Ecology Notes

Biology

Topics:
1. Ecosystems
2. Food Chains
3. Food Webs
4. The Carbon Cycle

ECOSYSTEMS
● An ecosystem is a community of living organisms that live and interact with
each other in the same environment
● A biotic factor is a living thing that affects the environment.
● An abiotic factor is a nonliving thing that influences or affects an
environment or its organisms.
● A species is a group or organisms that share a genetic heritage and are
able to interbreed and create offspring.
● A population is a group of organisms that live in the same area at the same
time.
● A community is a group of various populations that interact with each other
in a common location.
● A biome is the entire area of flora and fauna that consists of many different
ecosystems.

FOOD CHAINS
● A food chain shows what eats what in a particular habitat.
● An autotroph is an organism which is capable of producing its own food.
● A heterotroph is an organism that isn't capable of producing its own food
and is dependent on other organisms for food.
● A consumer is an organism that feeds off another organism.
● A carnivore is an organism that only eats meat.
● A herbivore is an organism that feeds on plant material only.
● An omnivore is an organism that eats both plants and animals.
● A predator is an organism that hunts and eats other organism
● A prey is an organism that is hunted and eaten by a predator.
● A producer is an organism which is capable of producing its own food.
 ● The trophic level is the level at which an organism feeds in a food chain.

FOOD WEBS
● A food web is all of the food chains in an ecosystem.
● Characteristics of a food web include:
➔ Always starts with predators
➔ Limited to a max or 4-5 trophic levels due to the loss of energy at
each level.
➔ Shows if organisms are herbivores, carnivores or omnivores.
➔ Shows which organisms are prey and predators.
➔ Apex predators are located at the top of the food web with no
organisms feeding on it.

THE CARBON CYCLE

● The cycle by which carbon is exchanged throughout the atmosphere.
● The processes include:
➔ Photosynthesis: carbon dioxide from the air is converted into
glucose.
➔ Respiration: by which glucose is broken down to release energy and
co2 is returned to the air. animals and plants also return co2.
➔ Feeding/Nutrition: animals feed on plants which move the carbon
compounds from plants to their bodies. These compounds are:
glucose, starch, lipids, amino acids, vitamins, hormones and
cellulose.
➔ Excretion: both plants and animals remove carbonaceous waste in
the form of urine and faeces to the soil.
➔ Death and Decay: when organisms die, carbon is moved to the soil
as decomposers break down the matter.
➔ Fossilization: when organic matter is exposed to high temperatures
deep within the earth’s crust causing it to be converted into fossil
fuels.
➔ Combustion: when carbon material found in fossil fuels, plants and
animals are burnt, they are returned to the air as co2.