Photosynthesis
produces glucose from sunlight
Main carbohydrates
sugars, starches, and fibers
Photosynthesis
making food; performed by plants
Cellular respiration
breaking food down (plants and all other living organisms)
Herbivores
plants eaters (1° consumers) - elephants, horses, cows…etc
Carnivores
meat eaters (2+° consumers) - lions, tigers (big cats)
Omnivores
all eaters (1-4° consumers) - Bears, Humans…
Detritivores
eat scraps/leftovers (scavengers); e.g. termites, worms, insects
Decomposers
absorb energy from outside, rather than eating “breakdowners”- bacteria, fungi (mushrooms and mold)
Bioaccumulation
to build up in life
Nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen fixation-process of putting nitrogen in the ground
Plants need nitrogen to grow but not all can get it out of the air
Fertilizer normally contains nitrogen but it can run-off into ponds and affect wildlife
Ways energy can leave an ecosystem:
Heat (the major one to remember)
Erosion (via water)
Emigration (the existence of organisms)
Mutualism
both organisms benefit (e.g. lichen, which is fungi + algae, or ants + aphids)
Commensalism
one organism benefits, and the other is neutral (e.g. bird + tree)
Parasitism
one organism benefits, while the other is harmed (e.g. ticks, tapeworms); feeds off host
Pseudo
fake
Pseudo-nym
fake name
Pseudo-science
fake science
Science must be tested before it is claimed.
To be alive, something must…
Be made of cells
Have some structure or degree of organization
Grow or change
Reproduce
React to stimulus
Change internal chemistry
Use energy
Have homeostasis (i.e. maintain balance)
Some say it must evolve, but this is FALSE←pseudoscience!
Limiting factors in the biosphere —> BIOTIC
Predators: too many of them → no deer;
too few → too many deer
Food supply: grass/trees → no trees, not beavers, no beavers, no good water, etc
Limiting factors in the biosphere —> ABIOTIC
Space: too crowded (diseases spread rapidly, no room for houses, etc.)
Sunlight: too few plants → not enough animals
Oxygen: too little oxygen → no breathing
Temperature: plants can’t grow in extremes
Natural
things happening without human intervention
Ecology
the study of relationships between living objects and how they work;
it’s like a web—everything is connected—if we break one part, it affects everything else.
