Science notes

Intro to Ecology
Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another with their environment. Some key
words are, Biotic - parts of the environment that are alive, or were once alive. Abiotic - the
nonliving, physical; parts of the environment for example, water, air, sunlight, temperature, climate,
etc., habitat - the place in which an organism lives in - an animal’s habitat provides the kinds of food
and shelter, the temperature, and the amount of moisture the organism need to survive - niche - an
organism’s job or role in a ecosystem. An environment can be organized into different levels,
ranging from a single organism to all of the organisms and their surroundings. These levels of
organization get more complex as more of the environment is considered. The 1st level of
organization - organism - an individual living thing that is made of cells, uses energy, reproduces,
responds, grows, and develops. The 2nd level of organization - population - all the organisms of the
same species that live in an area at the same time. The 3rd level of organization - community - all
the populations of all the species living in an area. The 4th level of organization - ecosystem - all
the organisms living in an area as well as the nonliving parts of that environment. The 5th level of
organization - biosphere - the part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth’s
crust, all the waters, and the atmosphere. A biome is the wide diversity of ecosystem that can be
into categories. Large regions characterized by temperature and rainfall (and therefore animals and
plants) are grouped together as biomes

Energy Pyramids
All the energy in the energy comes from the sun. Plants then use that energy through
photosynthesis to produce glucose (sugar) which can then be used by the plant, or can be stored in
the plant. This is the start of an energy pyramid. The plants are then eaten by grasshoppers or other
herbivores. These grasshoppers are eaten by mice, then the mice get eaten by an apex predator, a
hawk. These animals are at the top of the energy pyramid , and are called apex predators because
no other animal eats them. The only way the cycle is reborn, is when the hawk dies, and the
decomposers break down the hawk for nutrients for the plants. This is what’s known as the energy
pyramid. Another interesting fact about the energy pyramid, is that only approximately 10% of the
energy at one level can be passed to the next level. This means, that whenever an organism gets
eaten by another organism, only 10% of the energy is passed. For example, if a mouse gets eaten
by a snake, then the snake only gets 10% of the mouse’s energy. The other 90% is used by the
organism or, given off as heat from the activities of the organism.

Interdependence
Interdependence means that all living things depend on one another. Habitat, is the place where an
organism lives. For example, a furry bird, lives in Antarctica. If you move this bird, it cannot adapt in
time to survive another biome. This is because, the bird’s fur is to survive snowy areas. If you move
this bird to any other biome, it will die because of the heat. Niche, is the role a species plays in a
community. Two species cannot have the same niche in a habitat. This is because if they share
niches, there will be direct competition, and the two species will compete on the same resource,
until the losing species will lose, leading to its extinction. Plants are producers. This is because they
can produce their own food.l they can do this by using the solar energy from the sun, carbon
dioxide from the air, and water from the soil to produce food. The process of combining these
ingredients to make glucose/sugar and oxygen, is called photosynthesis. Animals are consumers.
This is because they cannot make their own food, like producers. So they need to consume/eat
plants and/or animals. There are three groups of consumers: herbivores, animals that eat plants.
Carnivores, animals that eat other animals, and omnivores, animals that eat plants and animals.
Some examples of herbivores are: deer, horses, rabbits, cows, bees, sheep, grasshoppers, etc.
depending on what species they are, they eat plants like leaves, grass, flowers, seeds, roots, fruits,
bark, pollen, and much more. Some examples of carnivores are: felines(lions, tigers and cats), birds
of prey(eagles, hawks, owls etc.), sharks, frogs, and spiders. Depending on what species they are,
they eat insects and all animals. Some examples of omnivores are: humans, most bears, raccoons,
most primates(apes and monkeys), seagulls and other birds. They are able to eat plants and
animals. Scavengers are carnivores that feed on animals that are already dead. Decomposers are
fungi and bacteria that play an important role in nature. Their niche is to break down the unused
dead material and turn them into nutrients in the soil, which plants use to grow. They consume dead
plants and animals and decomposes them - reduces them to simpler forms of matter. Together,
these organisms form a food chain. A food chain shows how each living gets food and how nutrients
and energy are passed from organism to organism. One example of a simple food chain could start
with grass, which is eaten by rabbits, then the rabbits are eaten by foxes. Several food chains
connected together, is called a food web.

Population dynamics
With the right conditions, population can reproduce and increase their numbers, but limiting factors,
which can be non-living, and living things, reduce these numbers, and if something goes wrong in
this balance, the whole food web would be at risk. For example, if seeds of wild flowers and trees
drifted into a field, and grass was already there, they would be competing for the resources such as
nutrients in the ground, which can lead to drying up the plants, because of the overuse of the
resources. In an ecosystem, certain resources are limited because of competition. A limiting factor
is anything that restricts the number of organisms in a population. Limiting factors also include
living and non-living features in an ecosystem. A carrying capacity is the largest number of
individual of one species that an ecosystem can support over time. Exponential growth is a rapid
population increase due to an abundance of resources. Eventually, the number of organisms will
reach the carrying capacity of the ecosystem, which will create competition.

Symbiosis
Symbiosis is the relationship between two different individual species that live together in a close
relationship, as in living together. The word symbiosis can be broken down into parts in order to
understand its meaning. Sym means together and bio means life. There are three types of symbiotic
relationships. Mutualism, (+,+), commensalism (+,0), and parasitism, (+/-). Each relationship can be
shown using +,-, or 0. Mutualism is a relationship where both organisms benefit. For example, the
acacia galls are home to stinging other insects that would harm the tree leaves. Here are some
other examples: bees and hummingbirds gather and spread pollen. The hummingbirds get nectar,
and the flowers get pollinated, so they both benefit. They moray eel gets a clean mouth and the
cleaner fish that cleans its teeth, gets a meal. Birds and mammals eat berries and fruits, while the
plant benefits by the dispersal of its seeds. The Oxbridge gets rid of the parasites on the antelope
and allows the ox bird to have meal. Cleansers eat insect pests from the skin of animals. The insect
benefits from a safe place and food, and the animals benefit by having their skin clean.

Competition and cooperation in Ecosystems