFOREST TEMPERATE RAINFOREST DECIDUOUS FOREST DESERT GRASSLAND

Describe each of the following terms: • Organism • Population • Community

Describe each of the following terms: • Organism – one of any living thing • Population - all the organisms that belong to the same species living in a community • Community - all the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem

Describe each of the following terms: • Ecosystem • Habitat • Niche

Describe each of the following terms: • Ecosystem - all the living organisms that live in an area and the nonliving features of their environment • Habitat - place where an organism lives and that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature needed for survival • Niche - in an ecosystem, refers to the unique ways an organism survives, obtains food and shelter, and avoids danger

Describe each of the following terms: • Limiting factor • Carrying capacity

Describe each of the following terms: • Limiting factor - anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought • Carrying capacity - largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time

Describe each of the following terms: • Producer • Consumer • Decomposer

Describe each of the following terms: • Producer - organism, such as a green plant or alga, that uses an outside source of energy like the Sun to create energyrich food molecules • Consumer - organism that cannot create energy-rich molecules but obtains its food by eating other organisms • Decomposer – consume wastes and dead organisms

Describe each of the following terms: • Predator • Prey

Describe each of the following terms: • Predator – an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food. A predator is a consumer [carnivore or omnivore] • Prey – an animal that is hunted and caught for food. Prey is a consumer; it may be a herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore.

Describe each of the following terms: • Carnivore • Herbivore • Omnivore

Describe each of the following terms: • Carnivore – eat omnivores or other carnivores [other consumers] • Herbivore – eat producers • Omnivore – eat producers and consumers

Describe each of the following terms: • Adaptations of consumers: – Carnivore - meat-eating animal with sharp canine teeth specialized to rip and tear flesh – Herbivore - plant-eating mammal with incisors specialized to cut vegetation and large, flat molars to grind it – Omnivore - plant- and meat-eating animal with incisors specialized to cut vegetables, premolars to chew meat, and molars to grind food

Review food chains, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, decomposers http: //www. planetpals. com/foodch ain. html

Describe each of the following terms: • Energy flow through an ecosystem

Describe each of the following terms: • Energy flow through an ecosystem - the movement of energy through an ecosystem through food webs. The transfer of energy from one organism to another.

Review the flow of energy through plants and animals here: http: //www. ftexploring. com/me/me 2. html

Describe each of the following terms: • Food chain • Food web

Describe each of the following terms: • Food chain - chain of organisms along which energy , in the form of food passes. An organism feeds on the link before it and is in turn prey for the link after it. • Food web - Complex network of many interconnected food chains and feeding relationships; a group of interconnecting food chains

Review food chains here: http: //www. vtaide. com/png/foodch ains. htm

Describe each of the following terms: • Energy pyramid

Describe each of the following terms: • Energy pyramid – a way of showing energy flow. As the amount of available energy decreases, the pyramid gets smaller. Each layer on a pyramid is called a trophic level.

Describe each of the following terms:

Review energy pyramids here: http: //www. ftexploring. com/me/pyr amid. html

Describe each of the following terms: • • Mutualism Commensalism Symbiosis Parasitism

Describe each of the following terms: • Mutualism - a type of symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit • Commensalism - a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is not affected • Symbiosis - any close relationship between species, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism • Parasitism -a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed

Describe each of the following terms: • Succession • Primary succession • Secondary succession

Describe each of the following terms: • Succession - natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary • Primary succession – takes where no soil exists • Secondary succession – takes place where soil is already present

Describe each of the following terms: • Pioneer species • Climax community

Describe each of the following terms: • Pioneer species - a group of hardy organisms, such as lichens, found in the primary stage of succession and that begin an area's soil-building process • Climax community - stable, end stage of ecological succession in which the plants and animals of a community use resources efficiently and balance is maintained by disturbances such as fire.

Review succession here: http: //library. thinkquest. org/17456/ succession 1. html

List the types of biomes:

List the types of biomes: • • Tundra Taiga Desert Tropical rain forest Temperate rain forest Grasslands Freshwater Saltwater

Describe each biome • Taiga - world's largest biome, located south of the tundra between 50° N and 60° N latitude; has long, cold winters, precipitation between 35 cm and 100 cm each year, cone-bearing evergreen trees, and dense forests

Describe each biome • Tundra - cold, dry, treeless biome with less than 25 cm of precipitation each year, a short growing season, permafrost, and winters that can be six to nine months long

Describe each biome • Temperate rainforest - biome with 200 cm to 400 cm of precipitation each year, average temperatures between 9°C and 12°C, and forests dominated by trees with needlelike leaves

Describe each biome • Tropical rain forest - most biologically diverse biome; has an average temperature of 25°C and receives between 200 cm and 600 cm of precipitation each year

Describe each biome • Grasslands - temperate and tropical regions with 25 cm to 75 cm of precipitation each year that are dominated by climax communities of grasses; ideal for growing crops and raising cattle and sheep

Describe each biome • Desert - driest biome on Earth with less than 25 cm of rain each year; has dunes or thin soil with little organic matter and plants and animals specially adapted to survive extreme conditions

Describe each biome • Deciduous forest - biome usually having four distinct seasons, annual precipitation between 75 cm and 150 cm, and climax communities of deciduous trees

Describe each biome • Freshwater - flowing water such as rivers and streams and standing water such as lakes, ponds, and wetlands

Describe each biome • Saltwater - oceans, seas, a few inland lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, coastal inlets and estuaries

Review biomes here: http: //www. cotf. edu/ete/modules/ msese/earthsysflr/biomes. html

More information on biomes can be found here: http: //mbgnet. mobot. org/