Unformatted Attachment Preview
Ecology Study Guide
SB4. Students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of
energy and matter within their ecosystems.
a. Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems,
and biomes.
Complete the graphic organizer
b. Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by
-Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow.
Go to the following website and practice arranging organisms in a food chain.
http://www.ecokids.ca/PUB/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm
-Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
Analyze the picture below and explain how the quantity of energy changes with each step.
-Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P).
Complete the table.
Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Used for:
Located
Carbon atoms
continually
move through
living
organisms,
the oceans,
the
atmosphere,
and the
Earth’s
interior and
crust.
Nitrogencontaining
substances
such as
ammonia
(NH3), nitrate
ions (NO3),
Processes that move the elements
through their cycle:
photosynthesis, respiration, and
decomposition take up & release CO2
and O2
•
•
Bacteria convert
nitrogen gas usable
forms for producers
through nitrogen
fixation.
Consumers eat the
producers and reuse
and nitrite
ions (NO2) are
found in soil,
in the wastes
produced by
many
organisms,
and in dead
and decaying
organic
matter.
•
•
•
Phosphorus
cycle
Oxygen
Phosphorus in
the form of
inorganic
phosphate
remains
mostly on
land, in the
form of
phosphate
rock and soil
minerals, and
in the ocean,
as dissolved
phosphate
and
phosphate
sediments.
•
Atmosphere,
organisms
•
•
•
•
•
nitrogen to make their
own nitrogen-containing
compounds.
Decomposers release
nitrogen from waste and
dead organisms.
Other soil bacteria
obtain energy by
converting nitrates into
nitrogen gas through
denitrification.
Humans add nitrogen to
the biosphere through
the manufacture and use
of fertilizers.
As rocks and sediments
wear down, phosphate is
released.
Some phosphate stays
on land and cycles
between organisms and
soil.
Plants absorb
phosphorus that is
dissolved in the soil
water
Organic phosphate
moves through the food
web, from producers to
consumers, and to the
rest of the ecosystem.
Other phosphate washes
into rivers and streams,
where it dissolves. This
phosphate eventually
makes its way to the
ocean, where marine
organisms process and
incorporate it into
biological compounds.
Oxygen participates in
parts of the carbon,
nitrogen, and
phosphorus cycles by
combining with these
elements and cycling
•
with them through parts
of their journeys.
Oxygen gas in the
atmosphere is released
by one of the most
important of all
biological activities:
photosynthesis.
c. Relate environmental conditions to successional changes in ecosystems.
Define
Ecological succession
Primary succession.
Pioneer Species
Secondary Succession
d. Assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the environment such
as global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water and power consumption.
Humans impact Earth through agriculture, development, and industrial growth.
Define
Examples
Renewable Resources
Nonrenewable Resources
e. Relate plant adaptations, including tropisms, to the ability to survive stressful
environmental conditions.
f. Relate animal adaptations, including behaviors, to the ability to survive stressful
environmental conditions.
To survive organism have adaptations. Please complete the following table with adaptations that
organisms would have in the describe condition.
Adaptations
Environmental Condition
Dry Season
Shaded by taller plants.
Predators
Cold
Plants
Animals