Essential Knowledge 4.A.6

Interactions among living systems and with their environment result in the movement of matter and energy.

Energy flows, but matter is recycled.

Changes in regional and global climates and in atmospheric composition influence patterns of primary productivity.

Organisms within food webs and food chains interact.

Food webs and food chains are dependent on primary productivity.

Models allow the prediction of the impact of change in biotic and abiotic factors. Competition for resources and other factors limits growth and can be described by the logistic model. Competition for resources, territoriality, health, predation, accumulation of wastes and other factors contribute to density-dependent population regulation.

Human activities impact ecosystems on local, regional and global scales. As human populations have increased in numbers, their impact on habitats for other species have been magnified. In turn, this has often reduced the population size of the affected species and resulted in habitat destruction and, in some cases, the extinction of species.

Many adaptations of organisms are related to obtaining and using energy and matter in a particular environment.

Students should be able to:

LO 4.14 apply mathematical routines to quantities that describe interactions among living systems and their environment, which result in the movement of matter and energy.

LO 4.15 use visual representations to analyze situations or solve problems qualitatively to illustrate how interactions among living systems and with their environment result in the movement of matter and energy.

LO 4.16 predict the effects of a change of matter or energy availability on communities.