Ecology

Ecology- Study of biotic (living) & abiotic (nonliving) things in the environment

Biomes- ecosystems with similar climate or organisms (temperature & precipitation)

Rainforest, desert, grasslands, deciduous forest, boreal forest, tundra, Freshwater, Marine

Ecosystem- area where the organisms interact (meadow, stream, forest)

Habitat- place where the organism lives

Community- all organisms that live in an ecosystem

Succession- process of gradual change in a community

Roles

- Producers (Autotrophs) - makes its own food with photosynthesis using the sunlight (ex- plants, algae)

- Consumers (Heterotrophs) - feeds on other organisms

Herbivores- eats plants (caterpillars, deer)

Carnivores- eats animals (Lions, spiders)

Omnivores- eats both plants and animals (Crows, bears, humans)

Scavenger- eats dead organisms (catfish, vultures)

- Decomposers (Chemotroph) - break down waste & dead organisms to be reused (mushrooms, bacteria)

Food Chain/ Webs- diagram movement of energy through a chain or web

Chain- shows producer eaten by primary consumer, secondary consumer etc…

Web- has many overlapping chains in it

Energy pyramid- shows the amount of energy on each level- Bottom level of producers are the most and top 3^rd level consumers are the least

Biomass- the mass of all organisms, dead or alive

Cycles-

Water – travels around earth & changes forms

Nitrogen – how nitrogen is used & exchanged

Carbon Dioxide to Oxygen- plants ↔ animals

Symbiosis- two organisms living together

Commensal- benefits one and does nothing for the other

Mutualistic- benefits both organisms (shark & remora)

Parasitic – harms one and benefits other (tapeworm in mammals)

Limiting Factors- things in the environment which limit the population size (food, water, space, disease)

Society- group of the same kind of animal living and working together (muskox)

Competition- fight to get what the organism needs to survive (food, water, mates, space)

Territory- area animals live and defend. Reduces competition

Natural selection- strongest, fastest, best survive