Warm-up 1/30/12  Teach the Teacher: What is the best kind of candy to get at the gas station?  Review: Give me an example of how you might use the scientific method in your daily life.  Learning Target: Identify the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem  Compare and contrast levels of organization of an ecosystem

Say it To Know It

Flash Card  On the Front Write:  Characteristics of Life  On the Back write:  Made of cell (s)  Organization  Grows  Reproduces  Responds to stimuli  Requires energy  Homeostasis  Has adaptations

Ecology:the study of the interactions of living organisms with each other and their environment.

BIOSPHERE: the portion of Earth that supports life... Air Land Water

Inorganic /Abiotic factors... (the non-living environment)  Wind  Temperature  Moisture  Light  Soil  Minerals  Fire

Organic / Biotic Factors... (the living environment)  Plants  Animals  Protists  Bacteria  Fungi  (All living things containing carbon)

Levels of Organization  Biosphere –Biome Ecosystem –Biological Communities Population Individual

Population  a group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time.

Community: A group of organisms of different species living together in a particular place.

Habitat: The physical location in which a given species lives.

Population Characteristics  How do you describe clicks…  Ways to describe ecological groups: –Population density –Spatial distribution –Population Ranges

Population Density Number of organisms per unit area

Spatial Distribution  Three kinds of spatial distribution: –Uniform Black bears –Clumped groups herds –Random White tale deer

Warm-UP 2/1/12  Teach the Teacher: What is the coolest science show or movie you have seen (planet earth, bill nye, anything on discovery channel, etc.)  Review: What are the three main parts of ecological organization?  Learning Target: food chain, food web, ecological relationships

Flash Card  On the front:  Population  On the back:  A group same species in same place and time

Flash Card  On the front:  Community  On the back:  A group of different species in same place and time

Flash Card  On the front:  Abiotic  On the Back:  Non-living part of an ecosystem

Population Activities  Grow and Shrink  Growth is limited –Carrying Capacity

Carrying Capacity  Maxium number of individuals in a species that an environment can support.

Populations are limited by….  Abiotic Factors: –Weather –Lack of water or sunlight –No nutrients  Biotic Factors –Disease –Competition –Parasites

Omnivores - eat anything Carnivores - eat meat Insectivores - eat insects Herbivores - eat plants Producers - make own food Trophic level = feeding step Ecological (Energy) Pyramid

Niche: the role and position a species has in its environment  What it eats  Where it eats  When it eats

Food chain - shows how energy flows producerherbivoreomnivore producer1st order consumer 2nd order consumer 3rd order consumer

Organisms almost always eat, and are eaten by, many different organisms. Food web: interconnected food chains

chicken grass deer caterpillar hawk frog seeds snake beetle coyote turkey human rabbit

How energy flows...  Sun - main source of energy  Autotrophs / producers… can make own food  Heterotrophs / consumers… must eat other organisms  Decomposers / saprophytes… fungi & bacteria break down dead materials

Symbiosis: close association between two or more organisms of different species.  Commensalism - one benefits, one isn’t affected (eg. Whale & Barnacles)  Mutualism - both benefit (eg. Insects & Plants)  Parasitism - one benefits, one is harmed (eg. Ticks & Dogs)

Adaptation: the process by which a species becomes better suited to its environment.  Coloration  Speed  Migration  Thick fur  Chemical defenses  Hibernation/ Estivation  Size  Thorns and stickers

Cycles Within Ecosystems:  Water cycle – precipitation and evaporation  Carbon cycle – increasing carbon dioxide traps more heat and causes the “greenhouse effect.”  Nitrogen cycle – when decomposers change N to a useable form

Flash Cards  Mutualism  Population  Niche  Herbivore  Food Chain  Biosphere

Population Graphs  Exponential Growth=when a population is not limited by anything, grows faster and faster as time goes on  Population growth Curve

Warm-up 9/23/11  Teach the Teacher: What is the top three fast food restaurants?   Review: List as many flash cards words as you can think of (and you can use your flash cards)   Learning Target: Ecological Organization, Food Web Game Review

Omnivore or Carnivore Herbivore

Flash Card On the front write  Decomposer On the back write:  An organism that breaks down dead once living organisms into nutrients (ex: mushroom or fungi)

Flash Card On the front write  Herbivore On the back write:  An organism that eats only producers (herbs=plants)

Flash Card On the front write  Omnivore On the back write:  An organism that eats both producers and other organisms

Flash Card On the front write  Producer On the back write:  An organism that makes its own food from the energy of the sun (plants, algae)

Flash Card On the front write  Community On the back write:  A group of organisms of different species.

Warm-Up 9/27/11  Teach the Teacher: What is the best holiday and what do you do to celebrate?  Review: What do you remember about estimating population size (think about the fish/peanut lab, or the sunflower lab)  Learning Target: Populations limiting factors are either because of abiotic reasons, like weather, or biotic reasons, like disease, competition, etc.

Flash Card On the front write  Carrying Capacity On the back write:  The number of individuals an ecosystem can support

How many penguin questions…  1. What was the carrying capacity of the “Antarctic” coastline?  2. What was the limiting factor in this scenario?  3. What could be some other limiting factors that would effect the carrying capacity of an ecosystem?

Warm-up 10/6/11  Teach the Teacher: What would motivate students to come to school more often?  Review: what are the parts of the scientific method?  Learning Target: Review