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Topic 6Topic 6
EcologyEcology
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The environment is every living and nonliving thing that surrounds an organism
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Ecosystem describes any portion of
the environment
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All the living things in an ecosystem are
called biotic
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Non living influences are
called abiotic factors
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The specific environment in which
organisms live is their habitat
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All the organisms of a species that live in the same area make up a
population
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All the different populations are combined to form a
community
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Collectively all of the Earth’s ecosystems make up the
biosphere
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The fundamental concept of ecology is that all living organisms are
interdependent, and they interact with one another and with the physical environment
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Competition is the struggle for resources among organisms
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Factors in the environment that limit the size of populations are known as
limiting factors
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Predators kill and eat other organisms
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Prey are killed for food
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The number of organisms of any single species that an ecosystem can support is referred to as its
carrying capacity
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The role that each species plays in the
ecosystem is called its ecological niche
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In predator – prey relationships food chains show what eats what
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Photosynthetic organisms make their own food. They are
known as autotrophs or producers
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Heterotrophs must acquire food by consuming other organisms. Heterotrophs are also called
consumers
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Herbivores are heterotrophs that survive on plant tissues
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Carnivores are heterotrophs that eat other animals
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The wastes and dead bodies of all organisms are
consumed by decomposers
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Scavengers are consumers that eat dead organisms they do not kill
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Parasites are organisms that attack other live
organisms (called host organisms) but rarely kill them
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Food webs are diagrams that show more complex feeding relationships
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CLICK FOR VIDEO
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Almost all organisms use
the solar energy (the sun) in food to power their life processes
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1000 Calories
990 Calories lost to the environment
10 Calories of plant matter available as food
1 Calorie available as food
9 Calories lost to the environment
As energy is transferred, much of it is
lost to the
environment
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An energy pyramid is a diagram that illustrates the transfer of energy through a food web or chain
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Herbivores
Carnivores
Producers
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Release of oxygen
(photosynthesis)
Release of carbon dioxide Dead animals
Decom
posit
ion
nutrients
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CLICK FOR VIDEO
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Biodiversity is a measurement of the degree to which species vary within an ecosystem
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Many species may be lost when natural disasters cause large scale destruction to habitats
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Species can also be lost when humans do not consider the environmental impact of their action
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Endangered species
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Biodiversity also represents one of the greatest resources known to
humans. Medicinal herbs and plants are one example
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The series of changes by which one habitat changes
into another is called ecological succession
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Climatic changes, natural disasters, and the activities of animals (including humans) can alter stable ecosystems
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View the process of ecological succession as it occurs in coastal lowlands by clicking on the image
below