1. Ecology
Ecology

2. The environment can be composed of different factors:
Ecology-the study of the interaction between living things and their environment. Takes place in the biosphere.
The environment can be composed of different factors:
Biotic factors-living. Ex. Animals, plants, bacteria, fungus, etc.
Abiotic factors-non living. Ex. Sunlight, temperature, water, rocks

3. Levels of the Biosphere Diagram-pg.40
Organism
Single living thing.
A Buffalo
Population
Groups of the same type organism.
A herd of buffalo.
Community
Different populations in an area.
Buffalo, hawks, prairie dogs, grass
Ecosystems
Biotic and Abiotic factors.
Buffalo, hawks, prairie dogs, grass, flowers, rocks, soil, weather….
Biosphere: The planet

4. Organisms
Habitat = where they live Niche = The organism’s role or job in the habitat

5. Demography is the study of populations.
Population Density and Dispersion =
are they in a small or large space
how the individuals are spread out
Birth Rate = # born/total population
Death Rate = # died/total population
Compare Birth and Death to get Growth Rate.
Life expectancy-How long individuals in the population are expected to live. What affects this?
Immigration/Emigration

7. How do populations grow?

8. What limits a population size?
Populations will grow out of control (exponential) unless acted on by the environment.
When factors limit growth the population reaches the Carrying Capacity - the number of organisms the environment can support indefinitely. (logistic)
Limiting factors stop a population from growing
1. Density - dependent limiting factors
Factors that have an increasing effect as populations size increases.
EX.
2. Density-independent limiting factors
Factors that affect all populations, regardless of their size.

9. How do populations grow?

10. World In the Balance/ 2.0
Read through the questions for the video today. You do not need to write the question. Only the answer. The grade for this assignment is out of 20 points.

11. Food Web Notes and Activity / 2.1
Look at the food web to answer the following questions:
Are the plants usually at the bottom or the top of the food chain? If they do not eat, where does their energy come from?
Do the arrows point to the eater or the organism being
eaten?
The arrows show how ENERGY moves. Where does the energy in a community start?
The energy decreases at each level. Which group of organisms have the most energy? Which group of organisms have the least energy?
We will pull popsicle sticks in 5 minutes.
Add the ‘notes’ to your questions.

13. Resources in ecosystems
Part of the natural environment used by humans for their benefit
Renewable Resources
a natural resource that is replaced or recycled by natural processes
Ex.
Nonrenewable Resources
a natural resource that is available only in limited quantities and is not recycled or replaced by natural processes

14. Human Impact on the Environment
Human population growth has led to most environmental problems.
Loss of resources, destruction of habitats, deforestation for agriculture
Carbon Dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Carbon Dioxide is a major greenhouse gas. Production of these gases create a blanket that holds in heat.
Emissions also mix with water to form acid rain damaging terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by lowering pH.
Habitat destruction can be caused by many factors: new construction, agriculture, pollution

15. Sustainable practice is the use of resources for profit and production that also replenishes the environment.
Practices include:
Farming: crop rotation, contour farming
Atmospheric Policy-Clean Air Act (1967)
CFC use outlawed in many countries
Population Control
Advances in technology and medicine
Hunting regulations for game populations
Resource management: limited use of non-renewable resources, research into renewable fuels

16. Succession The gradual sequential growth of species in an area.
Primary vs. Secondary Succession:
Primary – has not previously supported life.
Secondary – replacement of species after a disruption.
What are some examples of a disruption?
Pioneer species-usually small, grow and reproduce fast, sturdy.
Ex. Grasses for secondary and Lichens for primary
The climax community is the final stage.
Different for different areas.

17. Cycling through the ecosystem
Water Cycle
4 –tions: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation
Powered by the Sun
Abiotic Cycle
Using your knowledge, phone or textbook pg. 53 DRAW THE WATER CYCLE in your notebook. Make sure all “-tions” are labeled.

19. Cycling of resources in an ecosystem.
Carbon Cycle
Write the equation for photosynthesis.
Write the equation for respiration.
How does carbon ENTER the atmosphere?
How is carbon REMOVED from the atmosphere?
Biotic Cycle
Cycling of resources in an ecosystem.

20. Carbon

21. Cycling of resources in an ecosystem.
Nitrogen Cycle
All living things need nitrogen!
Lots of nitrogen is available in the air but plants cannot take it in.
Bacteria in the soil or on roots create usable nitrogen for plants.
Animals eat plants
Death and decay puts nitrogen back into the air.
Biotic Cycle

23. Diagrams Paste both diagrams in your notebook with the notes.
On the Carbon Cycle:
Color the arrows that PUT Carbon Dioxide into the air RED.
Color the arrows that TAKE Carbon Dioxide out of the air GREEN.
What parts of the Carbon Cycle would not have been present before the Industrial Revolution?
On the Nitrogen Cycle: Circle bacteria!

24. Human Impact Activity – station 4
Environmental
Issue
Cause
Effect
Human Impact?

25. Are organisms natural resources?
Extinction - complete disappearance of a species
Threatened species - a species in which the population is declining rapidly
Endangered species - a species in which the population numbers are so low that extinction is possible

26. Biodiversity
The variety of organisms (and their genes) in an ecosystem and how they affect/depend on each other.
Diversity tends to increase naturally through time.
Older ecosystems are more stable and healthy.
Benefits of biodiversity:
Esthetics
Economical
Ecologically Ethical

27. Monoculture Define this term in your own words.
Examples of monocultures are lawns, forests grown for agriculture
Which stage in succession is the closest to a monoculture?
Why are monocultures a problem?
Disease!!!!!!

28. Think about this….
In a coral reef ecosystem, the sea star Pisaster preys on the mussel Mytilus. The coral reef ecosystem is a very diverse ecosystem. All of the species interact closely with each other. The mussel population was declining so environmentalists removed the sea star. What do you think happened?

29. Think about this…..
DDT is a pesticide that at one time was used in large amounts in Africa to combat Malaria. DDT killed large numbers of mosquitoes, the main host organism for the disease. Because of this the small birds that fed on the mosquitoes began to decrease in number. Eventually areas in Africa had to introduce large numbers of domestic cats into the villages and towns. Why?

30. Unit Test Resources Limiting Renewable vs. Non Food webs Biodiversity
Examples of each
Food webs Biodiversity
Reading
Transfer of energy
Symbiosis
Organization
Population Growth
What controls it?
Reading diagrams
Limiting factors
Carbon Cycles