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Biology E.

Meretz
Portfolio Interdependent Relationships 2016/2017
Ashwaq Abdi
Unit Summary Questions

1) Describe each of the characteristics common to all living organisms.


There are 7 characteristics of life that we have learned about. They are cell organization, growth and
development, response to stimuli, metabolism, reproduction, maintain homeostasis, and evolution. Cell
organization is the idea that all living organisms have 1 or more cells and that they are organized in a structure.
Growth and development for an organism is maturing and increasing in physical size. Response to stimuli is
reacting to external changes in environment. Metabolism is that process by which organisms extract a useable
source of energy from food. Reproduction is being able to create offspring and pass down DNA. Maintaining
homeostasis is an organisms body trying to remain balanced (for example when humans get too hot, we sweat
to cool down). Evolution is when an organism develops new features/characteristics to adapt to its environment
and is passed down those acquired features to its future generation.

2) Explain how a food web is organized and how energy flows through the food web.
A food web is organized by trophic levels. Trophic levels are levels in which organisms feed on one lower than itself. The
lower levels are the producers which are fed on by primary consumers, secondary consumers and finally tertiary
consumers. Energy is transferred from producers to primary consumers to secondary consumers and then tertiary
consumers. Efficiency is lost through each energy level transfer.

3) Describe the relative amount of energy in each trophic level and explain how and why it changes from trophic
level to trophic level.
From the top to the bottom, each trophic level has 10x less than its previous levels. For example, primary consumers
have 10x more energy than producers. This is because when an organism eats another, it gains all of the energy that the
organism once had. The higher the heterotroph in the trophic level, the more energy lost.

4) Discus the interaction of photosynthesis and respiration and the role each plays in controlling the flow of energy
through living systems.
The only way you can sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is through photosynthesis, a form of autotropism.
The byproducts of photosynthesis are oxygen and glucose (abiotic sources), which are raw materials for respiration. The
byproducts of respiration are water, carbon dioxide and heat. With the help of water, carbon dioxide and energy from
the sun, they are incorporated to form glucose. From this explanation, we see that the sun is the source of energy on
Earth that sustains both biotic and abiotic factors and all ecosystems. In each ecosystem, they consist of populations of
different communities, made up of herbivore, carnivores and omnivores, scavengers and decomposers that interact with
one another to transfer energy (as producers or consumers).

5) Explain how and why an invasive species impacts an ecosystem.


An invasive species is a species that is not native to a location and damages the environment. Invasive species are
harmful to the environment because they spread out and cut off native species. Because of the quantity of the
organisms, they take up and use a lot of resources making it harder for native species to get the nutrients and supplies
that they need.

6) Discuss the importance of biodiversity in maintaining ecosystem health.


Biodiversity is important in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Biodiversity is important because it helps keep ecosystems
balanced. Having both predators and prey that keep each other in check and help keep the environment healthy.

7) Describe the steps and processes involved in the carbon cycle and water cycle. Identify the causes and effects of
human impacts on each of these cycles.
The water cycle goes from precipitation, which is rainfall, snowfall, hail (water vapor falling), condensation which is
water changing matter from gas into liquid, transpiration which is water evaporating from a plants surface, evaporation
which is vaporizing liquid into gas, runoff which is draining water from land, ground water which is water found
underground and infiltration which is liquid going through a material such as soil. Some ways humans impact the water
cycle is polluting, contaminating water and using fertilizer and salt which can be deposited into rivers and streams.
These are harmful because it harms organisms living in and near these areas, making it hard to live (an example is
Biology E. Meretz
Portfolio Interdependent Relationships 2016/2017
eutrophication). The carbon cycles go from the atmosphere, to plants which use carbon-dioxide to photosynthesize, to
animals that feed on the plants, to the animals dying which can be decomposed by bacteria and fungi which sends the
carbon back to the atmosphere. Another way dead animals can go is to be pressurized and turned into fossil fuels which
can then be used by factories by combustion. This then sends the carbon back to the atmosphere. Some human impacts
on the carbon cycle is breaking hydrocarbons and digging into sinks in the environment.

8) Describe the relationship between predator and prey and compare it to the relationship between producer and
consumer. Include and describe a graph that illustrates the predator-prey relationship.
A predator is an organism that acquires energy from a primary consumer. A prey is an organism hunted by a secondary
or tertiary consumer. A producer is an organism that rudimentary products to produce high complex byproducts.
Producers use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide in the prescience of chlorophyll to produce glucose and oxygen. A
consumer is an organism that can occupy and of the 3 levels of the food web/chain, namely primary, secondary or
tertiary consumers.

This graph comes from a competition observation done with rabbits and wolves. In this observation, when the rabbit
population has boomed, there is a slight delay but the wolf population starts to peak. As the amount of rabbits go down,
so does the number of wolves (with a slight delay).

9) Describe the nature of competition. Include and describe a graph that illustrates competition.
No two species of the same ecological requirement can coexist. Because they are competing for the same resources, the
only way to reduce conflict is to diversify their food source or occupy different niches.
Biology E. Meretz
Portfolio Interdependent Relationships 2016/2017
This graph comes from a competition lab done with P. aurelia and P. cuadatum. In the experiment, the two types of
paramecium occupy the same niche and are competing for resources. The P. aurelia out beats the P. cuadatum and cuts
them off, creating a decline in population. The cuadatums are driven to extinction and the aurelias thrives until it
reaches its carrying capacity and no further exponential growth occurs due to limiting factors.

10) Compare and contrast the types of symbiotic relationships.


There are 3 types of symbiotic relationships: commensalism, parasitism and mutualism. Commensalism is where one
organism is benefitted by the relationship, while the other is not affected. For example, sea anemones and clownfish
are an example of commensalism because the clownfish has a home in the sea anemones, but the anemones are not
being harmed. Parasitism is where one organism is benefitting while the other organism is being harmed. An example
of parasitism is lice, because it is harming the host. Mutualism is the relationship where both organisms are benefitting.
One example of mutualism is bees and flowers, bees get pollen for honey and flowers get their pollen spread.

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