Chapter 7

Organisms and Their Environments

 

 

I.                    Objective 49   Biotic and Abiotic factors    B.35  The student will identify and explain the importance of living and nonliving factors in an ecosystem.

 

a.      Ecosystem-  is composed of all living and nonliving things in a particular location.

                                                               i.      Biotic factors- bio-living things

                                                             ii.      abiotic factors- (a-opposite or against) the nonliving things

b.      Food Web – is the interrelated chain of organisms that depend on each other for food.

                                                               i.      Producers- are the green plants the make own food.

                                                             ii.      Consumers- are the animals that rely on the other organisms for food and Has 3 types

1.      Primary consumers- are herbivores, or plant eaters

a.       deer

b.      insects

2.      Secondary consumers- are carnivores or flesh eaters

a.       snakes

b.      hawks

c.       coyotes

3.      Tertiary consumers- or omnivores eat both plant and animals

                                                            iii.      Scavengers – feed on particles of dead organisms

1.      earthworms

2.      ants

3.      vultures

                                                           iv.      Decomposers- are organisms that break down dead organic matters

c.      Niche- includes all aspects of an animal’s lifestyle, especially its feeding pattern.

II.                 Objective 50  SUCCESSION IN COMMUNITIES   B. 37  The student will explain that the community in a given area may change through time.

a.      Habitat- is the physical surrounding in which an organism lives

b.      Pioneer community- the first plant forms that colonize an area

c.      Climax community- consists of many different types of plants and is very stable.

d.      Ecological succession- the change in dominant species.

III.               Objective 51  POPULATIONS AND CHANGES   B. 38  The student will relate what constitutes a population and how a population may change through time.

a.      Biological species – a group of organisms that can naturally produce fertile offspring

b.      Population- is made up of all members of a particular species that inhabit a particular area at the same time.

c.      Geographic isolation-when the population becomes separated by changes in the environment.

IV.              Objective 52   BIOMES   B.39 The student will relate geography/climate to biome types of given areas.

a.      Biosphere- is the part of the earth where life exists.

b.      Biomes- specific reagions

c.      Types of Biomes

Biome	Regions	Flora	Fauna	Characteristics
Polar	North and south poles	Moss and lichen	Polar bears, penguins	Permafrost
Tundra	Artic/Antarctic areas	Grass and wildflowers	Reindeer, caribou	Thin soil, permafrost
Taiga	Northern forests	Stunted conifers	Wolves, rabbits	Long, cold winters
Deciduous Forest	NE/ mid-eastern US; W. Europe	Deciduous trees	Deer, birds, small animals	Mod, precipitation, warm summers, cold winters
Grasslands	Mid-western US; Eurasia, Africa	Grasses	Prairie dogs, ferrets, snakes	Hot summers, cold winters, rainfall unpredictable
Desert	W. US; N. and SW Africa	Cacti, succulents	Jackrabbits, lizards, rats	Arid;extreme daily temperatures
Tropical Rainforest	South America	Diverse Plants	Monkeys, leopards	High rainfall and temperatures
Temperate Rainforest	NW US	Giant conifers	Bear, Deer birds	Moist soil, high rainfall, moderate temperatures

 

V.                 Objective 53 Impact of Human Activity   B.40  The student will assess the impact of human activity on certain ecological situations.

a.      What humans do.

                                                               i.      consumes a vast amount of the Earth’s natural resources

                                                             ii.      destroying much of the wildlife habitats

                                                            iii.      higher consumption of water for drinking

                                                           iv.      create the greenhouse effect- due to build up of carbon dioxide

                                                             v.      Photochemical smog- due to nitrogen and sulfur oxides in the atmosphere producing   acid rain.

                                                           vi.      Strip mining- removing the layers of the Earth’s surface to obtain minerals

                                                          vii.      Pollutants- undesired impurities in the environment

1.      biodegradable- able to decompose

2.      non-biodegradable- linger in the environment plastics

VI.              OBJECTIVE 54 SOLVING ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS    B. 41  The student  will explore ways to help solve current ecological problems and to minimize problems in the future.

a.      People are the primary source of many of our planet’s ecological problems

b.      Deforestation- causes erosion and loss of habitat

                                                               i.      prevent by recycling wood

                                                             ii.      planting new forest

c.      Fossil fuel usage can be reduced by using

                                                               i.      solar energy

                                                             ii.      wind generation

                                                            iii.      geothermal energy

                                                           iv.      public transportation

d.      Bioremediation- use of microorganisms to decompose hazardous wastes.

e.      Recycling materials is what each person can do on an individual level

                                                               i.      Things to recycle

1.      plastic

2.      metals

3.      paper

                                                             ii.      Ways to reduce burning of fossil fuels

1.      purchasing energy-efficient appliances

2.      properly insulating our homes

3.      turning off light and appliances when not in use