Ecosystem

• Biotic Factors - Living components of an ecosystem. Lives, breaths, moves, develops, reproduces.
• Abiotic Factors - Non-living things. Sunlight, soil, temperature, atmosphere.
• Ecology - Study of how organisms interact with their environment and how the environment affects organisms.
• Ecology is from the greek word 'oikos' meaning house.
• Biosphere - The part of the Earth where life exists. Includes the atmosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere. Made up of every ecosystem on Earth.
• Levels of Ecological Organization: Individual - Population - Community - Ecosystem - Biosphere
• Population - Many of an individual species
• Community - a group of populations of different species living in the same area.
• Ecosystem - The biological community of an area, including the abiotic factors and the interactions between the biotic factors
• Symbiosis - A relationship between two dissimilar organisms that live in close association with each other.
• Mutualism - Symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit from each other.
• The relationship of an Anemone and Clownfish, and one of a Bee and flower is an example of Mutualism
• Parasitism - one organism benefits while the other is harmed.
• Mosquitos biting humans, tapeworms, and ticks on dogs are examples of Parasitism
• Commensalism - one organism benefits and the other is not harmed.
• Birds standing on the backs of herbivores (some) , Remoras and Sharks, Birds creating nests on trees, and barnacles on whales are examples of commensalism.
• Predation - One species survives by consuming other species.
• Competition - organisms that compete for the same resources at the same place on the same time.
• Cheetas vs Lions are an example of competition.
• Types of biotic factors - Producers, Consumers, Decomposers
• Trophic level - levels in the food chain consisting of organisms obtaining energy from the same source.
• Producers - First trophic level in the food chain. Transforms solar energy into chemical energy.
• Herbivores - first-order consumers comprising the second trophic level.
• Primary carnivores: second-order consumers. Third trophic level
• Secondary carnivore: fourth tropic level which eats primary carnivores.
• Tertiary carnivore: Highest trophic level which eats secondary carnivores.
• Food chain and Food web - Shows the transfer of energy in an ecosystem. Energy transfers when one organism eats another. A chain is simple, while a web is complex.