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| The portion of Earth that supports living things - includes air, land, freshwater, and saltwater |
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| The nonliving components of an organism's environment - i.e. air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil |
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| Abiotic factors are important because: |
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1. They often determine which species survive in a particular environment
2. They determine where specific species live, obtain food, and reproduce |
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1. Biotic factors include all the living organisms that inhabit an enfironment and their interactions with each other
2. All organisms depend on others directly or indirectly for food, shelter, reproduction, or protection |
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| Ecologists study: 1. individual organisms 2. interactions among organisms of the same species 3. interactions among organisms of different species 4. the effects of abiotic factors on interacting species |
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| an individual living thing that is made of cells, uses energy, reproduces, responds, grows, and develops |
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| A group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same area at the same time |
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| A group of interacting populations in a certain area at a certain time (a change in one population in a community may cause changes in the other population) |
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| Populations of plants and animals that interact with each other in a given area and with the abiotic components of that area |
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| Located on land: forest, old farm field, meadow, yard, empty lot, compost heap, volcano site, rotting log, garden plot... |
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| Located in fresh and salt water: pond, lake, ocean, estuary, stream, river, aquarium, bucket |
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| Other (non aquatic or terrestrial) sites for ecosystems |
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1. Human Body (skin, mouth, intestines)
2. Buildings (mold on walls floors & basements, ventilation systems, bathrooms, furniture and fabrics, carpets, garbage cans
3. Food (mold, refrigerators, unwashed dishes, dirty storage containers, bacteria growth) |
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| The place where an organism lives out its life. Habitats can change due to both natural and human causes. |
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All strategies and adaptations a species uses in its environment - how it meets its specific needs for FOOD and SHELTER and REPRODUCTION.
(all the species' interactions with the biotic and abiotic part of the habitat) |
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| Relationships where there is a close and permanent association between organisms of different species (they live together). These include 1. mutualism 2. commensalism, & 3. parasitism |
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| A symbiotic relationship in which BOTH species benefit (clown fish and sea anemone) |
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| A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is neither harmed nor benefited (vines growing on branches) |
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| A symbiotic relationship in which a member of one species benefits, and the other is harmed (tapeworms, ticks) |
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| Nutrition and Energy Flow |
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| An important characteristic of a species' niche is how it obtains energy. Ecologists trace the flow of energy through communities to discover nutritional relationships between organisms |
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| (producers) - an organism that uses light energy or energy stored in chemical compounds to make energy-rich compounds; ABLE TO GENERATE OWN FOOD SUPPLY - plants (photosynthesis), green algae, some bacteria |
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An organism which cannot make its own food. It must feed on autotrophs and/or other heterotrophs to obtain energy
1. HERBIVORE
2. CARNIVORE
3. OMNIVORE |
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| Eats animals that have already died - do not kill for food |
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| Some organisms (BACTERIA AND FUNGI) Break down the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be more easily absorbed |
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| A simple model that scientists use to show how matter and energy move through an ecosystem. In a food chain nutrients and energy move from AUTOTROPHS->HETEROTROPHS->DECOMPOSERS |
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| Feeding steps which show the transfer of energy from one level to the next in a food chain. The amount of energy remaining in the final step (or transfer) is only a small portion of what it was at the first step. At each step some energy is given off as heat. |
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| Shows the complex relationships that exist for organisms that feed on more than one species. It is a more realistic model than the food chain because most organisms depend on more than one other species for food. |
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| ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS (1.pyramid of energy, 2.pyramid of numbers, 3.pyramid of biomass) |
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| Another type of model ecologists use to show how energy flows through an ecosystem. 1.THE PYRAMID OF ENERGY illustrates that the amount of available energy decreases at each succeeding trophic level. The total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is only about 10%. 2. THE PYRAMID OF NUMBERS shows that population size decreases at each higher trophic level. 3. THE PYRAMID OF BIOMASS shows the total weight of living matter at each trophic level |
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| In the water cycle, water is constantly moving between the atmosphere and Earth. LIFE ON EARTH DEPENDS ON WATER!!! |
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| Carbon is the element of life (required by all living organisms - it is the building block of the molecules of life). Living organisms use carbon molecules for growth and energy, then release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. |
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-78% of air is nitrogen
-plants are unable to use nitrogen from atmosphere (must be extracted from soil)
-Nitrogen is converted by nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil (attached to roots)
-Nitrogen is required for the production of proteins (amino acids) |
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-All organisms require phosphorus for growth and development
-Plants obtain phosphorus from the soil
-Animals obtain phosphorus by eating plants
-short term cycle vs. long term cycle |
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