Ecosystem Study Guide

Ecosystem Study Guide Name _______________________________ Class _____ 1. Ecosystems include all of the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) parts of an environment as well as the interactions among them. ⮚ Ecosystems may be aquatic (water) or terrestrial (land). ⮚ Interactions may include: - producers (obtain energy by making their own food; plants -photosynthesis) consumers (obtain energy by consuming their food) decomposers ( get energy by breaking down dead organisms and the wastes of living things); bacteria, fungi, worms, mold, termites, mushrooms, etc. 2. Abiotic Factors (nonliving) include: - water - shelter – sunlight - soil - rocks oxygen/air, nitrogen - temperature/climate – space – salinity - pH - nutrients - 3. Biotic Factors(living) include: food – grass – trees – animals – insects – plants – bacteria – fungi 4. Terrestrial = land ecosystems: Forest- -Desert – Grassland - Mountain 5. Aquatic = water ecosystems: Marine Ecosystems: the biggest ecosystems, which cover around 71% of Earth's surface and contain 97% of out planet's water. ⮚ Many kinds of organisms live in marine ecosystems: the brown algae, corals, dinoflagellates, phytoplankton (plant), zoo plankton (animal) sharks and much more. Freshwater Ecosystems: covers only 0.8% of Earth's surface and contains 0.009% of the total water. ⮚ pools, lakes or ponds, streams and rivers. ⮚ Wetlands: Places in which the soil is saturated for a lengthy period of time. ⮚ The ecosystems are habitats to reptiles, amphibians and around 41% of the world’s fish species. The faster moving turbulent waters typically contain a greater concentrations of dissolved oxygen, supporting greater biodiversity than slow moving waters in pools 6. The Ecosystem Hierarchy: (smallest to largest components) ⮚ Organisms: individuals of a species ⮚ Populations: groups of organisms of the same species ⮚ Communities: the interaction of different populations; communities live within an ecosystem ⮚ Ecosystem: all of the abiotic and biotic parts of an ecosystem ⮚ Biosphere: The life supporting zone of the earth where atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere meet, interact and make life possible, is known as biosphere. 7. Disruptions to Physical (abiotic/nonliving)Components: *Volcanic eruptions * Pollution *Hurricanes * Clear cutting * Fires * Floods *Drought * Nuclear Bomb * Habitat depletion (human and natural- i.e. urban sprawl) How could these events change nutrients, water, light, salinity, shelter, soil, temperature, climate, etc. in an ecosystem? 8. Disruptions to Biological (biotic/living) Components: * Volcanic eruptions * Pollution (land & water) * Hurricanes * Urban Sprawl * Fires * Clear Cutting * Drought * Introduction of exotic (non native) species * Overharvesting * Habitat depletion (human and natural) How could these events change the biological (living/biotic) components in an ecosystem? 9. Population Density: - the number of people living per unit of an area (e.g. per square mile); the number of people relative to the space occupied by them how full an area is: the concentration of people or things within an area in relation to its size 10. Limiting Factor: environmental factors that limit population sizes in a particular ecosystem 11. Limiting Factors in an Ecosystem: ⮚ Density-dependent Factors: limiting factors that are associated with the population density and may negatively affect the population in an area - operate more strongly on large populations and disease triggered by increases in population density (crowding) ⮚ Density- independent Factors: limiting factors that occur regardless of how large the population is and reduce the size of all populations in the area; mostly abiotic 12. weather changes human activities (pollution, u. sprawl, etc.) natural disasters (i.e. fires) A change in an abiotic or biotic factor may: - decrease the size of a population if it cannot acclimate/adapt to or migrate from the change. - increase the size of a population if that change enhances its ability to survive, flourish or reproduce. Notes: _____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________