1. The Organization of Life
Ecosystems:
Everything is Connected

2. What is an Ecosystem?
Ecosystems are communities of organisms and their abiotic environment.
Examples are an oak forest or a coral reef.
Ecosystems do not have clear boundaries.
Things move from one ecosystem to another.

3. The Components of an Ecosystem
In order to survive, ecosystems need five basic components:
energy
mineral/nutrients
water
oxygen
living organisms
Plants and rocks are components of the land ecosystems, while most of the energy of an ecosystem comes from the sun.
If one part of the ecosystem is destroyed or changes, the entire system will be affected.

4. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Biotic factors are environmental factors that are associated with or results from the activities of living organisms which includes plants, animals, dead organisms, and the waste products of organisms.

5. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Abiotic factors are environmental factors that are not associated with the activities of living organisms which includes air, water, rocks, and temperature.

6. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Biotic: seals and bird
Abiotic: soil and rocks

8. List the biotic and abiotic factors.

9. List the biotic and abiotic factors.

10. Quiz
In 3 2 1

11. List the biotic and abiotic factors.

12. Levels of Ecological Organization
Pick-up Figure 4, page 95
Levels of Ecological Organization

13. Scientists can organize these living and nonliving things into various levels.
organisms → populations →
communities → ecosystems →
biomes → biosphere

14. Organism - a living thing (deer, bacteria, you) Species are groups of organisms that can reproduce with each other & produce young.

15. Populations - group of similar organisms
Populations - group of similar organisms ex: herd of deer, flock of sheep, students in class able to interbreed - mate within the population

16. Population

17. Population

18. Communities – Group of different populations in the same area and interact ex: deer, trees, bugs, snakes in a forest

19. Community

20. Components of an Ecosystem
Biotic factors
Living and dead organisms
Populations → communities
Abiotic factors
water
oxygen, carbon dioxide
minerals in soil for nutrients
energy (sunlight)

21. Ecosystem – community and its physical environment
Ecosystem – community and its physical environment ex: forest, prairie, coral reef

22. Biosphere – includes all the life-supporting environments on the planet together with all the organisms that inhabit them

25. Habitat Habitats are places where an organism usually lives.
Every habitat has specific characteristics that the organisms that live there need to survive. If any of these factors change, the habitat changes.
Organisms tend to be very well suited to their natural habitats.
In fact, animals and plants usually cannot survive for long periods away from their natural habitat.

26. Habitat
Ex: Tree, pond, forest, ocean…