1. Interactions of Life
Chapter 4
Section 1

2. Introduction: Unit 2 Ecology
National Geographic
The yokes that bind cans together have had a damaging effect on the environment.
Thousands of birds, fish and marine animals are entangled and sometimes killed by the plastic yokes.

3. Living Earth: Biosphere
The Earth is different from other planets because it has many living organisms.
The part of Earth that supports life is the biosphere
The biosphere is made up of different types of environments and organisms.
Desert: little rain, cactus plants, coyotes, lizards.
Tropical Rain Forrest: plenty of rain, warm weather, parrots, monkeys, etc.
Coral Reefs: form in warm shallow ocean waters.
Arctic Regions: covered in ice/snow, polar bears, seals, walruses.

4. Life on Earth
3rd planet from the sun
Temperature is just right for life
Other planets are either too hot, or too cold, and do not have the right conditions for life.

5. Ecosystems
An ecosystem consists of all the organisms living in an area, as well as the nonliving parts of that environment.
Example of living features: Bison, grass, birds, and insects.
Example of nonliving features: Water, temperature, sunlight, soil and air.
Ecology is the study of interactions that occur among organisms and their environments.

6. Populations
A population is made up of all organisms of the same species that live in an area at the same time.
Example: all the bison in the prairie ecosystem.
Ecologists often study how populations interact.
A community is all the populations of all species living in an ecosystem.
Example: Prairie community = population of bison, grasshoppers, cowbirds and all other species.
Organism Population Community  Ecosystem

7. Habitats The place where an organism lives is called its habitat.
Trees are a woodpeckers habitat
A salamander’s habitat is the forest floor.
An organisms habitat provides the kind of food and shelter, the temperature, and the amount of moisture the organism needs to survive.

8. Section 1 Questions How is the earth different from other planets?
Define biosphere.
List 3 parts of the Earth included in the biosphere.
Why is the Earth able to support life?
What is an ecosystem?
What is ecology?
What is a population?
What is a community?
List the levels of organization of the living world.
What is a habitat?