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Unit 1Lesson 1 and 2

Lesson 1: Introduction to EcologyLesson 2: Roles in Energy Transfer

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The Web of Life• Organisms need energy and matter to live.• When organisms interact with one another there

is an exchange of energy and matter.• All organisms are connected to each other and to

the environment.• Ecology – the study of how organisms interact

with one another and with the environment.

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• Through the living environment.– Biotic factor – an interaction between

organisms (living) in an area.• Bio = life

• Through the nonliving environment.– Abiotic factor – a nonliving part of an

environment.• A = non or not

– Examples: water, nutrients, soil, sunlight, rainfall, temperature, climate, rocks, air.

– Abiotic factors influence where organisms can survive.

The Web of Life

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Levels of Organization• The environment can be organized

into different levels.• Level 1 – an individual organism.• Level 2 – Population – a group of

individuals of the same species that live in the same place at the same time.– Species – organisms that are closely

related and can mate to produce offspring.

– Individuals within a population often compete for resources such as food, mates, shelter, etc.

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• Level 3 – Communities – make up all the populations of different species that live and interact in an area.– There is also competition for

resources among all species.

• Level 4 – Ecosystems – a community of organisms and their nonliving environment.– Includes all biotic and abiotic

factors.– Examples: Pond, forest, swamp, etc.

Levels of Organization

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Think GloballyBiome – Contains many ecosystems.- Large regions that share climate conditions, such as temperature and rainfall, and have communities of species. - Major land biomes: tropical rainforest, grassland, desert, rain forest, tundra, savanna, taiga, etc.

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Home Sweet Home• Ecologists – a scientists who studies the different kinds of

organisms and their role in the environment.• Niche – a role a population of species play in an

ecosystem.– Example: how it gets food, how it interacts with other

populations.– Lion and gazelle.

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• Habitat - a place where an organism lives, a part of an organisms’ niche.– Provide all the resources an organism needs to

survive.– 2 populations cannot occupy the same niche.

Home Sweet Home

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Unit 1: Lesson 2Get Energized!

• Energy is all around you!• Energy from food is known as chemical energy.• All living things need a source of chemical

energy to survive.• Producers convert energy into food!– Producer – also known as an autotroph– Producer/autotroph – use energy to make their own

food.– Use the process called photosynthesis.

• Sunlight energy + water + carbon dioxide = food + oxygen

– Examples include all green plants such as grasses and trees, plants, shrubs, etc.

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Get Energized!• Decomposers break down matter.• Decomposer – an organism that gets energy and

nutrients by breaking down the remains of other organisms.

• They are nature’s recyclers; they help move matter through ecosystems.

• Examples include: fungi such as mushrooms and some bacteria.

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• Consumers eat other organisms.• Consumer – an organism that eats other

organisms.– They cannot make their own food.

• 4 types 1. Herbivore – Eats only plants. 2. Carnivore – Eats other animals. 3. Omnivore – Eats both plants and animals. 4. Scavenger – Eats dead organisms.

Get Energized!

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HERBIVORE

Get Energized!

CARNIVORE

OMNIVORE

SCAVENGER

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Energy Transfer• Energy is transferred from one organism to another when it is eaten

or decomposed.• Food chain – the path of energy transfer from producers to

consumers.• The arrows represent the transfer of energy as one organism is

eaten by another.• Producers form the base of the food chain.• Energy is then transferred to the primary consumer.• Then to a secondary consumer.• Then to a tertiary consumer.• Lastly, decomposers recycle matter back to the soil

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World Wide Webs• Food web – the feeding relationships among organisms in

an ecosystem.• Made up of many food chains combined.• At the top of each chain are the top predators, animals

that eat other animals but are rarely eaten.

Website recap Game

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• All living organisms are connected by global food webs.• Global food webs include webs that begin on land and

webs that begin in the water.• Because global food webs are connected, removing even

one organism can affect many organisms in other ecosystems.

World Wide Webs

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Dangerous Competition • Invasive species – are sometimes

introduced into a new area.• They often compete with native species for

energy resources, such as sunlight and food.• Kudzu plant – introduced to stop soil

erosion but outgrew all native plants preventing them from getting sunlight.

• Zebra mussel – They eat by filtering tiny organisms out of the water, often leaving nothing for the native mussel species

• Walking catfish – moves across land to get from one pond to another competing with native species for food.

• Snakehead fish – native to Asia invaded FDR park in South Philly.