Ecology Basics Notes Name/#______
Key Concepts
● Interactions within and among ______
● ______and ______through ecosystems
What is Ecology?
Scientific study of ______between organisms and their environment. It is a science of______
What do you mean by environment?
The environment is made up of two factors:
______factors- all ______organisms inhabiting the Earth
______factors- ______parts of the environment
Biotic / AbioticBiosphere → [Biome] → Ecosystem → Community → Population → Organism (______to ______)
______: Any unicellular or multicellular form exhibiting all the characteristics of life, an ______;
the lowest level of organization that ecologists typically study.
______: A ______of organisms of ______living in the same place at the same time ______and compete with each other for resources (ex. food, mates, shelter).
______: Several interacting populations that inhabit a common environment and are interdependent.
______: Populations in a community ______factors with which they interact (ex.marine,
terrestrial).
______: Life supporting portions of Earth composed of air, land, fresh water, and salt water. The
highest level of organization.
Habitat vs. Niche
______: where a population ______. (aka their address)
______: what a population ______in the ecosystem. (aka their profession)
Zone of Tolerance
The "zone of tolerance" for an organism is the ______such as water, temperature, atmosphere, and nutrients, where an organism is able to survive.
Relationships - Biotic Interactions
Competition: Two or more organisms compete for a ______
Group Behavior: Two or more organisms ______for the group.
– Flocking -- Swarming
– Schooling --Migrating
– Herding --Hunting
Symbiosis = ______
● Commensalism: One species benefits and the other species is ______(neither harmed or benefited)
Ex: polar bears and cyanobacteria
● Mutualism: ______species ______. Examples: cleaning birds and cleaner shrimp
● Parasitism: One organism benefits at the ______of the other organism.
Examples: lampreys, leeches, fleas, ticks,tapeworm
Feeding Relationships
Predator-Prey : Predators – Hunt ______(______) for food.
Explain how their population numbers fluctuate: ______
______
Producer-Consumer:
-Producer- aka: ______; they ______either by trapping the energy from the sun or converting chemicals into organic substances; bottom of the food chain.
-Consumer- aka: ______; they ______containing the sun’s energy;
*Can eat producers or other consumers
*Herbivores, Carnivores, Omnivores and Decomposers
Trophic Levels and energy flow- Energy flows through an ecosystem from inorganic (_____) to producers and on and on
● Arrows in a food chain/web follow the flow of energy
● Each link in a food chain is known as a ______.
● Trophic levels represent a feeding step in the transfer of ______in an ecosystem.
● Only ______of energy transfers to the next level.
o Primary (1o) Producers: plants, algae, some bacteria
o Primary (1o) Consumers: organisms that eat plants, ______
o Secondary (2o) Consumers: animals that eat herbivores, ______
o Higher Level (3o and up) Consumers: animals that eat secondary consumers
o Decomposers: eat and ______dead organic material (fungi, worms, larvae, bacteria)
o Omnivores: eat plants and animals; don’t have a perfect place to fit
Energy Flow
● ______- a single energy pathway in an ecosystem
● ______- a diagram of multiple possible energy
pathways through an ecosystem
● ______- a diagram showing trophic levels
in an ecosystem that also ______of energy,
biomass, or organism numbers with visual cues.
Toxins in Food Chains
• While amount of energy decreases as it moves up the food chain,
______and potency. This is called
______Ex: DDT & Bald Eagles
Ecology Basics Notes of