Science Notes
January 27, 2018
Interactions within Ecosystems
An ecosystem is all the living and non-
living things in a particular place
Abiotic Parts of an Ecosystem
 The non-living parts of the
environment.
 Each type of organism is adapted
to a particular set of abiotic
conditions.
 Examples of abiotic conditions are:
temperature, sunlight, air, wind,
water, soil, and climate.
 Organisms can only survive in a
certain range of conditions. For
example, a salmon can survive in
water between 0°C and 20°C.
 The range of conditions within
which an organism can survive is
called the organism’s range of
tolerance.
 Each organism has a different
range of tolerance for each abiotic
condition.
Biotic Parts of an Ecosystem
 The living parts, or organisms, in
the environment.
 Organisms can be organized in to
species, populations, or
communities.
 A species is a group of organisms
that can reproduce among
themselves to produce offspring of
the same type (that can also
reproduce successfully).
 A population is an entire group of
individuals of the same species that
live together in one ecosystem at
the same time.
 A community is formed when
populations interact.
 Refer to example in text on page
25.
Organisms may be studied at different
levels of organization in an ecosystem:
1
Habitat - the organism’s address; where
does it live
Ex. A moose’s habitat is the
boreal forest.
Niche - the organism’s job; what role
does the organism play in its
environment.
- It includes:
 where it lives
 how it obtains food
 how it affects its environment
Ex. A moose lives in the boreal forest, it
is a herbivore (plant eater), it provides a
home for parasites and it provides food
for coyotes.
Interactions in the Environment:
Biotic – Abiotic: Interactions between
living things and non-living things.
Ex. The polar bear and the water.
Abiotic – Abiotic:
Interactions between non-living things
and other non-living things.
Ex. The wind and the
temperature.
Biotic – Biotic:
Interactions between living things and
other living things.
Ex. The lion and the elk.
Living & Non-living Things Interact in
Ecosystems
Types of Interactions
Symbiosis
A biological relationship in which
two species live closely together in a
relationship that lasts over time.
Interactions between the biotic
parts of an environment.
There are 3 types of Symbiotic
Relationships:
1. Parasitism
2. Mutualism
3. Commensalism
1. Parasitism
A symbiotic relationship between
two species in which one benefits and
the other is harmed.
The parasite obtains food from
the host.
 Parasites usually do not kill their
hosts but they may weaken their host
and shorten its life.
Example 1: Ticks feed on the blood of
other animals such as dogs, cats, and
birds.
Example 2: Tapeworms live inside the
intestines of other animals (including
humans) and absorb nutrients from
them.
Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship between
two species in which both organisms
benefit.
Example 1: Termites give micro-
organisms a place to live and food while
micro-organisms help termites digest
wood.
Example 2: Flowers provide bees with
nectar to make honey while bees
pollinate flowers.
Example 3: Lichens growing on rocks
because they are a combination of 2
species (algae and fungi). Algae
produces food and the fungi anchors
the lichen to the rock.
Commensalism
A symbiotic relationship in which
one organism benefits and the other is
not affected (neither loses nor gains
from the relationship).
Example 1: Clown fish gets shelter from
anemone and eat the anemone’s left
over food.
Example 2: Barnacles attach
themselves to the bodies of whales.
They get food from filtering water and
traveling on the bodies of whales
exposes them to a large food supply.
Roles of Organisms in Ecosystems:
1. Consumers - Animals get their
food from the biotic environment by
consuming other organisms.
Examples: All herbivores, carnivores,
and omnivores.
2. Producers - Plants produce their
own food from the abiotic environment.
Plants are a food (energy) source for
consumers and decomposers. Use a
process called “Photosynthesis”.
Sun + Carbon Dioxide + Water  Glucose
(sugar) + Oxygen
2
Examples: Green plants and algae.
3. Scavengers - Animals that get
their food from decaying animals and
waste materials.
Examples: Vultures, crows, some gulls,
house flies, and dung beetles larvae.
4. Decomposers - Organisms that
break down dead and waste material
into their basic parts. They release
chemicals that break apart dead
tissues and cells and absorb the
nutrients for their own use.
Examples: Bacteria, other micro-
organisms, fungi and worms.
Energy Pyramid
The gradual loss of energy in a
food chain is represented by an energy
pyramid.
The majority of the energy from
food is used to carry out life processes,
the rest becomes stored energy.
There is less energy at the top of
a food chain than at the beginning.
Organisms at the top of the food
chain are less numerous because there
is less energy available for them.
On average about 10% of energy
is transferred at each link in the food
chain because energy is lost as
unusable heat from metabolic
processes at each link in a food chain.
Microorganisms
They are found in a variety of habitats
(air, soil, and water). They play
important roles in relation to human
food supplies, and they have been
studied to enhance food preservation
techniques.
Conditions that affect Microorganism
Growth:
1. Temperature
2. Moisture
3. Light
4. Acidity
5. Salinity
Micro-organisms must be kept out of
food. However, some types of micro-
organisms are used in processes that
help produce certain types of food.
Example: Yeast is a single-celled fungus
that is used to make beer, wine, bread,
cheeses, pickled vegetables and some
sausages.
Food Preservation creates an 4. Amount of light
environment which destroys existing
decomposers and then prevents, or Pioneer Species- Species that are the
slows, down their growth rate. first to appear in an area undergoing
succession, and can establish
The best way to preserve food is to themselves with little or no soil and few
minimize or eliminate the conditions nutrients. (Ex. Lichens)
necessary for micro-organisms to grow
and reproduce. Climax Community- A diverse group of
species that form a stable ecosystem
Methods of Food Preservation: which can remain relatively unchanged
1. Pickling for centuries if there is no disturbance.
2. Salting The final community in the process of
3. Drying succession. (Ex. Balsam Fir)
4. Smoking
(The above started out of necessity) The Impact of People on Ecosystems
5. Refrigerating
6. Freeze-drying Know Key Vocabulary for this section:
7. Radiation
8. Canning Humans have a major impact on
(These are more modern and technology ecosystems because of our powerful
based) technologies and large population.

Natural Disturbances & Succession The 4 main impacts humans have on the
environment include:
Succession
1. Habitat Loss
• The process in which a 2. Introduced Species
community changes over time. 3. Overharvesting
• Change may be slow and difficult 4. Pollution
to notice over short periods of time. 1. Habitat Loss
• Changes may be rapid and  Removing vegetation and soil
destructive. removes shelter and food for animals.
• Changes can be the result of a  Changes on land alter drainage of
natural occurrence or human activities. water which affects rivers and lakes.

Primary Succession 2. Introduced Species

• The sequence of changes that
starts with bare rock and eventually
develops into a complex community of
plants and animals.
• Pioneer species are the first
species to inhabit an ecosystem
undergoing succession.
• They can thrive in an area with
little or no soil and few nutrients.
Examples: bacteria, mosses, and
lichens.
• Occurs on bare rocks, sand
dunes, surface mining areas and cooled
volcanic lava.
• If an area is not disturbed it will
form a climax community.
• A climax community is the final
community in the process of succession
that remains unchanged for many years.
Succession can have environmental
changes in:
1. Soil composition
2. Plant types
3. Animal types
3
 Species that have spread beyond
their natural range into new locations
as a result of human activities.
 Also called alien, exotic, or non-
native species.
3. Overharvesting
 The demand for natural resources
has increased due to the increase in the
human population.
 Our technologies have enabled us
to remove the resources we need.
4. Pollution
 Substances that cause harm to
the air, soil, water, or living things are
called pollutants.
 Can have direct and indirect
impacts on the environment.
Particle Theory of Matter
Particle Theory/Kinetic Energy-
Temperature
Matter – anything that takes up space
and has mass
Particle Theory of Matter Motion
1. All matter is made of tiny particles
2. These particles are always moving –
they have energy
3. There are spaces among the particles
4. There are attractive forces between
the particles
5. The particles of one substance differ
from the particles of other substances
Kinetic Energy – the energy of an object
in motion
Average Kinetic Energy – an average of
different measures of things in motion
(Joule)
Temperature – of an object is the
measure of its average kinetic energy
Wherein:
a. Temperature is directly related
to the kinetic energy of the particles in
an object
b. Faster moving particles have
more k energy than slower moving
particles
c. A substance with the highest
average k energy has a higher The motion of an object can be shown
temperature on one of two types of graphs :
distance-time and velocity-time graphs
(sometimes called speed-time graphs).
The ‘steepness’ (or more correctly
Expansion and Contraction
When you change the ‘slope’ or ‘gradient’) of this graph
temperature, all forms of matter expand indicates the speed of the object.
Thermal expansion – the volume of an
object or substance increases when the
temp increases
Thermal Contraction – the reduction in
volume with a decrease in temperature

When the temperature of a gas

increases the K energy or the particles
increase, the particles collide with the
walls of the container with greater
force. Same as in a solid or liquid, the
difference is the attraction keeps the
particles from breaking their bond and
colliding with each other.

Forces
A force is a push or a pull acting on
an object. There are many different types
of force, e.g. friction, air-resistance, weight
, upthrust, but they are always measured in
newtons, or N.

4 Sir Isaac Newton came up with three laws

of motion, all of which describe the effect
that forces have on things