 Ecology  the study of how organisms interact with each other and with the non-living things in their environment

 Stewardship  involves taking personal responsibility for the management and care for something, ex. the environment  the environment includes all living and non-living things that exist on earth  Natural environment must be used in a sustainable way  Sustainability refers to the ability of populations of plants, animals, and other living organisms to continue to interact and reproduce indefinitely  Biodiversity (the number of different types of organisms) must be preserved

 READ the article “MAMMAL EXTINCTION RISK RISES”  answer the attached questions  DISCUSSION:  How does human impact affect wildlife?  What examples do you see in your community or in your experience of human impact on living things?  How does this article illustrate the importance of stewardship?

 A system, made up of interacting biotic and abiotic components or parts, that interact as a whole to accomplish a task  For Example  a beehive is a system that depends on all the individual bees’ interactions (worker bee builds the hive, drone bee mates with the queen, queen bee produces eggs) Brainpop video

 Components of ecosystems:  Biotic factors  Organisms such as animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and algae (all require oxygen to live)  Abiotic factors  Everything else on earth that doesn’t require oxygen to live  ex. Rocks, air, water

 Interactions of biotic and abiotic elements help self-regulate  Ecosystems have communities which consist of different species that live and interact with an area  A species is a group of similar organisms in an ecosystem

 All species have a habitat and a niche  the habitat is the physical space (place) where an organism lives, ex. forest, pond  the niche involves an organism’s typical daily life/routine  ex. Grey squirrels collect nuts and other seeds, they are hunted by foxes and owls, try to be active throughout the day, and live and nest in trees

 Ecosystems can be as small as a drop of water or as large as an ocean  BUT, size doesn’t matter, just sustainability  Also ecosystems can exist within other ones and interact with each other

 Biomes  Are large geographical regions that contain similar ecosystems

 Types of Biomes:  1. Terrestrial  Are defined by the type of plant growth  ex. Deciduous forest biome – have trees that lose their leaves in winter  2. Aquatic  Can be water with high salt concentration, referred to as marine  Or can be water with low salt concentration, referred to as fresh water

 These biomes combine to form a biosphere  A biosphere includes water, land, and air; i.e. where life exists  very thin layer around the earth

 Components of the Biosphere:  1. Atmosphere  Layer of gases  Water vapour and CO 2 absorb sunlight and warm the planet  Lower atmosphere contains O 2 while the upper atmosphere contains ozone – O 3  Ozone helps protect us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation  2. Lithosphere  earth’s solid outer layer, ex. soil  extends 100 km from the surface  3. Hydrosphere  all the water on the earth  97 % salt water, 3 % fresh water

 Biosphere : locations around earth (3 layers)  Ecosystem : interaction of biotic and abiotic factors  Community : different populations living and interacting together in the same area  Population : individuals of the same species that live in the same area  Individual/Species : single organism

1. What is ecology? 2. Name 2 large ecosystems and 2 small ecosystems. 3. Which of the following are considered to be an ecosystem? Explain your reasoning.  Backyard pond  All cats in your neighbourhood  Tree  Schoolyard 4. Classify the following as either biotic or abiotic features: temperature, bacteria, wind, sunlight, dead leaves, mosquitoes, sand, milk, hair, ice, plastic, empty snail shell. 5. “Human activities change only the biotic features of an ecosystem” Is this statement true or false? Explain why or why not. 6. Would you consider a large city to be a population or a community? Explain your choice. 7.What is the difference between a biotic and an abiotic component of an ecosystem? 8. What are the three components that support the biosphere? 9. You interact with abiotic and biotic parts of your environment every day. a) List 5 abiotic factors in your environment b) List 5 biotic factors in your environment