Chapters 3 and 4-2

Page 1

The word ecology was created by a German biologist Ernst Haeckel. It was based off of the Greek word oikos, meaning house.

Scientists use three basic approaches to conduct modern ecological research, observing, experimenting, and modeling.

Sunlight is the main source of energy for life on Earth

Some types of organisms rely on the energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds

Energy flows in a one way direction from the producers to the consumers

Only 10% of the available energy is passed to the next trophic level, the rest is lost as heat

A biomass pyramid presents the amount of potential food available for each trophic level in an ecosystem

A pyramid of numbers shows the typical amount of individual organisms at each trophic level

Unlike the one way flow of energy, matter is recycled within and between ecosystems

Matter can cycle through the biosphere because biological systems do not use up matter, they transform it

Every living organism needs nutrients to grow and carry out essential life functions

C02 is used by plants during photosynthesis

C02 is a key ingredient to all living things

Nitrogen helps all organisms make amino acids, which in turn are used to build proteins

Phophorus is essential to living things because it forms part of important life-sustaining moleules such as DNA and RNA

Phosphorus exists mostly in the form of inorganic phosphate

Together biotic and abiotic factors determine the survival and growth of an organism and the productivity of the ecosystem in which the organism lives

Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural and human disturbances. As an ecosystem changes, older inhabitants gradually die out and new organisms move in, causing further changes in the community.

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