1. Ecology is
• The study of the interactions between organisms and their
environment
The environment consists of:
• Biotic Factors (living things)
• Plants
• Animals
• Bacteria, fungi, protists
• Abiotic Factors (nonliving things)
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Sunlight
Water
Soil
Weather
Factors in the environment
• Biotic: Things living or were
alive.
• Abiotic: Nonliving
Roles in an ecosystem
• Habitat: place where an organism lives
• Niche: how an organism acts within its ecosystem (Its job)
An organism’s habitat
• Is the environment in which it lives
• An organism’s niche is the role it plays in the environment
• Fungus = decompose
• Plant = to produce food
• The niche is the smallest part of the environment
• An organism’s niche depends on where its habitat is
Population Size Changes Over Time
• Limiting Factors are things that keep populations from growing (Slow
Population Growth)
• Food, Water
• Mates
• Shelter
• The largest population an environment can support is the carrying
capacity
Organisms compete for
• Food
• Mates
• Water
• Living space
• Sunlight
Predators and Prey
• Predator does the hunting and eating
• Prey is the one being eaten
Adaptation
• Adaptation is anything that helps an organism survive in
its environment.
• It also refers to the ability of living things to adjust to
different conditions within their environments.
• Structural adaptation
• Protective coloration
• Mimicry
• Behavior adaptations
• Migration
• Hibernation/Estivation
Organisms have adaptations to help them
survive
• Wings – for flying
• Long arms – swimming
• Gills – life underwater
• Special teeth – for eating certain foods
• Horns – protection
• Coloring - camouflage
Structural adaptations
• A structural adaptation involves some part of an animal's body.
• Teeth
• Body coverings
• Movement
Protective Coloration
• Coloration and protective
resemblance allow an animal to
blend into its environment.
• Another word for this might be
camouflage. Their camouflage
makes it hard for enemies to
single out individuals.
Mimicry
• Mimicry allows one animal
to look, sound, or act like
another animal to fool
predators into thinking it is
poisonous or dangerous.
Symbiosis is when two different species
• Develop a close relationship with each other
• Mutualism: two organisms live together and BOTH benefit
• Commensalism: two organisms live together but only ONE benefits
• Parasitism: one organism benefits while the other is harmed
Symbiosis: Close interaction between species
• Commensalism: 1 benefits while the other is
unaffected.
• Parasitism:1 benefits, while the other is harmed
• Mutualism: Both Benefit