Ecology the study of how organisms interact

with each other and with the non-living things in their environment

Stewardship involves taking personal responsibility for the

management and care for something, ex. the environment

the environment includes all living and non-living things that exist on earth

Natural environment must be used in a sustainable way Sustainability refers to the ability of

populations of plants, animals, and other living organisms to continue to interact and reproduce indefinitely Biodiversity (the number of different types of

organisms) must be preserved

READ the article “MAMMAL EXTINCTION RISK RISES” answer the attached questions

DISCUSSION: How does human impact affect wildlife? What examples do you see in your community

or in your experience of human impact on living things?

How does this article illustrate the importance of stewardship?

A system, made up of interacting biotic and abiotic components or parts, that interact as a whole to accomplish a task

For Example a beehive is a system that depends on all

the individual bees’ interactions (worker bee builds the hive, drone bee mates with the queen, queen bee produces eggs)

Brainpop video

Components of ecosystems: Biotic factors

Organisms such as animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and algae (all require oxygen to live)

Abiotic factors Everything else on earth that doesn’t require

oxygen to liveex. Rocks, air, water

Interactions of biotic and abiotic elements help self-regulate Ecosystems have communities which

consist of different species that live and interact with an area A species is a group of similar organisms in an

ecosystem

All species have a habitat and a niche the habitat is the physical space (place)

where an organism lives, ex. forest, pond

the niche involves an organism’s typical daily life/routine ex. Grey squirrels collect nuts and other

seeds, they are hunted by foxes and owls, try to be active throughout the day, and live and nest in trees

Ecosystems can be as small as a drop of water or as large as an ocean BUT, size doesn’t matter, just

sustainability Also ecosystems can exist within other ones

and interact with each other

Biomes Are large geographical regions that

contain similar ecosystems

These biomes combine to form a biosphere A biosphere includes water, land, and

air; i.e. where life exists very thin layer around the earth

Biosphere: locations around earth (3 layers)Ecosystem: interaction of biotic and abiotic factorsCommunity: different populations living and interacting together in the same areaPopulation: individuals of the same species that live in the same areaIndividual/Species: single organism

1. What is ecology?2. Name 2 large ecosystems and 2 small ecosystems.3. Which of the following are considered to be an ecosystem? Explain your reasoning.

Backyard pond All cats in your neighbourhood Tree Schoolyard

4. Classify the following as either biotic or abiotic features: temperature, bacteria, wind, sunlight, dead leaves, mosquitoes, sand, milk, hair, ice, plastic, empty snail shell.5. “Human activities change only the biotic features of an ecosystem” Is this statement true or false? Explain why or why not.6. Would you consider a large city to be a population or a community? Explain your choice.7.What is the difference between a biotic and an abiotic component of an ecosystem?8. What are the three components that support the biosphere?9. You interact with abiotic and biotic parts of your environment every day.

a) List 5 abiotic factors in your environmentb) List 5 biotic factors in your environment