Bio. 2.1: Interdependence of Living Organisms Within Their Environments
Bio 2.1.1: Analyze the flow of energy and cycling of matter
Carbon :
During the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, carbon is transformed and distributed throughout the ecosystem. Carbohydrates are the products of photosynthesis, and the reactants are carbon dioxide and water. In order for carbon to be produced, carbon is extracted from the atmosphere and mixed with non organic, or inorganic matter. Carbon dioxide is a product of cellular respiration, and the reactants are glucose and oxygen. The carbon cycle is connected to the atmosphere and the biosphere. Ways to keep the cycle healthy would be to not burn any fossil fuels; this very action could keep levels of carbon dioxide steady.
Nitrogen :
Nitrogen penetrates the ecosystem through decomposition of nitrogen fixation, otherwise known as organic material. Although nitrogen exists in many different forms, the most known forms are ammonium and nitrates. The nitrogen cycle is very significant because nitrogen makes up the amino acids, which make up proteins. Using too much fertilizer can cause the nitrogen cycle to become unhealthy.
Oxygen :
Plants are the beginning and base of the oxygen cycle. Through the process of photosynthesis, plants absorb the sunlight's energy and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen. The oxygen cycle is responsible for allowing oxygen to circulate through three different regions of the earth; the atmosphere, the lithosphere, and the biosphere. Disruption of the oxygen cycle includes polluting the atmosphere.
Water :
The water cycle is the continuous movement of water throughout Earth's surface. The first step of the water cycle is evaporation, which is water all throughout Earth's lakes and oceans are absorbed by the heat from the sun. If any water is left, it goes through a process called transpiration,. Next, the process of condensation occurs, which takes the evaporated rain and converts it into liquid. The next step is precipitation, which is where the liquid converts into the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail. The best way to keep this cycle healthy would be to not pollute any oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.
Virtual Lab Link : http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/interactives/carbon/carbon.html
During the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, carbon is transformed and distributed throughout the ecosystem. Carbohydrates are the products of photosynthesis, and the reactants are carbon dioxide and water. In order for carbon to be produced, carbon is extracted from the atmosphere and mixed with non organic, or inorganic matter. Carbon dioxide is a product of cellular respiration, and the reactants are glucose and oxygen. The carbon cycle is connected to the atmosphere and the biosphere. Ways to keep the cycle healthy would be to not burn any fossil fuels; this very action could keep levels of carbon dioxide steady.
Nitrogen :
Nitrogen penetrates the ecosystem through decomposition of nitrogen fixation, otherwise known as organic material. Although nitrogen exists in many different forms, the most known forms are ammonium and nitrates. The nitrogen cycle is very significant because nitrogen makes up the amino acids, which make up proteins. Using too much fertilizer can cause the nitrogen cycle to become unhealthy.
Oxygen :
Plants are the beginning and base of the oxygen cycle. Through the process of photosynthesis, plants absorb the sunlight's energy and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen. The oxygen cycle is responsible for allowing oxygen to circulate through three different regions of the earth; the atmosphere, the lithosphere, and the biosphere. Disruption of the oxygen cycle includes polluting the atmosphere.
Water :
The water cycle is the continuous movement of water throughout Earth's surface. The first step of the water cycle is evaporation, which is water all throughout Earth's lakes and oceans are absorbed by the heat from the sun. If any water is left, it goes through a process called transpiration,. Next, the process of condensation occurs, which takes the evaporated rain and converts it into liquid. The next step is precipitation, which is where the liquid converts into the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail. The best way to keep this cycle healthy would be to not pollute any oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.
Virtual Lab Link : http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/interactives/carbon/carbon.html
Bio. 2.1.2: Analyze the survival/reproductive success of organisms
Survival and reproduction success is broken in up into behavior, structural, reproductive adaptations..
Behavioral :
Whether an organism survives and reproduces successfully depends on the behavior over everything. Behavior is a response to an action that has been done. An example would be how an animal can communicate with another animal in order to do certain things, such as warning them of a predator. Another example would be the way that an organism reacts to certain things; whether they like it or hate it. During reproduction, behavior can depend on the patterning; courtship, and how well the mating system was created.
Structural :
A big factor in how well an organism can survive depends on the physical features of their being. Certain features on an organism can definitely increase their chances of survival, depending on if they take advantage of it. An example would be a monkey tail; their tail has muscles all throughout it, which enables the monkey to be able to pick up certain things, such as food, and is able to hang from various branches.
Reproductive :
The success of reproduction is very broad. The actual term "reproductive success" is the passing of genes from one generation to the next, and letting the generation that received the genes pass it on to the next generation after that. This is sort of related to Natural Selection. During natural selection, any organism that is best suited to their environment or has a benefit over others is likely going to survive much more. And, when animals reproduce, their young will have a benefit, too, just because of the fact that they're exposed to their own environment as soon as they're born.
The virtual lab below deals with the example of a mealworm.
Virtual Lab Link : http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs_2K8/labs/BL_18/index.html
Behavioral :
Whether an organism survives and reproduces successfully depends on the behavior over everything. Behavior is a response to an action that has been done. An example would be how an animal can communicate with another animal in order to do certain things, such as warning them of a predator. Another example would be the way that an organism reacts to certain things; whether they like it or hate it. During reproduction, behavior can depend on the patterning; courtship, and how well the mating system was created.
Structural :
A big factor in how well an organism can survive depends on the physical features of their being. Certain features on an organism can definitely increase their chances of survival, depending on if they take advantage of it. An example would be a monkey tail; their tail has muscles all throughout it, which enables the monkey to be able to pick up certain things, such as food, and is able to hang from various branches.
Reproductive :
The success of reproduction is very broad. The actual term "reproductive success" is the passing of genes from one generation to the next, and letting the generation that received the genes pass it on to the next generation after that. This is sort of related to Natural Selection. During natural selection, any organism that is best suited to their environment or has a benefit over others is likely going to survive much more. And, when animals reproduce, their young will have a benefit, too, just because of the fact that they're exposed to their own environment as soon as they're born.
The virtual lab below deals with the example of a mealworm.
Virtual Lab Link : http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs_2K8/labs/BL_18/index.html
Bio. 2.1.3: Interactions among organisms
Four types of interactions that organisms engage in are predation, competition, parasitism, and mutualism. Predation is "the preying of one animal on others". Although the whole act of predation is to kill the prey, not all predators actually eat it. Sometimes, it's eaten, other times, it's left to decompose, or another organism will consume it. Many predators will actually sit and wait for prey to arrive instead of physically hunting them, while others actually go out and try to find it. Whether or not the ecosystem is stable depends on strength. The stronger the predator is, the easier it will be for them to attract prey. The weaker they are, the more they'll have to fight for it. Competition. in basic terms, are organisms fighting, or "competing". The base of all competition is food, water, and or/territory. Competition is similar to natural selection; an organism best suited to their environment around them and who have a benefit of competing for resources will succeed more than an organism who doesn't. The two types of competition are intraspecific. and interspecific. Intraspecific is competition between the same species, whereas interspecific is competition between different species. Parasitism is almost like predation; it is a relationship with a parasite and host. The parasite benefits from the expense of the host. An example of this would be a mosquito. A mosquito benefits from us by sucking our blood, and we are left with mosquito bites; our role is a host, and their role is a parasite. Even though the relationship is similar to predation, the main difference is during predation, the predator kills the prey, while during parasitism, the host is left alive. Due to the fact that they don't kill their hosts, they might be able to "retaliate" and regain strength to reproduce like nothing ever happened. Mutualism is two organisms in different species benefitting. It can also be defined as "symbiosis" , which is a long term interaction. Mutualism plays a very important part in ecology; mutualism is responsible for helping terrestrial ecosystems function. This type of interaction is known to keep an environment steady, due to the fact that a species involved isn't harmed.
The lab below is a game called Pandemic II, which deals with a disease caused by a parasite.
Virtual Lab Link : http://www.notdoppler.com/pandemic2.php
Bio. 2.1.4: Why ecosystems can be relatively stable
The population of an ecosystem changes from time to time.
Ecosystems still have the ability to remain stable, even when population fluctuates. All habitats have a carrying capacity, which is the maximum population a habitat can support over a long period of time. If the habitat's carrying capacity is crowded, and if it overloads, it can cause an ecosystem to unbalance itself.
Although a population will increase rapidly, it will balance itself out overtime. Due to competition over food and resources, those who cannot fend for themselves will eventually die out, and balance out the ecosystem once again. A big reason that it will balance itself out will be because of natural selection. Those who have an advantage will always be able to compete for resources, and still have the privilege to survive, while those who don't will die.
Predation can play a big role in population. Due to predators killing their prey, the species could eventually die out, and cause the population to decrease slowly, causing the ecosystem to be thrown out of balance.
Virtual Lab Link : http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/interactives/ecology/ecology.html
Ecosystems still have the ability to remain stable, even when population fluctuates. All habitats have a carrying capacity, which is the maximum population a habitat can support over a long period of time. If the habitat's carrying capacity is crowded, and if it overloads, it can cause an ecosystem to unbalance itself.
Although a population will increase rapidly, it will balance itself out overtime. Due to competition over food and resources, those who cannot fend for themselves will eventually die out, and balance out the ecosystem once again. A big reason that it will balance itself out will be because of natural selection. Those who have an advantage will always be able to compete for resources, and still have the privilege to survive, while those who don't will die.
Predation can play a big role in population. Due to predators killing their prey, the species could eventually die out, and cause the population to decrease slowly, causing the ecosystem to be thrown out of balance.
Virtual Lab Link : http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/interactives/ecology/ecology.html