Some Ecology Notes :3

Basically...my notes about Ecology so far from class and a bit of research during class. Will update after further research, okay? (: 

Hydrosphere

A hydrosphere in physical geography describes the combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet.

Biosphere

The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It is a self-regulating system. The biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

Lithosphere

 It comprises the crust and the portion of the upper mantle, which constitute the hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth.

Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. 

Abiotic factors

Factors that are non-living chemical and physical factors of the environment and which affect the ecosystem. From the viewpoint of biology, abiotic factors can be classified as light or more generally radiation, temperature, water, the chemical surrounding composed of the terrestrial atmospheric gases, as well as soil.

Biotic factors

'Biotic components' are the living things that shape an ecosystem. A 'biotic factor' is any living component that affects another organism, including animals that consume the organism in question, and the living food that the organism consumes. 

- Autotroph à an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide.

- Heterotroph à an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances.

à Decomposers are not autotrophs.

à Producers are autotrophs.

à Consumers are heterotrophs

à Consumers are herbivores.

à The next consumer in line is a carnivore or an omnivore.

à Decomposers decompose producers and consumers.

à A habitat is a physical place where a population lives.

à A niche is someone with a special role.

à The environment consists of non-living (abiotic) and living (biotic) part.

à Symbiosis is a long-term relationship between 2 diff species “living together”

à The relationship varies in population, can be mutualism, commensalism and parasitism.

à Commensalism is when one population benefits but the other is unaffected

à Parasitism is when one population benefits, the other is harmed (host)

à Animals compete for space. Space to build a home.

à Producers > Primary Consumers > Secondary Consumers

ps, i used some info from wikipedia (: but not all, a bit only. the rest are basically taken down in class (;