Levels of Organization

1
Levels of Organization

• The smallest level of organization is a single
  organism, which belongs to a population that
  includes other members of its species.

2
Levels of Organization

• The population belongs to a community of
  different species.

3
Levels of Organization

• The community and abiotic factors together form
  an ecosystem.

4
Habitat

• The environment that provides the things an
  organism
• needs to live, grow, and reproduce is called
  its HABITAT.
• One area may contain many habitats (habitats
  can overlap, but
• they seldom share resources think different
  parts of the tree,
• forest floor, lake, etc.)
• Organisms live in different habitats because
  they have
• different requirements for survival.

5
Biotic and Abiotic Factors

• Biotic Factors are the Living Parts of a Habitat
• Biotic Factors include
• grass and plants
• Hawks, ferrets, badgers and eagles
• Worms, bacteria, and fungi that live in the soil

6
Biotic and Abiotic Factors

• Abiotic Factors are the Non-Living Parts of a
  Habitat
• Abiotic Factors include
• Water
• Sunlight
• Oxygen
• Temperature
• Soil

7
Changes in Population Size

• Populations fluctuate.
• Populations can change in size when new members
  join the population or when members leave the
  population.

8
Changes in Population Activity

• Organisms usually leave a population by dying.
• Organisms usually join a population by being born
  into it.
• Organisms can join a population by moving into it
  immigration
• OR
• Organisms can leave a population by moving out of
  it - emigation

9
LIMITING FACTORS

• A limiting factor is an environmental factor that
  causes a population to stop growing.
• Some limiting factors are
• Food
• Water
• Space
• Light
• Soil composition
• Weather conditions

10
CARRYING CAPACITY

• Carrying Capacity is the largest population that
  an area can support.

If more organisms were to come, they would not
have enough food for all to survive.
A population usually stays near its carrying
capacity because of the limiting factors.
11
Food Chains and Food Webs

• The movement of energy though an ecosystem can be
  shown in diagrams called food chains and food
  webs.

12
Energy Pyramids

• The most energy is available at the producer
  level of the pyramid.
• As you move up the pyramid, each level has less
  energy available than the level below.
• Only 10 of the energy is available to the next
  higher level.

13
Adapting to the Environment

• Every organism has a variety of adaptations that
  are suited to its specific living conditions and
  allow the organism to successively survive and
  reproduce in its environment.

14
Interaction among Organisms

• There are 3 types of interaction among organisms.

• Competition struggle to survive while using the
  same limited resources, usually results in niche
  specialization (warblers feed at different parts
  of spruce trees)
• Predation one organism kills another for food
  (snake and mouse)
• Symbiosis at least one species benefits

15
Interaction among Organisms

• Predation
• Results in changes in population size
• Results in adaptations
• predator adaptations allow predators to
  catch/kill prey
• prey adaptations allow prey to avoid being
  killed
• camouflage
• mimicry
• false coloring
• warning coloring

16
Interaction among Organisms

• Symbiosis a close relationship between two
  species that benefits at least one of the species

Mutualism (,) A relationship that benefits
both species. (acacia tree and stinging ants)
Commensalism (,0) A relationship where one
species is helped but the other is neither helped
or harmed. (red-tailed hawk and cactus)
Parasitism (,-) A relationship where one
organism lives on or in another and harming it.
(tape worm in wolf)
17
Cycles of Matter

• The supply of matter in an ecosystem is limited
  and must be recycled. Matter is transferred from
  one organism to another in the food web and
  between organisms and the environment.
• water cycle evaporation, condensation,
  precipitation
• producers, consumer, and decomposers recycle
  carbon and nitrogen which are a major building
  block of living things
• carbon cycle movement through air, soil, water,
  and living things (becomes available via air)
• nitrogen cycle movement through air, soil, and
  living things(nitrogen becomes available via
  soil)

18
Changes in Communities

• Primary succession series of changes that occur
  in an area where no soil or organisms exist
• pioneer species first species to populate the
  area
• Example volcanic eruption pioneer species
  soil creation fertile soil mature plants
• Secondary succession series of changes that
  occur in an area where the ecosystem exists but
  has been disturbed (after a fire)
• Example fire plant growth mature plants