•Biotic: living parts of the ecosystem •Abiotic: non-living parts of the ecosystem (have never been living).
Role of an Organism in it's Environment
•Niche: The role of an organism in its ecosystem. •To determine an organism’s niche, you must look at what it eats, where it lives, and how it interacts with other organisms in its ecosystem.
Types of Niches: Producer:makes food for themselves using the sun’s energy through a process called photosynthesis. •Examples: Grass, Trees, Shrubs. Can you think of any other examples? •Producers make life possible for all other organisms on Earth.
Consumer:Consumers eat the food made by producers. Consumers can eat producers or other consumers. Types of Consumers: •Herbivores: Eats producers only and fills the plant-eating niche. E.g. cows, deer, horses... •Carnivores: Eats other consumers and fills the meat-eating niche. E.g. wolves, coyotes, sharks… •Predators: Kills and eat other animals (ex - cougar) •Prey: Gets killed an eaten by predators (ex- mouse) •Omnivores: Eats both producers and consumers. E.g. raccoons, skunks and humans
Symbiosis
Occurs when two species live closely together in a relationship that lasts over time.
Mutualism
• Each partner benefits from the relationship! •e.g. The remora fish uses suckers on its head to attach itself to a shark. It then eats the bacteria living on the shark’s skin.
Commensalism
•One partner benefits and the other appears to be unaffected •The orchid plant lives high up attached to the trunks of trees. The orchid benefits by having a safe place to live, the tree does not benefit or suffer.
Parasitism
One partner benefits from the relationship and the other is harmed, but does not die from the relationship.