Chapter Introduction

Lesson 1 Ecosystems
and Biomes
Lesson 2 Populations
and
Communities
Lesson 3 Energy
and Matter
Chapter Wrap-Up
How do living things
interact with and
depend on the other
parts of an
ecosystem?
What do you think?
Before you begin, decide if you agree or
disagree with each of these statements.
As you view this presentation, see if you
change your mind about any of the
statements.
Do you agree or disagree?
1. An ecosystem contains both living and
nonliving things.
2. All changes in an ecosystem occur over
a long period of time.
3. Changes that occur in an ecosystem
can cause populations to become
larger or smaller.
Do you agree or disagree?
4. Some organisms have relationships
with other types of organisms that help
them to survive.
5. Most of the energy used by organisms
on Earth comes from the Sun.
6. Both nature and humans affect the
environment.
Ecosystems and Biomes

• What are ecosystems?

• What are biomes?
• What happens when environments
change?
Ecosystems and Biomes

• ecosystem • community
• abiotic factor • biome
• biotic factor • succession
• population
What are ecosystems?
• Ecology is the study of how organisms
interact with each other and with their
environments.
• Every organism on Earth lives in an
ecosystem—the living and nonliving
things in one place.
• Different organisms depend on
different parts of an ecosystem to
survive.
What are ecosystems? (cont.)

What is an ecosystem?
Abiotic Factors
• Abiotic factors are the nonliving parts
of an ecosystem.
• Important abiotic factors include water,
light, temperature, atmosphere, and
soil.
• The types and amounts of abiotic
factors in an ecosystem help to
determine which organisms can live
there.
Abiotic Factors (cont.)
• All organisms need water to live, but
some need more water than others.
• The amount of light available and the
temperature of an ecosystem can also
determine which organisms can live
there.
• Different ecosystems contain different
amounts and types of nutrients, minerals,
and rocks in the soil.
Very few living things can survive in an
ecosystem without oxygen in the
atmosphere.

atmosphere
Science Use the mix of gases
surrounding a planet
Common Use a surrounding
influence or feeling
Biotic Factors
• Biotic factors are all of the living or
once-living things in an ecosystem.
• A population is made up of all the
members of one species that live in an
area.
• Organisms in a population interact and
compete for food, shelter, and mates.
• A community is all the populations that
live together in the same place.
Biotic Factors (cont.)

community
from Latin communitatem, means
“fellowship”
Biotic Factors (cont.)
• A biome is a large region on Earth with a
specific climate, physical features,
plants, and other organisms.
• Biomes contain ecosystems,
populations, and communities, as well as
specific biotic and abiotic factors.
• All biomes are part of the biosphere—the
part of Earth that supports life—and can
be described as either terrestrial or
aquatic.
Image by Reto Stockli, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Enhancements by Robert Simmon
Biotic Factors (cont.)
• Terrestrial means related to land, and
aquatic means related to water.
• Terrestrial biomes include forests,
deserts, tundra, and grasslands.
• Aquatic biomes include saltwater areas
and freshwater areas.
• Biomes, like communities, can affect
each other.
Biotic Factors (cont.)

What is a biome?
What happens when environments
change?
• Changes in the environment are caused
by both natural processes and human
actions.
• Changes in an environment can occur
slowly or rapidly and can have positive or
negative effects.
What happens when environments
change? (cont.)
• A volcanic eruption can cause sudden
change in an ecosystem.
• Succession is the gradual change from
one community to another community in
an area.
What happens when environments
change? (cont.)

Which biotic and abiotic

factors changed after the
Mount St. Helens eruption?
• Biotic factors are the living parts of an
ecosystem.
• Earth’s biosphere
contains many
different biomes.
• Changes in a
community can
be very slow or Image by Reto Stockli, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Enhancements by Robert Simmon

very rapid.
Which of these refers to the
nonliving parts of an ecosystem?

A. abiotic factors
B. biotic factors
C. biomes
D. populations
Which of these refers to all the
populations that live together in
the same place?
A. ecosystem
B. biosphere
C. community
D. biome
The gradual change from one
community to another community
in an area is called what?
A. succession
B. population
C. interaction
D. community development
Do you agree or disagree?

1. An ecosystem contains both living and

nonliving things.
2. All changes in an ecosystem occur
over a long period of time.
Populations and Communities

• How do individuals and groups of

organisms interact?
• What are some examples of symbiotic
relationships?
Populations and Communities

• limiting factor • niche

• biotic potential • symbiotic
relationship
• carrying capacity
• habitat
Populations
• The area in which a population lives
can be very large, such as the
population of all the fish in the ocean,
or very small, like fish in a lake.
• If either biotic or abiotic factors that
affect an organism change, that
organism’s population can also
change.
The area a population lives in can be
large or small.
Populations (cont.)
• Sometimes the size of a population
changes because the ecosystem
changes.
• Population density describes the number
of organisms in the population relative to
the amount of space available.
• If a population is very dense, organisms
might have a hard time finding enough
resources to survive.
The size of a population can change in
different ways.
Limiting factors are factors that can
limit the growth of a population.
Populations (cont.)
• Biotic potential is the potential growth
of a population if it could grow in perfect
conditions with no limiting factors.
• Carrying capacity is the largest number
of individuals that can survive in an area
over a long time.
• The limiting factors of an area determine
the area’s carrying capacity.
Populations (cont.)
• Overpopulation is when a population’s
size grows beyond the ability of the area
to support it.
• This often results in overcrowding, a lack
of resources, and an unhealthy
environment.
Communities
All the populations in the same area
interact as a community.
Communities (cont.)
Some populations might compete with
each other for resources and space.

How do the different

populations in a lake interact
with each other?
Symbiotic Relationships
• Each population has different ways to
stay alive and reproduce.
• All of the populations in a community
share a habitat, the physical place
where a population or organism lives.
• A niche is the unique ways an organism
survives, obtains food and shelter, and
avoids danger in its habitat.
Symbiotic Relationships (cont.)

habitat
from Latin habitare, means “to
live, dwell”
Symbiotic Relationships (cont.)
• A symbiotic relationship is one in
which two different species live together
and interact closely over a long period of
time.
• These relationships can be beneficial to
both organisms, beneficial to one and
harmful to the other, or beneficial to one
and neutral to the other.
Types of Symbiotic Relationships
• Mutualism—two species in a community
benefit from the relationship.
• Parasitism—one species (the parasite)
benefits while another (the host) is
harmed.
• Commensalism—one species benefits
and the other is neither helped nor
harmed.
Symbiotic Relationships (cont.)

What is one example of a

symbiotic relationship?
• The factors that limit the
size a population of
organisms can reach
are called limiting factors.
• A habitat is the physical environment
where a population of organisms lives.
• A symbiotic relationship exists when
two different species of organisms live
together in a close relationship over a
long period of time.
If a population’s rate of birth is as
high as it can be while its death rate
is as low as it can be, that population
has reached which of these?
A. limiting factor
B. biotic potential
C. population density
D. carrying capacity
Which of these determines an
area’s carrying capacity?

A. biotic potential
B. population
C. limiting factors
D. habitat
All of the populations in a
community share which of these?

A. carrying capacity
B. habitat
C. biotic potential
D. limiting factor
Do you agree or disagree?

3. Changes that occur in an ecosystem

can cause populations to become
larger or smaller.
4. Some organisms form relationships
with other types of organisms that help
them survive.
Energy and Matter

• How does energy move in

ecosystems?
• How is the movement of energy in an
ecosystem modeled?
• How does matter move in
ecosystems?
Energy and Matter

• producer
• consumer
• food chain
• food web
• energy pyramid
Energy Flow
• Organisms get energy from food that
they make using light or chemical energy
or by eating other organisms.
• When one organism eats another, the
energy in the organism that is eaten is
transferred to the organism that eats it.
Energy Flow (cont.)
• Energy travels through organisms,
populations, communities, and
ecosystems in a flow.
• When energy moves
in a flow it does not
return to its source,
as it does in cycles.
Organisms and Energy
• Scientists classify organisms by the way
they get the energy they need to survive.
• Some organisms, such as plants, are
able to capture the Sun’s energy directly
and convert it into energy-rich sugars
that they use for food.
Light energy is changed to food energy
by a process called photosynthesis.
Organisms and Energy (cont.)
• A few organisms are able to capture
energy from chemicals in the
environment and make food by a
process called chemosynthesis.
• Other organisms cannot capture energy
from sunlight or chemicals and must
obtain their energy by eating food.
• Organisms that cannot make their own
food using the Sun must depend on
organisms that can.
Organisms and Energy (cont.)
Producers change the energy available in
their environment into food energy that
they use to live and reproduce.

producer
from Latin producere, means “to
lead”
Organisms and Energy (cont.)

How does energy move from

a producer to other
organisms?
Organisms and Energy (cont.)
• Consumers use the energy and
nutrients stored in other organisms for
living and reproducing.
• Consumers are classified as herbivores,
omnivores, carnivores, or detritivores,
based on their diet.
• Herbivores are animals that eat only
producers, such as plants.
Organisms and Energy (cont.)
• Omnivores, such as human beings, are
animals that eat both producers and
other consumers.
• Carnivores, such as lions, eat only other
consumers.
• Detritivores, including some insects,
fungi, worms, bacteria, and protists, eat
dead plant or animal material.
Modeling Energy Flow
A food chain
models how food
energy moves
from the
environment to
several
organisms.
Modeling Energy Flow (cont.)
• Each stage of a food chain has less
available food energy than the last one,
because some food energy is converted
to thermal energy and moves to the
environment.
• A food web is a model that shows
several connected food chains.
Food Web
Modeling Energy Flow (cont.)
• Food chains and food webs are models
used to help understand how energy
travels through a community.
• Terrestrial and aquatic organisms can
interact within a food chain or food web.
• Food webs show that food energy can
move through several different
pathways.
Modeling Energy Flow (cont.)

Compare a food chain with a

food web.
Modeling Energy Pyramids
• An energy pyramid shows the amount
of food energy available at each level of
a community.
• More food energy is available at the
“base” of an energy pyramid, where
producers are.
Modeling Energy Pyramids (cont.)
• Food energy from producers moves into
consumers at the next level.
• At each level of the pyramid, the amount
of usable food energy decreases.
• The top level of a food pyramid usually
shows the carnivores in an ecosystem.
This energy pyramid shows how energy
flows from producers to consumers.
Matter Cycles
• Food, vitamins, minerals, and water that
you need to live are examples of matter.
• Matter is the physical material that
makes up the world around you.
• Most of the matter in your body is water,
but your body also contains matter in
other forms such as carbon and oxygen.
Matter Cycles (cont.)
• Like energy, matter is not created or
destroyed but is transferred through the
environment.
• Unlike energy, matter moves in cycles.
Water Cycle
Water Cycle (cont.)
• Liquid water evaporates from oceans,
rivers, and other bodies of water.
• The water vapor, which is a gas, rises
into the atmosphere, where it condenses
and falls as rain or snow.
Water Cycle (cont.)
Water moves across the surface of Earth
in lakes, streams, and rivers, soaks into
the ground, or is taken in by organisms,
before eventually being released again,
continuing the cycle.
Water Cycle (cont.)

What forms does water take

in the water cycle?
Oxygen also cycles through the
environment.
Oxygen Cycle
• Producers release oxygen gas and
consumers take it in.
• Plants release oxygen as a waste
product of photosynthesis.
• The oxygen enters the atmosphere,
and many consumers take it in when
they breathe.
Oxygen Cycle (cont.)
• When organisms exhale, they release
carbon dioxide, which contains oxygen
and is a by-product of cellular
respiration.
• Some producers take in carbon dioxide,
and the cycle continues.
Carbon, a fundamental building block for
all living things, also cycles through the
environment.
Carbon Cycle
• When producers use carbon dioxide
during photosynthesis, carbon is
removed from the atmosphere.
• Consumers eat these producers and
release carbon back into the
environment as a waste product
• Producers again remove the carbon from
the atmosphere as they continue making
food, and the cycle continues.
• A producer changes the energy
available in the environment into
food energy.
• Consumers must use the energy and
nutrients stored in other organisms
for living and reproducing.
• An energy pyramid shows
how much food energy is
available to organisms at
each level of a community.
Which type of organism changes
the energy available in its
environment into food energy it
uses to live?

A. producers C. omnivores

B. consumers D. herbivores
Which type of model do scientists
use to show several connected
food chains?
A. an energy pyramid
B. a matter cycle
C. a food web
D. an energy flow
Three matter cycles include the
oxygen cycle, water cycle, and
which of these?
A. carbon dioxide cycle
B. energy cycle
C. vapor cycle
D. carbon cycle
Do you agree or disagree?

5. Most of the energy used by organisms

on Earth comes from the Sun.
6. Both nature and humans affect the
environment.
Key Concept Summary
Interactive Concept Map
Chapter Review
Standardized Test Practice
Living things interact
with each other in a
variety of ways that
can be either
beneficial or harmful.
Living things depend
on both living and
nonliving resources
from the ecosystem to
survive.
Lesson 1: Ecosystems and Biomes
• An ecosystem is made up of all the living and
nonliving things in a location.
• Biomes are large regions that have specific types of
climate, physical characteristics, and organisms.
• One environment changes
into another in a process
called succession.

Image by Reto Stockli, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Enhancements by Robert Simmon
Lesson 2: Populations and
Communities
• Organisms must compete with each other to obtain
resources, such as food, water, and living space.
• Symbiotic relationships include mutualism,
parasitism, and commensalism.
Lesson 3: Energy and Matter
• Light energy from the Sun is changed into food
energy by producers. Energy then moves through
an ecosystem as organisms eat producers or other
consumers.
• Energy movement can be modeled simply as a food
chain. A food web models the movement of energy
through many food chains in an ecosystem.
• Matter moves through
ecosystems in cycles.
Examples of matter
cycles include the carbon,
water, and oxygen cycles.
Which of these is made up of all
the living and nonliving things in
a location?
A. biome
B. abiotic factor
C. biotic factor
D. ecosystem
Which term refers to all of the
living or once-living things in an
ecosystem?
A. biotic factors
B. abiotic factors
C. biomes
D. organisms
What do scientists call the potential
growth of a population if it could
grow in perfect conditions?
A. carrying capacity
B. niche
C. biotic potential
D. limiting factor
What is the physical place where
a population or organism lives?

A. carrying capacity
B. biotic potential
C. habitat
D. ecosystem
Which model do scientists use to
show how food energy moves from
the environment to several
organisms?
A. energy cycle
B. food chain
C. energy pyramid
D. matter cycle
Which of these describes a large
region on Earth with a specific
climate, physical features, plants,
and other organisms?
A. abiotic factor
B. biome
C. ecosystem
D. community
What are the nonliving parts of an
ecosystem?

A. abiotic factors
B. biotic factors
C. biomes
D. populations
Which term refers to the largest
number of individuals that can
survive in an area over a long time?
A. biotic potential
B. carrying capacity
C. limiting factor
D. habitat
What is the number of organisms
in the population relative to the
amount of space available?
A. population density
B. organism density
C. relative population
D. biotic potential
Which model illustrates the
amount of food energy available
at each level of a community?

A. food chain
B. food web
C. matter cycle
D. energy pyramid