ECOLOGYA FEW TERMS

BIOTIC FACTORSThe things that are living, or that came from living things

EXAMPLES:PlantsAnimalsBacteriaFungus (mushrooms, yeasts)A shellA branch

ABIOTIC FACTORSThe things that are nonliving, environmental factors that affect an area:

EXAMPLES:TemperatureWindType of rockAmount of moistureClimate

ORGANISM:A single individual of a species

POPULATION

A group of organisms of the same species that live together in an area

COMMUNITY

All the different populations living together in an area.

Can you think of more species that live in this ecosystem?

ECOSYSTEM:The community – all the biotic factors and all the physical aspects – all the abiotic factors of an area

NICHE: The factors that affect an organism

For example:The NICHE of a garter snake is what it eats:

______________________________________

And what eats it:______________________________________

PREDATOR:Something that attacks another organism, usually an animal, to eat itPREY:Something is attacked by another organism, usually an animal, and gets eaten.

PRODUCER:Something takes the energy from the sun, uses carbon dioxide and water, to make SUGARS

Another name for producers is AUTOTROPH:

Green plants are the producers.

CONSUMERS:Something that eats something else to survive. They are also called HETEROTROPHS

All animals are consumers!

Fungus are consumers!

Many bacteria are consumers!

Some protists are producers, some are consumers!

FOOD CHAIN:A representation of the transfer of energy starting at the sun, going into producers, then to the different levels of consumers

The energy is transferred from the sun to the plants then to the consumers.

Note that at each transfer, ONLY 10% of the energy is actually transferred.

This means that 90% of the energy is ‘lost’ – it is transformed into work, and a lot of it is transformed into heat lost by the living organism.

Primary consumers: Eat plants - Also called HERBIVORE

Secondary consumers: Eat animals – Also called CARNIVORE

Tertiary consumers: Eat carnivores - Sometimes called TOP CARNIVORE

Levels in the food chain: Decomposers – Fungi and bacteria break down dead plants and animals.

Note that the products of the decomposers are returned to the producers

FOOD WEBS:All the food chains of an ecosystem combined together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWvtRf4TAO4

Food Chains, Food Webs,Energy Pyramid in Ecosystems-Video

5 min 10 sec