A Mr Fedley with “No imagination for heading Production”

So what is Ecology?

• According to the dictionary, ‘Ecology’ means: the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.

• Or to put it simple, how all living things (plants, animals, bacteria etc) interact and live with each other.

Ecosystems

• When Scientists talk about an ecosystem, they are referring to the living organisms that live in a specific area, how they affect each other, and how they are affected by the non-living environment around them.

Ecosystems #2

• When looking at an organisms home, there are a couple of things we detail to be a bit more specific. We need to name the following: Biosphere, Biogeographical Region, Biome, Habitat, Microhabitat & Name of Organism.

Where are we? Earth – this is same as biosphere.

We are in Asia – same as Biogeographical Region

We are in Japan – same as Biome

Our prefecture is Kanagawa – this is same as Habitat

We are in Yokohama – this is same as habitat

The school – this is your Microhabitat

Main Campus– still microhabitat

You – type of Organism

Biospheres & Biogeographical Regions

• Biospheres & Biogeographical regions show a very broad example of a habitat. A continent or part of a continent can be a biogeographical regions

Biomes

• Biomes are the third level of an organisms address. It refers to the type of climactic conditions (for example; soil type, rainfall, wind conditions, humidity, temperature).

• Grasslands, forests and deserts are examples of biomes. We need to remember that specific plants/animals habitat specific areas for a reason (eg we wont see many frogs in the desert)

Adaptions• All living things have adapted to their environment in

one way or another.• For example, Polar Bears have white fur as they live in

an area with a lot of snow. This gives them an advantage over other animals as they cannot be as easily spotted by their prey.

• Some plants have small leaves so that less water is lost due to photosynthesis (making energy from the sun)

• Animals who adapt will have an advantage compared to animals which do not change. This change normally occurs when a new organism (like a baby) is born and this adaption might give it an advantage.

Daily Changes• Organisms respond to daily changes in their physical

environment. Examples may include:• A sun flower will face the sun in the day time• Leaves will open small holes in the day time so that

carbon dioxide can be taken in for photosynthesis• Some animals are awake at night so they can hide

from animals that might eat them

Seasonal Changes• Seasonal changes happen over a long period of time but

still play a big part in how organisms live.• Below are some examples:

• Trees lose their leaves during winter• Some animals hibernate in winter• Birds move to an area with a lot of water during the

monsoon or rainy season

Activity/Questions1. Complete Q 2-6 on Page 9. Information is on Page 6 to 82. Make an address book like I have for the school – but it needs to be a

different animal on a different country. Use Pages or a PPT using Google Earth or Google Images to get the screen shots

3. Play the following game: http://science.discovery.com/interactives/literacy/darwin/darwin.html