Ecology Scavenger Hunt
By Sanjev Kalyanaraman and Arvind Arunachalam
Biotic
These factors in short are the living aspects of an ecosystem.
This tree represents and could be a biotic factor in an ecosystem because it is living. This can be found in many ecosystems.
Abiotic
These factors are a nonliving aspect of an environment and ecosystem.
The trash can represents an abiotic factor because it is has no source of life.
Autotroph
An organism that produces its own food for primarily consumption.
Grass is probably the most common example because it is a perfect example of an autotroph. Not only is it a representation, but it is an autotroph in many, many ecosystems. It conducts photosynthesis and is h nice an autotroph.
Heterotroph
A heterotroph is unable to produce carbon and must consume organic carbon for growth. In short, they are unable to produce their own food and must feed on another organism for energy.
Adi Chintalapudi, a person in this school, is a heterotroph because he eats vegetables and meat for his growth. He is unable to conduct photosynthesis and hence is a heterotroph.
Prey
An organism that is hunted by another organism to be killed and eaten for energy.
A beetle is a good example of prey because it is hunted and it is later eaten by another organism, or the predator.
Predator
A predator is an organism that is doing the hunting, and in other words, it hunts another organism, called the prey, for food and energy.
In this example, a bird is a good example of a predator because it preys on its victim, a beetle, eats it, and absorbs the energy from it.
Food Chain
There are many parts of a food chain, which is a chain of how energy is transferred. There are multiple classifications, but the main classifications are producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, and decomposer.
Producer
Producers are the autotrophs in an ecosystem, which are grass, trees, basically anything that conducts photosynthesis.
Grass, which has been used a lot, is a great example of a producer, because it conducts photosynthesis.
Primary Consumer
The primary consumer eats only producers, and it is next on the food chain.
The beetle is a primary consumer because it eats mostly producers.
Secondary Consumer
A secondary consumer feeds on the primary consumer and is next on the food chain.
The bird is a secondary consumer because it feeds on the beetle and eats a primary consumer.
Tertiary Consumer
An organism that feeds off the secondary consumer and it is next on the food chain.
The cat is a tertiary consumer because it eats birds, which is a secondary consumer in this food chain.
Relationships
There are three types of relationships between organisms. They are mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
Mutualism
It is a relationship between organism where both organisms benefit. An example of this is a bee and a flower. The bee gets honey, while the flower's pollen spreads.
Commensalism
This is a relationship between organisms where one organism benefits and another does not get affected. A good example is moss on tree. Moss is able to grow while the tree does not get affected.
Parasitism
This is a relationship between organisms where one organism benefits and another gets negatively affected. A good example is an insect on a bird. The insect benefits because it has a home but the bird is negatively impacted because it loses blood.
The Carbon Cycle
The Carbon Cycle has many aspects. All the main parts of carbon dioxide emission will be discussed, however some are not mentioned. Those are plant respiration and animal respiration. Also, the weather is affected by the carbon cycle. Carbon is exchanged between different spheres, which are the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.
A guinea pig exhales carbon dioxide into the atmosphere all the time.
Decaying animals release carbon when they die.
Another way that carbon is released is from the ground. The ground has some sort of carbon in it.
Through excess use of fossil fuels, and the release of pollution, carbon dioxide is released. They emit a lot of CO2, and this also hurts the environment.
Carbon Dioxide is taken out by photosynthesis, which is performed by producers all around the world.