Ecology Information

By Joseph Yacomine
5.1.1.Define habitat, species, population,
community, ecosystem and ecology.

Habitat: The environment in which Species: a group of organisms that

a species normally lives, or the can interbreed and produce fertile
location of a living organism. offspring.
 5.1.1.Define habitat, species, population,
community, ecosystem and ecology.
Population: a group of Community: a group of
organisms of the same species populations living and
who live in the same area at the interacting with each other in
same time. an area.
 5.1.1.Define habitat, species, population,
community, ecosystem and ecology.
Ecology: the study of relationships
between living organisms and
Ecosystem: a community and between organisms and their
its abiotic environment environment.
5.1.2. Distinguish between an Autotroph and
a Heterotroph
An autotroph is an organism A heterotroph is an organism
that makes its own food using that assimilates energy from
photosynthesis and living or recently killed
chemosynthesis. organisms.
 5.1.3. What is the Difference between
Consumers, Detritivores and Saprotrophs

Consumers assimilate energy Detritivores assimilate energy

by ingesting living or recently by ingesting dead and rotting
killed organisms. material.
 5.1.3. What is the Difference between
Consumers, Detritivores and
Saprotrophs
Saprotrophs are organisms
that act parasitic, feeding on
the organism by assimilating
energy from the nutrients it
obtains from the organism.
 5.1.4. Describe what is meant by a food
chain, giving three examples, each with at
least three linkages (four organisms)
A food Chain is a simple linear flow which shows
what eats what. It also shows where the
energy from the ingested organisms is
assimilated to.
 5.1.4 Describe what is meant by a food
chain, giving three examples, each with at
least three linkages (four organisms)
5.1.5 Describe what is meant by a food web.

A food web is a bigger food chain, in the sense

that it has more organisms. It is also more
detailed, as it shows organisms of different
trophic levels and what they eat.
5.1.5 Describe what is meant by a food web.
 5.1.6. Define Trophic Level
Autotroph Producer Trophic Level 1
A trophic level basically
Heterotroph Primary Trophic Level 2
tells you how high up an Consumer
organism is on a food Heterotroph Secondary Trophic Level 3
Consumer
web.
Heterotroph Tertiary Trophic Level 4
Consumer
 5.1.7. Deduce the trophic level of
organisms in a food chain and a food web.

Tertiary Consumer

Secondary Consumer

Primary Consumer

Producer
5.1.8. Construct a food web containing up
to 10 organisms, using appropriate
information.
5.1.9 State that light is the initial energy
source for almost all communities.
5.1.10 Explain the energy flow in a food chain.

The Producers gather energy

from photosynthesis and
chemosynthesis. When they
are consumed by primary
consumers, that energy is
assimilated by the consumer.
However, only 10% of the
energy is assimilated. When
the primary consumer is
ingested, 10% of that energy is
assimilated by the secondary
consumer. This flow continues
on from organism to organism.
5.1.11 State that energy transformations
are never 100% efficient.
5.1.12 Explain reasons for the shape of pyramids of energy

Pyramids of energy show

the flow of energy as it
is assimilated from
organism to organism.
Since only 10% of the
energy is assimilated
each time, this causes
the energy ‘graph’ to
take a pyramid shape.
 5.1.13 Explain that energy enters and leaves
ecosystems, but nutrients must be recycled.

• Energy is constantly arriving from the sun, which

is then transformed into different types of energy.
• The remaining 90% of energy after an assimilation
due to ingestion becomes heat energy. It is in this
type of energy that energy leaves the ecosystem
and eventually radiates to space.
• No new matter is created, but molecules are
recycled instead. Autotrophs convert inorganic
molecules into organic compounds.
5.1.13 Explain that energy enters and leaves
ecosystems, but nutrients must be recycled.
5.1.14 State that saprotrophic bacteria and
fungi (decomposers) recycle nutrients.
5.1.14. State that Saprotrophic Bacteria and
Fungi recycle Nutrients