Name ______________________________________ Period _________ Date ____________________

Chapter 3 -- Ecology

What is Ecology?

Ecology: the scientific study of ________________________ between organisms

and their ________________________, focusing on ______________________ transfer

Known as the science of ____________________________

What makes up the environment?

The environment is made up of _________________ factors:

o ________________________ factors

All _______________ organisms inhabiting the Earth

o ________________________ factors

________________________ parts of the environment

Ex: temperature, soil, sunlight, moisture

Organism

Any ____________________________ or _______________________________ form

exhibiting all of the _____________________________ of life

The ________________________ level of organization

Population

Group of ________________________ of one ________________________ living in the

same place at the same time that ________________________

Produce ________________________ offspring

Compete with each other for ________________________

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*This is totally NOT photoshopped.

o Ex: food, mates, shelter

Community

Several interacting ________________________ that inhabit a common

environment and are ______________________________

Ecosystem

Populations in a ________________________ and the ________________________

factors with which they interact

o Ex: marine, terrestrial

Biosphere

All ___________________ supporting portions of Earth composed of

_______________, ________________, ____________________ water, and

_________________ water

The ________________________ level of organization

Habitat vs. Niche

Habitat

o Place in which an organism ___________________ out its life

Niche

o _________________ a species plays in a community

o Determined by the ________________________ limitations of an

organism or ________________________ factor

Limiting factor

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o Any ________________________ or ________________________ factor that

________________________ the existence of organisms in a specific

environment

o Ex: amount of water, food, temperature, space, and mates

Feeding Relationships

There are three main types of feeding relationships

o ________________________ – ________________________

Ex: grass cow

o ________________________ – ________________________

Ex: mouse snake

o ________________________ – ________________________

Ex: deer tick

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Producer

All ________________________ (plants) that trap energy from the

__________________

________________________ of the food chain

Consumer

All ________________________

Organisms that ingest ______________________ containing the sun’s energy

o ________________________

o ________________________

o ________________________

o ________________________

Primary consumers

Eat ________________________ (herbivores)

Secondary, tertiary … consumers

Prey on ________________________ (carnivores)

Predators

o Hunt ____________________ for food

Scavengers

o Feed on ________________________, ___________________ animals

Omnivores

o Eat both ________________________ and ________________________

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Decomposers

o Breakdown the complex compounds of ___________________ and

________________________ plants and animals into simpler molecules

that can be ________________________

Symbiotic Relationships

Symbiosis

o ________________________

o ________________________

o ________________________

Commensalism

o One species ________________________ and the other is

________________________ harmed not helped

o Ex: polar bears and cyanobacteria

Parasitism

o One species ________________________ (parasite) and the other is

________________________ (host)

o Parasite – host relationship

Ex: tick on an animal

Mutualism

o Beneficial to ___________________ species

Ex: cleaning birds and cleaner shrimp

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Trophic Levels

Each link in a food chain is known as a ________________________ level

Represent a feeding step in the transfer of ________________________ and

________________________ in an ecosystem

Food web

Shows all possible feeding _______________________________ in a

________________________ at each trophic level

Represents a ________________________ of interconnected food ________________

Food chain Food WebOne pathway of energy All possible energy paths

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Nutrient Cycles

Cycling maintains homeostasis in the environment

Three cycles

o ________________________ cycle

o ________________________ cycle

o ________________________ cycle

Water Cycle

____________________________ , transpiration, _____________________________,

precipitation

Carbon Cycle

Photosynthesis and respiration cycle ________________________ and

________________________ through the environment

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Nitrogen Cycle

Atmospheric nitrogen (_________) makes up nearly 78-80% of air

Organisms ________________________ use it in that form

________________________ and ________________________ convert nitrogen in

usable forms

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