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Introducing Ecology

• Write everything that is Underlined

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Ecology
Eco
logy
the study of the relationships between biotic and
abiotic factors in environments
eco (G) root home, abode
log, -o, y (G) suffix study of
ecoclimate
ecosystem
ecotourism
zoology
epidemiology
climatology
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1. An organism is an individual living thing (such
   as an alligator)

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1. A population is a group of the same species that
   lives in one area.

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1. A community is a group of different species that
   live together in one area.

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While the earth is huge, life is found in a very
narrow layer, called the biosphere. If the earth
could be shrunk to the size of an apple, the
biosphere would be no thicker than the apple's
skin.
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The biosphere, like the human body, is made up of
systems that interact and are dependent on each
other.
The biospheres systems are called ECOSYSTEMS.
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1. An ecosystem includes all of the organisms as
   well as the other nonliving things in a given
   area. (such as climate, soil, water, rocks)

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1. A biome is a major regional or global community
   of organisms characterized by the climate
   conditions and plant communities that thrive
   there.

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Biome
a major regional or global biotic community, a
super ecosystem, defined chiefly by the dominant
forms of plant life and the prevailing climate
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Major Biomes of the World
desert
grassland
tropical rain forest
deciduous forest
coniferous forest
tundra
ocean
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Levels of Organization
smallest unit of living things
group of similar cells organized to work together
group of different kinds of tissues working
together
group of organs working together
one individual living thing
all organisms of the same kind living in one area
all interacting populations in an ecosystem
all living and nonliving things interacting
within a certain area
large region with typical plants and animals that
includes several ecosystems
cell
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Section 13.2 KEY CONCEPT Every ecosystem
includes both living and nonliving factors.
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• Elements in an Ecosystem
• Biotic factors are living things.
• Remember, BIO means LIFE! (like Biology)
• plants
• animals
• fungi
• bacteria

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Examples of Biotic Factors
include plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms
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• Abiotic factors are nonliving things.
• Remember, A means NOT (like Asymmetrical means
  not symmetrical)

• sunlight
• temperature
• wind
• Moisture
• Water, rain, clouds
• soil

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Examples of Abiotic Factors
include air, water, soil, temperature, wind,
source of energy (usually sun)
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Ecological Niche

• A plant's or animal's ecological niche is a way
  of life that is unique to that species.
• Niche and habitat are not the same. While many
  species may share a habitat, this is not true of
  a niche. Each plant and animal species is a
  member of a community.
• The niche describes the species' role or function
  within this community.

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• For example, the red fox's habitat, which might
  include forest edges, meadows and the bank of a
  river, is shared with many animals .
• The niche of the red fox is that of a predator
  which feeds on the small mammals, amphibians,
  insects, and fruit found in this habitat. Red
  foxes are active at night. They provide blood for
  blackflies and mosquitoes, and are host to
  numerous diseases. The scraps, or carrion, left
  behind after a fox's meal provide food for many
  small scavengers and decomposers. This, then, is
  the ecological niche of the red fox.
• Only the red fox occupies this niche in the
  meadow-forest edge communities. In other plant
  communities different species of animal may
  occupy a similar niche to that of the red fox.

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• Changing one factor in an ecosystem can affect
  many other factors.
• A keystone species is a species that has an
  unusually large effect on its ecosystem.

If you moved this stone the whole arch would fall
down
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1. Keystone species form and maintain a complex web
   of life.

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Review questions

1. What is Ecology?
2. Define organism, population, community, biome,
   biotic, and abiotic factors.
3. Give two examples of biotic and abiotic factors.
4. What is a keystone species?
5. What does every ecosystem include?