SCIM1040 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Plant Stem, Transpiration, Cactus
5 Jun 2018
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SCIM1040- Lecture 6
Terms
Ecology – the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment.
Environment – everything that affects an organism (living and nonliving).
Population – a group of individuals of the same species that live together in the same area.
Species –a group of organisms that can breed with one another to produce fertile offspring.
Habitat: A special place in a community in which a population of a plant or animal lives is called its
habitat.
An ecosystem is an interaction between plants, animals, and microorganisms and their non-living
environment working together as a functional unit. It is the type of place, like a neighbourhood,
where the organism lives.
A biome can be thought of as many similar ecosystems throughout the world grouped together.
Components of an Ecosystem
• An ecosystem consists of the living things and the physical and chemical factors that make
up its nonliving environment. Hence, the two parts of an ecosystem are the abiotic and
biotic components.
• All living organisms in an ecosystem are called biotic factors.
• All nonliving, environmental factors are called abiotic.
• All organisms interact with the nonliving things, or abiotic factors.
• Disruptions to an ecosystem can be disastrous to all organisms within the ecosystem.
Biotic factors: Primary producers – plants – make food, Herbivores – plant eaters, Carnivores –
animal eaters, Omnivores – eat both plants and animals, Decomposers i.e., bacteria and fungi
Abiotic factors: All nonliving things: Sunlight is the source of energy for virtually all the ecosystems
on Earth, Temperature, Water or moisture, Soil or water chemistry i.e., important chemicals or
nutrients essential for health of organisms, Oxygen for most living things – except some
extremophiles
What is the Biosphere?
The biosphere is the part of Earth that supports life – the su of all the Earth’s eosystes:
1. Top portio of Earth’s rust lithosphere
2. All the waters that cover Earth's surface (hydrosphere)
3. Atmosphere that surrounds Earth
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What is a biome
A biome is a geographical area made up of a very large group of similar ecosystems with similar
climates and organisms. For example, in the forests there is the rotting tree stump ecosystem, the
forest floor ecosystem, the canopy ecosystem, and others, all a part of one biome e.g., the
deciduous forest biome.
Types of biomes
Terrestrial:
1. Desert: The desert biome includes areas where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year.
Desert habitat types include hot and dry, semi-arid, coastal, and cold.
2. Grassland: The grassland biome includes habitats dominated by grasses (not trees
and shrubs).
3. Forest: The forest biome includes areas that are dominated by trees and other
woody vegetation. E.g., tropical rainforest, dry sclerophyll forest (the most
characteristic Australian vegetation), deciduous forest (seasonal), conifer (pine)
forest.
4. Tundra: The tundra biome includes cold habitats with low biotic diversity and
simple vegetation structure. The tundra biome includes arctic and alpine habitats.
Importance of adaptation of living things
Species in an ecosystem of any biome are well suited to where they live and have special
features or behaviour that help them to survive in their environment.
So, plants and animals survive in a location with a particular climate because they have
adapted in different ways to the amounts of water, heat, and soil in that area.
We say that they are adapted to the environment and the special feature is called an
adaptation.
An organism that is not suited to its environment may not survive and reproduce.
The Importance of Plants to Life
Plants are the most important producers of food for life. Plants manufacture their own
food unlike humans and animals.
Our food eaten during the day can be directly or indirectly traced back to plants because
we eat either plants or other organisms that eat plants.
Food made in the leaves of the plant is called glucose but it can be stored as other sugars
and starch in roots (carrot, turnip), tubers or underground stems, stems (potato,
asparagus, celery), bulbs or swollen leaves (onion, ), fruit, and seeds. Stored food helps
plants to survive, grow, and reproduce.
*Reeer that ay vegetale that you eat is a FRUIT if it contains
SEEDS.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Ecology the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment. Environment everything that affects an organism (living and nonliving). Population a group of individuals of the same species that live together in the same area. Species a group of organisms that can breed with one another to produce fertile offspring. Habitat: a special place in a community in which a population of a plant or animal lives is called its habitat. An ecosystem is an interaction between plants, animals, and microorganisms and their non-living environment working together as a functional unit. It is the type of place, like a neighbourhood, where the organism lives. A biome can be thought of as many similar ecosystems throughout the world grouped together. Components of an ecosystem: an ecosystem consists of the living things and the physical and chemical factors that make up its nonliving environment.
