Unit 4

• Adaptations


  Biological features that help an organism survive in its environment
• Ecology


  The study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment
• Ecosystem


  A network of interactions between all living organisms and the non-living things around them
• Environment


  The physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or a community
• Eradicate


  To completely remove or destroy something
• Food web


  A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains
• Extinct


  No longer in existence
• Bioaccumulation


  The accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in an organism
• Habitat


  The place where an organism naturally lives
• Invasive species


  A species that is not native to a specific location and has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health
• Marine ecosystem


  • Mangrove forest
  • Sea Ice in the Arctic Ocean
  • Rice Paddy
• Interact


  To act in such a way as to have an effect on each other
• Native species


  A species that originates or occurs naturally in a particular region or environment
• Nectar


  A sweet liquid produced by plants to attract pollinators
• DDT


  An insecticide that kills insects
• Nocturnal


  Active at night
• Uses of DDT


  • Useful for killing mosquitoes that transmit malaria
  • Kill fleas that transmit disease called Typhus
  • Kill insects that transmit diseases and eat crops
• Species in New Zealand

  • Stout - Invasive Species
  • Kiwi - Native species
• DDT in food chains

  • DDT is a persistent chemical
  • Not broken down by decomposers
  • Toxic
  • Stays there for whole life of organism
• Pollen


  Tiny grains produced by flowering plants that contain the male reproductive cells
• Pollinating


  The transfer of pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part, enabling fertilization and seed production
• Sonoran Desert, Arizona


  • Saguaro Cacti
  • Gila woodpeckers
  • Cactus wren bird in a Teddy Bear cholla
• During rainy days in the Sonoran Desert


  Insects feed on Nectar & Pollen and reproduce by pollinating them
• Non-living parts of the environment

  • Light
  • Temperature
  • Soil
  • Water
  • Air
• Habitats in a desert ecosystem

  • Habitat of Saguaro cactus
  • Habitat of Gila woodpecker
  • Habitat of Desert ant
  • Termites at base of Saguaro stems
  • Sap beetles inside Saguaro flowers
  • Kangaroo rats in burrows
  • Open Desert
  • Saguaro cactus
  • Open Desert
  • Underneath rock and soil surfaces