Q3 Test 2 :ECOLOGY TEST STUDY GUIDE    

What you should understand:

• Energy enters an ecosystem in the form of sunlight and flows through the system to each cell and organism

• Matter interacts, changes, and recycles through an ecosystem

• Populations of organisms survive by maintaining interdependent relationships with each other and by using available biotic and abiotic resources from the environment

• Species depend upon one another and the environment for survival

• Energy is transferred through interdependent systems to support life.

Photosynthesis

• During photosynthesis, plants use energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugars.
• Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen through holes in their leaves called stomata.
• Plants take water in through their roots.

Respiration

• Respiration occurs in every cell of an organism.
• Respiration is a process in which cells break down sugars to release energy.
• During respiration, sugar/glucose and oxygen are converted into carbon dioxide and water.

Living Things and the Environment

MAIN IDEAS

• An organism's habitat provides food, water, shelter, and space necessary for the organism to live, grow, and reproduce.
• An ecosystem includes Biotic and Abiotic factors.
• Abiotic factors include water, sunlight, oxygen, temperature and soil
• Biotic factors include all living things in an ecosystem.

• Given adequate biotic and abiotic resources, an ecosystem will maintain equilibrium and continue indefinitely.

• A population consists of only one species
• More biodiversity means more stability for an ecosystem.
• Different populations living together make up a community

Ecosystem -All living and non living things interacting in an area

Habitat -The place where an organism lives and provides the things the organism needs

Biotic factor -A living part of an organism

Abiotic factor -A non- living part of an organism

Population -All the members of one species in a particular area

Community -All the different populations together in an area

Ecology -The study of how living things interact with each other and their environments

Biodiversity- The number of different species in an ecosystem. ( bio= life; diversity =different forms of)

Interactions Among Living Things

MAIN IDEAS

• Over time, species of organisms develop specialized adaptations and behaviors that help them to succeed in their environments.
• The three major types of interactions between organisms are competition, predation, and symbiosis
• Symbiosis is a close relationship between two species. The three types of symbiotic relationships are mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism

Niche An organism’s particular role in an ecosystem or how it makes a living

Competition -The struggle between organisms for the limited resources in a habitat

Predation -An interaction in which one organism hunts another animal for food.

Predator -A carnivore that hunts and kills other animals for food and has adaptations that help the animal catch the prey

Prey -An animal which a predator feeds upon

Symbiosis -A close relationship between two organisms in which al least one of the organisms benefits.

Mutualism -A type of symbiosis in which both partners benefit from living together.

Commensalism - A relationship between two species in which one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Parasitism -A relationship in which one organism lives in or on a host and harms it.

Parasite -An organism that lives in or on a host, causing harm to the host.

Host -An organism that provides a source of energy or a suitable environment for another organism to live

Examples of the three types of symbiotic relationships:

1. Mutualism - There are birds that eat the fruits of plants and later deposit the seeds with a little bird manure as fertilizer. The birds get nutrients and the plants get their seeds distributed in the environment. Earthworms pull organic matter from the surface of the soil to eat and deposit earthworm wastes in the soil that are absorbed by the roots of plants.
2. Parasitism - A mosquito can take blood from another animal. The mosquito may carry a deadly virus and takes blood from the animal and the animal only gets hurt.
3. Commensalism - A bird builds a nest in a tree. The bird gets a nest, and the tree doesn’t mind.

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

MAIN IDEAS

• The energy role of an organism is that of a producer, a consumer, or a decomposer.
• Producers are the source of all life in an ecosystem.
• The four types of CONSUMERS are:
• herbivores- eat plants only
• carnivores- eat animals only
• omnivores- eat both plants and animals
• scavengers- eat things found already dead

• DECOMPOSERS return nutrients back into the environment, where they can be used again.
• A FOOD WEB shows the path energy and nutrients travel through an ecosystem.
• At each level UP in an energy pyramid, there is less energy than the level lower.Consumer -An organism that obtains energy by feeding off another organismCarnivore -An animal that only eats another animalScavenger an animal that eats the remains of another animalfood chain -A series of events in which one organism eats anotherenergy pyramid -A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food webCycles of Matter
• MAIN IDEAS
•  
• food web -The pattern of overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
• Decomposer -an organism that breaks down nutrients and returns them to the soil and water
• Omnivore -An organism that eats plants and other animals
• Herbivore -an animal that only eats plants
• Producer -An organism that can make it’s own food.
• Matter CYCLES through an ecosystem.
• N is the chemical symbol for Nitrogen
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• O is the chemical symbol for oxygen/carbon dioxide

• Nutrients are necessary building blocks of living things.

• The water cycle includes these three processes
• 1. Evaporation   2. Condensation 3. Precipitation
• The nitrogen cycle includes decomposers that break down wastes and put nutrients into the soil
• The nitrogen cycle includes bacteria that live on the roots of some plants and “fix” the nitrogen into compounds
• When decomposers break down the matter contained in plants and animals.
• The molecules of matter can be recycled through the ecosystem and used by plants to produce food or as building material for all organisms.oxygen cycle – the cycling of oxygen through the environment through photosynthesis and respirationdecomposition / decay- the breakdown of living tissue, done by the FBI (fungus, bacteria, and invertebratesevaporation – water changing from liquid to gaswater cycle – the cycling of water through the environment; evaporation, condensation, and precipitationnitrogen cycle – the cycling of nitrogen through the environment by growth, consumption and decay.EXTRA CREDIT 15%
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• nitrogen fixation- the way bacteria in the soil convert nitrogen gas to a usable form for plants and animals
• transpiration- evaporation of water through the leaves of plants
• nutrient- chemical building blocks of organisms; nutrients are recycled through cycles of matter
• carbon cycle – the cycling of carbon through the environment
•  

• What is the difference between an ecological niche and a habitat?

• What are the processes that autotrophic organisms use to produce organic material from inorganic substances?

• The source of energy for almost all life on Earth is:

• An example of a biotic factor in a forest ecosystem is:

 USE YOUR TEXTBOOK

1. An ecosystem is made up of ______ and ________
2. In a food chain, the bottom level represents:
3. Go to page 344 chap 9 review Questions

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Go to Maryland stand practice questions p. 346

1,2,3,4,5,6,7.8.9

Hi All,

Below is your study guide and extra credit for Q3- Test 2 Study guide and extra credit

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