NAME: ______________________

ECOLOGY Unit Notes

Relationships, Biomes, & Populations
Relationships
What is Ecology?
Ecology: Scientific study of ____________ among organisms and between organisms and their environment.

What are the levels of organization?

 To understand ________________________ within the biosphere, ecologists ask questions about events
and organisms that range in complexity from a single organism to the entire biosphere.

 Species: Group of similar organisms that can _____________ and reproduce fertile offspring.

 Populations: Group of individuals of the ____________ species that live in the same area.

 Communities: Assemblage of different _________________ that live together in a defined area.

 Biome: Group of ecosystems that have the same ________________ and similar dominate communities.
 Biosphere: Part of ______________ in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere.

What are ecosystems composed of?

• Ecosystems are influenced by ___________________ and __________________ factors.
• The biological influences on organisms within an ecosystem are called biotic factors.
Includes; all biological creatures which an organism may interact or, it’s community.
________________, ______________, trees, bacteria
• Physical, or non-living factors that shape ecosystems are called abiotic factors.
Includes; the climate like—_____________________, precipitation, humidity, ______________,
nutrient type, soil type, sunlight etc.
• List some biotic factors in an ecosystem: ___________________________________________________
• List some abiotic factors in an ecosystem: __________________________________________________

What is a habitat?
 Habitat: An area where organisms _________.

Provides:
* ____________

* ____________

* ____________

* ____________
 NAME: ______________________
What is a niche?
• Is the organisms occupation...Its _______ ...What it does.
• A niche is the full range of physical and biological _________________ in which an organism lives and the
way in which the organism uses those conditions.

What is symbiosis and what are the different types?

• Any ________________ in which two species live closely together is called symbiosis or “living together”

• Examples: _______________, ______________________, ___________________

• Mutualism: Both species benefit. Neither one is _____________ or helped.

(Ex.: Bee and flower & Cleaner fish/other fish)
• Commensalism: One member benefits and the other is ______________ helped nor harmed.
(Example: bird nest in a tree, barnacle on a whale)
• Parasitism: One organism lives on or inside another organism and ____________ it.
* A host is the organism in which a parasite obtains its nutritional needs.

• Example of Parasitism: The ________________ lays eggs in other species of bird’s nests. It hatches first
and pushes out the other bird’s eggs. Then the mother bird raises the cuckoo rather than her own babies!

• Example of Parasitism: This is a _______________. If your dog/cat ingests a flea, and the flea has a
tapeworm egg in it, this is born in the animals intestinal tract and feeds off of the animals food.

What is the difference between weather & climate?

 Weather is the ______ to ______ condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place.
 Climate refers to the __________________ year after year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a
particular region.

What is a climatogram?
 A Climatogram is a diagram that summarizes a region’s climate, including temperature and precipitation.

The Major Biomes

• The major biomes are defined by a unique set of abiotic factors

• Each has a characteristic ecological ________________ and each is defined

by its climate (temperature & precipitation)

 It has nothing to do with __________________!

Tropical Rainforest
o Hot, wet biome with year-round _________________
o Contains Earth’s MOST diverse species of _____________ and ________________
 NAME: ______________________
Tundra
o A biome that is _____________ with a layer of permanently frozen soil below the
surface called permafrost
o Very ___________ precipitation!

Taiga/Boreal Forest
o South of the __________
o ____________ (no) permafrost layer
o Summers are warmer and longer than the tundra.
Temperate Grasslands
o Mostly grasses and very few __________
o Fertile __________
o Many _____________ animals like buffalo & horses
o Also called prairies in the US
o These grasses contain ________ that make them flammable
o Grass ___________ help the biome’s grasses grow healthier after the fire
Tropical Savannah
o Grasses with scattered _________
Deserts
o Annual rate of evaporation exceeds the rate of _________________
o Very little __________
o Can have a little variety of animals

Population
What affects a population?
1. Predation - Predators: as the ______________ of prey increase, the number of predators will too
2. Disease
1. Outbreaks occurs when population ______________ is high
2. Disease is transmitted easier
3. Parasites
1. Similar to ______________, when population density is high, parasites are transmitted easier
4. Competition
- Individuals compete for: ____________, water, shelter, & _____________

What is Population Growth Rate?

• Population Growth Rate: Explains how _________ a given population grows
– If death rates decrease and births increase, the population with increase OR decrease?
 NAME: ______________________
• Emigration: Used to describe the number of individuals who move __________ from a population.

• Immigration: Used to describe the number of individuals who move __________ a population.

Types of Growth
 Predator/Prey Model:
As the number of lynx increase, the number of hare also increase.
As then number of hare decrease, the number of lynx decrease.

 Exponential Growth Model:

Bacteria in a Petri dish
o Food is placed into a Petri dish, and bacteria is introduced to the ________.
o The first 2 hours is the “lag phase”, followed with _____________________ growth.
o During the 2nd hour, bacteria begin to reproduce because there is plenty of food available.
o The bacteria will grow exponentially until there is no more food, and then they will all ________.

 Logistic Growth Model:

o Notice the S-shape in this graph…the population levels off (________________)
o Carrying Capacity: The maximum number of individuals in a species that an environment can
support for a long period of time.