ecology -the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment

ecologist- a scientist who studies interactions between biotic and abiotic parts of the environment

habitat - the location where an organism lives

adapted - well-suited for

adaptation- an inherited characteristic that helps an organism survive its environment

ecosystem - the interactions between living and nonliving things in an environment

natural resources - the materials and products that are found in nature

sustainability - resources of nature are being renewed at least as quickly as they are being uses and that all the wastes are able to be completely absorbed.

ecological footprint - a calculation of the total area of land and water needed to supply all of the materials and energy that you use. (how much Nature we use to sustain our lifestyle)

reduce- reducing the amount of garbage that you produce

reuse - reusing products rather than throwing them away

recycle- turning used products into something else

carbon cycle -the cycle in which carbon is used and reused through the ecosystem

water cycle - the continuous movement of water through the biosphere; consists of evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation - water, in its liquid or solid state that falls to earth

evaporation - the process by which a liquid changes in to a gas or vapour

transpiration - the process in which water that is taken in from a plant or an animal evaporates from that organism

condensation -the process of changing from a gas or a vapour to a liquid

ground water - the water contained in the earth's crust

run-off - water that runs off the ground in to lakes, rivers or streams

fossil fuels -fuels made of decomposed plants or animals that have been fossilized; fossils take millions of years to develop

pollution -different types of harmful materials that are released into the environment through human activity

acid rain -rain that contains higher than normal levels of acid

bioaccumulation - movement of pollutants through levels of a food chain

Within all species, individuals interact with each other - feeding together, mating together, and living together. Some species have a pecking order as well, and each individual has a role to play within it.

Feeding on wood

However, it is not only individuals within a species that interact. Different species of animals interact with each other all the time. For instance, animals eat other animals through their interactions in a food web. But plants are included in this web as well as they, too, are eaten by animals.

"Cold" Rocky Mountains

What would happen if the weather were really cold all the time? Well, not all species of animals, plants and bacteria would be able to survive. What differences are there between species who live in the Rocky Mountains and those who inhabit the Sahara desert? Landscape also determines where plants and animals might live. But what, exactly, is an ecosystem? An ecosystem is a geographical area of a variable size where plants, animals, the landscape and the climate all interact together.

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The whole earth's surface can be described by a series of interconnected ecosystems. All living beings form and are part of ecosystems. They are diverse and always changing. Within an ecosystem, all aspects of the environment (both living things and their non-living settings) interact and affect one another. Every species affects the lives of those around them.
A small ecosystem in the boreal forest might look something like this: in the summertime, trees in forests (that produce oxygen used by living things through photosynthesis) lower the temperature in the forest for communities in the hot summer months. In turn, some members of the communities will probably feed upon the tree to gain nourishment, thus affecting or stunting the tree's growth.
Different areas in the world house different ecosystems. For example, you won't find an elephant or a tropical rainforest in Alberta! The different world ecological units are called biomes and they each have different flora, fauna, landscapes and weather patterns. An ecosystem is not the same thing as a biome. A biome is a large unit that is home to many different ecosystems. Within Alberta, there are six different biomes that each have their own specific flora and fauna distribution. These regions are: Grassland, Parkland, Boreal Forest, Foothill, Rocky Mountain and the Canadian Shield, all indicated on the map of Alberta's Regions.

Ecosystems

We're All in This Together

Ducks on a lake

Everything in the natural world is connected. An ecosystem is a community of living and non-living things that work together. Ecosystems have no particular size. An ecosystem can be as large as a desert or a lake or as small as a tree or a puddle. If you have a terrarium, that is an artificial ecosystem. The water, water temperature, plants, animals, air, light and soil all work together. If there isn't enough light or water or if the soil doesn't have the right nutrients, the plants will die. If the plants die, animals that depend on them will die. If the animals that depend on the plants die, any animals that depends on those animals will die. Ecosystems in nature work the same way. All the parts work together to make a balanced system!

The More the Merrier

Frog

A healthy ecosystem has lots of species diversity and is less likely to be seriously damaged by human interaction, natural disasters and climate changes. Every species has a niche in its ecosystem that helps keep the system healthy. We are learning about new species every day, and we are just figuring out the roles they play in the natural world. By studying and maintaining biodiversity, we help keep our planet healthy.

Life in a Lake

Lake

In a lake ecosystem, the sun hits the water and helps the algae grow. Algae produces oxygen for animals like fish, and provides food for microscopic animals. Small fish eat the microscopic animals, absorb oxygen with their gills and expel carbon dioxide, which plants then use to grow. If the algae disappeared, everything else would be impacted. Microscopic animals wouldn't have enough food, fish wouldn't have enough oxygen and plants would lose some of the carbon dioxide they need to grow.

Getting Along

Deer

Ecosystems have lots of different living organisms that interact with each other. The living organisms in an ecosystem can be divided into three categories: producers, consumers and decomposers. They are all important parts of an ecosystem.
Producers are the green plants. They make their own food. Consumers are animals and they get their energy from the producers or from organisms that eat producers.

There are three types of consumers: herbivores are animals that eat plants, carnivores are animals that eat herbivores and sometimes other carnivores and omnivores are animals that eat plants and other animals.

The third type of living organism in an ecosystem are the decomposers. Decomposers are plants and animals that break down dead plants and animals into organic materials that go back into the soil. Which is where we started!

=====Parts and Pieces=====

sunlight

What are the major parts of an ecosystem? An ecosystem includes soil, atmosphere, heat and light from the sun, water and living organisms.

Getting Down and Dirty

Soil is a critical part of an ecosystem. It provides important nutrients for the plants in an ecosystem. It helps anchor the plants to keep them in place. Soil absorbs and holds water for plants and animals to use and provides a home for lots of living organisms.

Give Me a Little Air

Clouds

The atmosphere provides oxygen and carbon dioxide for the plants and animals in an ecosystem. The atmosphere is also part of the water cycle. Without the complex interactions and elements in the atmosphere, there would be no life at all!

Getting Some Sun

Flowers

The heat and light from the sun are critical parts of an ecosystem. The sun's heat helps water evaporate and return to the atmosphere where it is cycled back into water. The heat also keeps plants and animals warm. Without light from the sun there would be no photosynthesis and plants wouldn't have the energy they need to make food.

Water Everywhere

Water

Without water there would be no life. Water is a large percentage of the cells that make up all living organisms. In fact, you may have heard that humans can go longer without food than they can without water. It's true! Without water all life would die. In addition to being an important part of cells, water is also used by plants to carry and distribute the nutrients they need to survive.

Adaptations

Insects

All organisms have adaptations that help them survive and thrive. Some adaptations are structural. Structural adaptations are physical features of an organism like the bill on a bird or the fur on a bear. Other adaptations are behavioral. Behavioral adaptations are the things organisms do to survive. For example, bird calls and migration are behavioral adaptations.
Adaptations are the result of evolution. Evolution is a change in a species over long periods of time.
Adaptations usually occur because a gene mutates or changes by accident! Some mutations can help an animal or plant survive better than others in the species without the mutation.

Bird

For example, imagine a bird species. One day a bird is born with a beak that is longer than the beak of other birds in the species. The longer beak helps the bird catch more food. Because the bird can catch more food, it is healthier than the other birds, lives longer and breeds more. The bird passes the gene for a longer beak on to its offspring. They also live longer and have more offspring and the gene continues to be inherited generation after generation.
Eventually the longer beak can be found in all of the species. This doesn't happen overnight. It takes thousands of years for a mutation to be found in an entire species.
Over time, animals that are better adapted to their environment survive and breed. Animals that are not well adapted to an environment may not survive.
The characteristics that help a species survive in an environment are passed on to future generations. Those characteristics that don't help the species survive slowly disappear.

=====Did You Know?=====

Beaver

... the largest rodent in North America is the beaver.
... beavers' front teeth grow throughout their lives.
... beaver ponds can improve water quality and provide a water source for other animals.