Ch. 4 Interactions of Life

Section 1 : Living Earth  Biosphere:  The part of Earth that supports life  From the floor of the deepest sea to the atmosphere

Ecosystems  All the living and nonliving parts of an environment  Ex: soil + rocks + rocks + water + water + plants + plants + mammals + mammals + insects + insects + amphibians + amphibians + reptiles + reptiles + birds + birds + fish + fish + air quality + air quality ecosystem ecosystem

Ecology  The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.  Can you explain one?  Ex: Wolves and Yellowstone National Park.  Do they belong there, or should we kill them off?

Populations  All the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species.  Whitetail deer  Red Maple  Fire ants  Brook trout  Mountain Laurel bush

Community  All the populations in an ecosystem  All living organisms that interact and survive together.  Describe the community that thrives in Yellow Creek?  Habitat  An area where a population or a community lives.  Needs to provide adequate food, space/shelter, temperature, and water

Section 2: Populations  Population Competition  Two or more organisms of the same species competing for resources at the same time  Food  Living space/Shelter  Water  Oxygen or Carbon Dioxide  Sunlight

Population Size  Indicator of the health of a population  Density  The size of a population that inhabits a specific area.  Number of individuals per square unit of area.  12 deer per square mile  Affected by:  Limiting factors  Any living or nonliving feature that restricts the population size  Carrying Capacity  The largest number of individuals that can inhabit an ecosystem.  Biotic Potential  Highest rate of reproduction under ideal conditions.  Birth and Death rates  Migration of organisms into and out of an area

What is the population density of the rabbits? 100 yards 2

11 rabbits / 100 yards 2  In our area the carrying capacity for cottontail rabbits 8/100 yards 2.  Answer these questions in your notes.  Is this population healthy?  Is this population going to crash?  Will the all the rabbits be healthy?

Sct. 3 Interactions in Communites  2 levels of populations within each community.  Producers  Organisms (plants) that use the sun to produce energy.  Begin all food webs on Earth  Consumers  Organisms that cannot produce their own energy  Must consume producers or other consumers for energy

4 types of consumers  Herbivores  Eat plants  Giraffes  Carnivores  Eat animals  Brown Recluse Spiders  Omnivores  Eat plants and animals  Bears  Decomposers  End all food webs on Earth.  Decompose dead organisms  Fly larvae

Food Webs  What starts food webs on earth?  What type of organism must be at the beginning of every food web?  What types of organisms fill in the rest of the web?  What type of organism must be at the end of each strand of the food web?

Freshwater food web of Bedford County.

Terrestrial Food Web of Bedford County.  Begin and end a food web of your own with the correct steps.  Use at least 20 producers, consumers, and decomposers.  Add graphics and color(if you wish.)  Due tomorrow. 10 pts.

Relationships in Communities  Symbiosis  Relationship between two species or populations  Mutualism  When both species benefit  Commensalism  One benefits and the other is not affected  Parasitism  One benefits and the other is harmed

Mutualism, Commensalism, or Parasitism?  The clownfish lives among the forest of tentacles of an anemone and is protected from potential predators not immune to the sting of the anemone.  Commensalism

Mutualism, Commensalism, or Parasitism?  Burdocks  Spines attach themselves to passing animals and humans.  These organisms transfer the burdocks, which contain the plants seeds, to other areas and deposit them.  The burdock plant benefits and the other organisms are neither benefited or harmed, just a little annoyed.  Commensalism

Mutualism, Commensalism, or Parasitism?  Berries + English Starling + Pooh =  Mutualism  Berry bushes gain seed dispersal.  Starlings gain food.

Mutualism, Commensalism, or Parasitism?  Lake Trout from Lake Erie with Lamprey attached.  Parasitism

Niche  An organisms role in the ecosystem  Ex:  Oak Tree  Remove CO 2  Produce O 2  Provide habitat  Provide shade  Provide food  Store nutrients to return to the soil  Prevent erosion from water and wind

Questions….use notes.  Describe the niche in our ecosystem for:  Whitetail deer.  Turkey Buzzard.  Raspberry bush  Explain an example of each relationship in our ecosystem and why it is….  Mutualism  Commensalism.  Parasitism.