Life’s simple little recipes! (MS-LS2-1) Ecology The Bare Necessities Life’s simple little recipes! (MS-LS2-1)

Essential Questions MS-LS2-1 How does the availability of resources effect the growth of individual organisms? MS-LS2-1 How does the availability of resources effect the growth of the numbers of organisms in an ecosystem?

It’s ALL about Commpetition for Resources !! A Place to Live Food Water Air The Bare Necessities

Why do living organisms eat? Food Why do living organisms eat? For Energy! Energy is stored in the chemical bonds within the food source. This energy is released as a result of Digestion and Metabolism.

Air What is the element in Air that living organisms need? Oxygen! Air is 22 % oxygen. Where does all of the earth’s Oxygen come from? Photosynthesis. 50 % from Phytoplankton (algae, kelp, etc). Why is Oxygen so important to living organisms? Energy! Fuel source for cells.

How important is water to maintaining life? Why is it so important? The human body is approximately 70% water. Water is necessary for maintaining good cellular health. Every cell in every organism requires water to perform life sustaining activities.

A Place to Live Shelter – Provides protection from forces of nature such as weather, predators, solar radiation, etc. Habitat –  the place or environment where a plant or animal naturally lives and grows. Niche –  The function/role of an organism within its habitat.

Competition – for resources (bare necessities) within an ecosystem There are 3 terms that can be used describe Ecological interactions of within a Habitat . . . . Competition – for resources (bare necessities) within an ecosystem Limiting Factors – resources that limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or a population of organisms in an ecosystem Carrying Capacity - the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely based on available resources

Reduced resource availability increases COMPETITION. EQ #1 MS-LS2-1 How does the availability of resources effect the growth of individual organisms? The amount of available resources directly effects an organisms ability to grow. Reduced resource availability increases COMPETITION.

EQ #2 MS-LS2-1 How does the availability of resources effect the growth of the numbers of organisms in an ecosystem? The Limiting Factors in an ecosystem impacts its Carrying Capacity by limiting the total number of organisms the resources can sustain, creating more Competition among the inhabitants of the ecosystem.