SB4. Students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of energy and matter within their ecosystems.

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1 SB4. Students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of energy and matter within their ecosystems. a. Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. The study of organisms, their environment and how they interact with one another is. includes all organisms and the environments in which they live Within an ecosystem, two types of environmental factors can be found: biotic factors and abiotic factors. ABIOTIC FACTORS BIOTIC FACTORS Organization of Life: Organisms: Populations: Communities: Ecosystems: Biomes: If a population is provided with ideal conditions, it will increase in number. Healthy organisms reproduce at a rate greater than their death rate. As long as these ideal conditions continue, as the population grows larger the rate of growth increases. This growth is called This pattern is a J-shaped curve EXPONENTIAL GROWTH If the population increases, the resources that are available become limited, and the growth of the population slows and begins to stabilize. This pattern of This pattern is an S-shaped curve. LOGISTIC GROWTH The point at which the population becomes stable is known as the. It is the maximum population size an environment can support When a population reaches its carrying capacity, a number of factors help stabilize it at that size. They are called densitydependent and density- independent limiting factors. Density-Dependent Limiting Factors Competition Predation Parasitism Crowding/Stress Density-Independent Limiting Factors Weather Fires Droughts/Floods Human Activities

2 Within each community, particular species have particular jobs to help maintain balance. The role that a species plays in its community is called its. The place where the organism lives is called its. The stability of an ecosystem depends on the interactions within and among the populations that live there. Symbiosis- Three symbiotic relationships: 1. Mutualism- 2. Commensalism- 3. Parasitism- Biomes are a group of ecosystems in the same region having similar types of vegetation governed by similar climatic conditions. The six terrestrial biomes are: BIOME CHARACTERISTICS ANIMALS Cold,wet and dry seasons, no trees, mosses and lichens Arctic fox, snowshoe hare Taiga Cold, evergreen trees (pines, firs) Moose, bear, lynx Temperate grasslands/savanna Where we live, warm summers, cool winters, maple, oaks, pines Wet and dry seasons, no trees, shrubs, grasses Near equator, warm year round, large number of plants and animals Little or no rain, cold nights Birds, deer, fox, squirrels Bison, zebra, lion Parrots, monkeys, flowers, insects There are also aquatic biomes, divided into fresh water and marine ecosystems. ecosystems are the lakes, rivers, streams and ponds. ecosystems include the open ocean, the rocky intertidal zones, and the where freshwater flows into saltwater. b. Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by Energy is constantly flowing through ecosystems. The primary source of this energy is the sun. Plants and some bacteria are that take in the sun s energy to make energy for all other organisms. Producers are also called, meaning self- feeding Animals are also know as they need to eat other organisms for energy. are organisms that feed on dead bodies of animals and plants or on their waste products CONSUMER ENERGY SOURCE EXAMPLE Eats plants Eats other animals Eats plants and animals Break down dead organisms

3 Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow A shows how energy and matter flow through an ecosystem In the food chain below, label the: producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, and tertiary consumer. Then, circle which population will most likely decrease if snakes are removed from the food chain? grass grasshopper frog snake hawk A more complex interconnected system of food chains is a Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid. Energy pyramids show how energy at each succeeding trophic level. The total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is only about % The has the most available energy. The consumer has the least amount of available energy. Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P). Carbon cycle: is found in the environment as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) gas. Carbon dioxide is used in to form sugar, or glucose. Respiration and decay are two ways that carbon returns to the atmosphere. Carbon also returns to the atmosphere when are burned. Nitrogen: Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of Earth s atmosphere. Lightning and some convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable nitrogen. Plants use these nitrogen compounds to make proteins and nucleic acids. Herbivores eat the plants and convert plant proteins into animal proteins and nucleic acids. Organisms return nitrogen to the atmosphere through.

4 c. Relate environmental conditions to successional changes in ecosystems. When an ecosystem changes, the organisms in that ecosystem may need to change to survive. is the natural change that takes place within a community of an ecosystem. There are two types of succession that ecologists study. 1. is the gradual development of a new community where no organisms have lived before. Bare rock with no living organisms or soil. Lichens are the pioneer species, or the species to move in to an area, that grow on the rocks. 2. occurs when a natural disaster or human activity partially destroys a community. The community of organisms inhabiting an area changes over time. Soil is already present. The species replacing the pioneer species are often different. Takes time to become a climax community. Write the letter P for Primary Succession and S for Secondary Succession for the following: In Yellowstone National Park, thousands of acres burned as a result of a lightning strike. After the fire, wildflowers grew first. Wildflowers do not usually grow in forest shade. Within three years, flowers, grasses, ferns, and saplings began to take hold and grow. Once the saplings began to grow, they shaded the forest floor and a mature forest began to develop.. An example is the changes that take place after a volcanic eruption and the lava flow cools, hardens, and weathers. In 1963, scientists were able to observe the birth of a new volcanic island, named Surtsey. The island measured 1 square mile. Seabirds were the first to arrive. Seeds, whether airborne or hitchhikers on the feathers of the birds, then reached the island. The first plant, a sea rocket, bloomed in Spiders were visible, and lichens and mosses soon grew. As these pioneer organisms died, their remains formed soil.

5 d. Assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the environment such as global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water and power consumption. Renewable Resources- Non-Renewable Resources- examples: examples: One of the major ways humans affect the environment is Examples: contamination of soil, water, or air is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels driving cars, heating homes, and flying planes dust, smoke, ash, carbon monoxide, and sulfur oxides. This sulfuric acid falls to the ground as rain which damages crops, buildings, aquatic organisms Excess carbon dioxide in the air can contribute to the greenhouse effect, which is believed to cause. Greenhouse Effect- If global warming continues theory suggests that a trend toward warmer temperatures on Earth will cause glaciers to lose mass and melt. What result is a major consequence of glacial melting? List the 3 R s of energy conservation R R R e. Relate plant adaptations, including tropisms, to the ability to survive stressful environmental conditions. Tropism Geotropism Phototropism Thigmotropism Most plants control their growth in response to environmental stimuli by using chemical messengers known as. o Auxinso Gibberellinso Abscisic acid inhibits plant growth during times of stress, such as cold and droughts Plant Adaptations Seeds of many plants will go dormant in unfavorable conditions. In a drought period, many will lay dormant until the rains come. Then they will sprout. Trees drop their leaves and go dormant for the winter Conifers have a waxy coating over them to reduce and to conserve water Thick bark to help insulate tissue from fire Flexible branches, allowing them to instead of break under the weight of ice and snow Flowers can be in many ways including wind, insects, birds, or other animals Some flowers are brightly colored and fragrant, to draw attention of that aid in pollination

6 f. Relate animal adaptations, including behaviors, to the ability to survive stressful environmental conditions. Listed below are ALL ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS: BEHAVIOR- Example: A squirrel gathering nuts and acorns in the autumn is a behavior that is stimulated by shorter days and colder weather MIGRATION- Example: Birds that nest in the United States fly south for the winter. Many head to South America where food is more abundant during the winter months. CAMOUFLAGE- Example: Many ocean fish are dark on top and light on the bottom. Predators on top can t see the fish against the dark waters below. HIBERNATION- Example: A bear hibernating during long winter months CHEMICAL DEFENSE-animal produces stinging sensations, paralysis, poisoning, or just a bad taste Example: Bombardier beetles shoot out a boiling- hot chemical to irritate would-be predators. SKUNK