5.1

Ecosystems are made up of the interacting biotic and abiotic factors composed of the following: The biotic factors are composed of the following: species, habitat, population, community. Autotroph produce their food. Heterotroph’s consume it. Heterotrophs are made up of consumer, detrivores, saphrotrophs. Auto’s are eaten by consumer, which are eaten by other consumers, and so on until the decomposers decompose the consumer back into the base components which are sucked up by the autotrophs again. A single line tracing animal consumption is called a food chain. Multiple food chains make a food web. Light is the original source of all energy. Not even close to 100% efficient. 90% of the energy is lost per trophic level. Plant to consumer is one trophic level. That consumer to another is another trophic level. Energy enters and leaves, nutrients recycled. Saphrotrophs recycle the nutrients. The abiotic factors are made up of the: hydrosphere ,atmosphere, lithosphere,. They interact with the biosphere at the pedosphere

Topic 5.2

As humans population and activity increases the amount of concentrations of Carbon dioxide, Nitrous dioxide and methane. All three of those gases have high potential for absorbing heat and climate experts are concerned that gases are intensifying earth’s natural green house effect to a point where it is being thrown off balance. As global temperature changes these things might happen

An increase in Photosynthetic rates

Changes in climate with varying effects on ecosystems

Extinction of certain species

Melting glaciers

Rise in sea levels which can cause flooding in some coastal areas

Topic 5.3

Population growth is described with Plateau Phase, Exponential Phase, Mortality, and Transition Phase.

Plateau Phase- Is also the carrying capacity. Carrying Capacity is the maximum size a population can hold. Mortality is greater than natality.

Exponential Phase- Rate of population growth is rapid as recourse is abundant and competition and mortality are low.

Morality- The death rate

Transition Phase- Natality is greater than Mortality but the difference begins to tighten. Birth rate is also decreasing.

Random Sample- When you take a sample from an environment in different areas to take account of different population which is accounted randomly to make sure every specie gets accounted for a fair estimate of population.

-Capture and Release Method: Allows animals to be captured and marked in order to find out the population. It is a method that can be done mathematically when you take into account of the marked animals the first and second time to compare how many are actually marked for the second sample. The Calculation is the # of animals initially caught, marked and released multiplied by the total # of animals caught 2md time, and divided by the 3 of marked animals in the 2nd sample, to allow the estimate of the population size in an environment.

-Quadrant Method- Used for plant population can be done quickly by gathering areas and counting the # of plants and multiplying the area of the multiple quadrants. Accurate estimates can be obtained more quickly than if every plant in population is counted.

Chapter 5.4- Evolution

Definition: The process of cumulative change in the heritable characteristics of a population

This was developed by Charles Darwin.

Evidence for Evolution:

Fossil records-

Life existed 500 million years ago, very different from today Fish fossils have been found in rocks

Top predators today are bears, orca, whales, big cats, wolves; all of which did not exist before dinosaurs

Sharks, cockroaches and ferns did not have identifiable forms in fossil form

Artificial selection:

Breeding helps scientists understand evolution. Animals such as cattle, horses, dogs, sheep, pigeons provide records of recent changes of heritable changes

From breeding hundreds of times, all heritable traits could be found and later combined in combinations that did not exist before; this is all driven by human force.

Homologous anatomical structures:

Structures that are similar between several different species can also help us show that we had original ancestry. For example whales have a similar fin structure to human hands.

Mechanisms for evolution-

Too many offspring:

Because of the vast number of offspring being produced, resources would become limited and only the best would survive. Organisms would make adaptations to become better and gain access to those resources easier to help them survive.

Variation with populations:

When animals sexually reproduce, billions of different combinations can be made thus facilitating variation such as different beaks or larger feathers.

Variation and success:

The amount of variation caused relates to how successful those variations were. If the variations caused success those variations will continue to occur and be kept in the gene pool.

Causes of variety-

Mutations in DNA Sexual reproduction promoting variation in species

DNA replication can cause DNA to slightly change in certain areas.

In sexual reproduction, meiosis and fertilization cause variation because DNA is exchanged and only have of each organism’s DNA is contributed.

Natural selection:

Overproduction of offspring results in variation in order to keep the organism alive for generations. Things such as size are affected.

Organisms with poor traits do not survive and do not pass their genes out, in a way perfecting the organism from poor traits

Individuals with good adaptations survive longer and pass on their genes Those organisms gather more resources and have a better chance of reaching maturity

Examples:

Bacteria become resistant to certain antibiotics from going through treatments. Certain resistant bacteria survive and thus replicate and create a population of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Topic 5.5

Taxonomy: is a practice and science of classification

Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

Species: group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

Homo sapien (first genus, then species. Genus capitalized, species lower cased. Italicized)