Unit 1: The Study of Life A.

Treacy

Ecology
Ecology
 Ecology= the study of the interactions between living things and their environment.
 Ecosystem= a group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit.
 Biosphere= the part of the planet containing living organisms.
 Habitat= a place where a plant or animal lives
 Population= all the members of the same species living in an area.
 Community= all the populations in an area.

Environmental Factors affecting Organisms

- Abiotic (non-living)
- Biotic (living)
- Climatic (weather)
- Edaphic (soil)

Abiotic Factors
 Altitude: Higher altitudes are cooler, wetter and windier.
 Aspect: North-facing slopes are cooler and darker than south facing ones.
 Steepness: Steep slopes lose water easier.
 Currents: Plants and animal can be washed away by strong currents.
 Exposure: Shore plants can dry out if exposed.

Biotic Factors
 Food: The more food available the more organisms present.
 Competition: Plants and animals compete for food, shelter and mates.
 Predation: Predators reduce prey.
 Parasitism: Parasites reduce and weaken hosts. Endoparasites live within hosts while ectoparasites live
on the surface of the host.
 Pollination/seed dispersal: Effects plant numbers.
 Humans: Can affect numbers of plants or animals.

Climatic Factors
 Temperature: Affects rates of reaction in organisms.
 Rain: Water is needed by all organisms and the more there is the more life can thrive.
 Humidity: Reduces evaporation.
 Day length: Affects flowering and germination in plants and reproduction in animals.
 Light intensity: Affects photosynthesis.
 Wind: Causes physical damage and increases evaporation.

Edaphic Factors
 Soil pH: Affects what organisms can be present.
 Soil type: Affects drainage and nutrient retention.
 Organic matter: Retention of nutrients and drainage.
 Water content: Affects how much is absorbed by roots.
 Air content: Oxygen for roots, animals and micro-organisms.
 Mineral content: Needed by plants and animals.
Unit 1: The Study of Life A. Treacy

Aquatic Environments
 These have additional factors such as light, currents, wave action, salt content and oxygen
concentration can affect the diversity of life.

Energy Flow
 The sun is the primary source of energy for all organisms.
 Producers use sunlight to photosynthesis. Most of the energy is lost this way with only 10% being
passed to consumers.
 Consumers= organisms which take in food from other organisms.
 Primary consumers feed on producers (plants), they include herbivores, decomposers and detritus
feeders.
 Secondary consumers feed on primary consumers, they include carnivores and scavengers.
 Tertiary consumers feed on secondary consumers and can sometimes be absent in an ecosystem.

Food Chains and Webs

 A grazing food chain is a sequence of organisms in which one is eaten by the next member in a chain.

 A food web consists of two or more

interlinked food chains.
Unit 1: The Study of Life A. Treacy

Trophic Levels
 Each feeding stage in a food chain is called a trophic level.
 The length of a food chain is limited by the energy available at each level.
 A pyramid of numbers represents how many organisms are found at each stage in a food chain.

Pyramid of Numbers

Inverted Pyramid of Numbers

 The ecological niche of an organism is its functional role is the community.

 A food niche refers to the feeding role of an organism.

Nutrient Recycling
 Nutrient recycling is the way in which elements are exchanged between living and non-living
components of an ecosystem.

The Carbon Cycle

 Plants remove carbon from the environment.
 Plants and animals return carbon to the environment through respiration and decomposition.
 It is returned to the atmosphere by
combustion.
 Changes in the carbon cycle have resulted in
global warming.
Unit 1: The Study of Life A. Treacy

The Carbon Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle

 Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia (NH₃), Nitrate (NO₃-) or
ammonium (NH4+).
 Nitrogen fixing bacteria are found in the nodules of legumes or free in the soil. They work
anaerobically to fix nitrogen.
 Decomposition= the decay of living organisms carried out by bacteria and fungi. This releases
ammonia into the soil.
 Nitrification= the conversion of ammonia and ammonium to nitrite and nitrate. It is carried out by
nitrifying bacteria.
 Denitrification= the conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas. It is carried out by denitrifying bacteria.
 Assimilation= the uptake of elements and compounds and their incorporation into living organisms.

The Nitrogen Cycle

Pollution
 Pollution= the undesirable change in the environment. It is caused by human activities e.g. litter,
sewage disposal, radioactivity.
 Natural pollutants are smoke from volcanoes and forest fires.
 Domestic pollution is household waste.
 Agricultural pollution are herbicides, slurry, silage etc.
 Industrial pollutants are smoke, wastewater etc.
Unit 1: The Study of Life A. Treacy

Effects of Pollution
 The ozone layer has been depleted by CFC gases, freon and Styrofoam.
 Increases in UV radiation causes cancers, damage to crops and death of plankton.
 Conservation= the wise management of existing natural resources.

Fisheries
 Issues:
-Overfishing
-Pollution
-Catching juvenile fish in smaller nets
 Solutions:
-Fishing quotas
-Checking water quality

Symbiosis
 Symbiosis occurs when two organisms from different species live in close association for the benefit of
at least one of the organisms.
 Parasitism= symbiosis where one organism is harmed but the other benefits.
 Mutualism= symbiosis where both organisms benefit.
 Endoparasites live within an organism.
 Ectoparasites live on the surface of an organism.

Population Dynamics
 Population dynamics= factors that cause changes in population numbers.
 Predator-prey numbers interact due to:
-Availability of food, which increases predator numbers when high .but reduces them
when low.
-Concealment, meaning some prey survive by hiding.
-Movement of predators, which means predators move to new areas when .prey numbers are low.

Factors affecting Human Population Growth

 War and famine reduce population numbers.
 The use of contraceptives reduces birth rates and the rate of population growth.
 Improved disease-control methods have reduced the death rate and caused an increase in human
population.