Ecology Ecology : the study of how living things interact with their physical environment Read and Take Notes pg. 63-78 #1-3 pg. 68 Due 11/21 #1-3 pg. 72 Due 11/22 #1-2 pg. 78 Due 11/28
Ecology
Ecology: the study of how living things
interact with their physical environment
Read and Take Notes pg. 63-78
#1-3 pg. 68 Due 11/21
#1-3 pg. 72 Due 11/22
#1-2 pg. 78 Due 11/28
Ecological Organization
Organism
• A living thing
• Anything that possesses all of the
characteristics of life
Ecological Organization
• Species: a group of organisms that can
mate & produce a fertile offspring
Ecological Organization
• Population: all the members of the same
species that live in certain place at a
certain time.
Ecological Organization
• Community: a collection of interacting
populations in an area
Ecological Organization
• Ecosystem: includes all of the organisms
& the non-living environment.
– community members
in the ecosystem
must interact to
maintain a balance.
Biome
• A group of ecosystems that share similar
climate and organisms
• Examples?
What Biome is Belleville?
• Is that what you see?
Ecological Organization• Biosphere: the portion of the earth where all life exists.
A 13 mile band that surrounds the earth.
• 6-7 miles into the atmosphere & 6-7 miles deep into the ocean. – Composed of many complex ecosystems.
Put in order:(small to large)
community
population
Biosphere
biome
organism
ecosystem
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is self-sustaining if:
1. A constant source of energy
is supplied.
2. Living things use this energy and
convert into organic molecules
3. A cycling of materials between
organisms and their environment
Resources
• Organisms with similar needs may compete
with each other for resources like:
– Food
– Space
– Water
– Air
– Shelter
Limiting Factors
• Limiting Factor:
anything that makes it more difficult for a species to live, grow, or reproduce in its environment
– Determines the types of organisms that exist in that environment
Acclimationwhen organisms adapt to changes
• Range of Tolerance: the ability of an organism
to withstand changes in their environment.
Abiotic Factors
• Abiotic factors: nonliving factors which affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce
Examples:
1. intensity of light
2. range of temperatures
3. amount of moisture
4. soil or rock type
5. availability of inorganic substances
6. supply of gases such as oxygen, carbon
dioxide, and nitrogen
7. pH
Examples of Abiotic Factors
What abiotic factors limit
vegetation at higher altitudes?
lack of soil
a low annual temperature
strong winds
steepness of the grade
Examples of Abiotic Factors
What abiotic factors allow rainbow trout to love mountain streams?
the amount of dissolved oxygen due to current
water temperature
pollution
pH
shelter
river bottom for reproduction
Examples of Abiotic Factors
What abiotic factors limit the organisms that can live there?
temperature
sunlight
lack of water
winds
shelter/shade
Biotic Factors
• Biotic factors: living factors which affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce
– Examples:• other organisms - predator, food source
Can an abiotic factor such as RAIN affect many biotic factors?
Rain - ________ - ________ - _________grass rabbit eagle
Nutritional Relationships• Two types : Autotrophs & Heterotrophs
– Autotrophs: organisms that synthesize their own food from inorganic molecules
Plants that contain
photosynthetic pigments,
such as chlorophyll.
Nutritional Relationships• Two types : Autotrophs & Heterotroph
– Heterotrophs: can NOT synthesize their own
food and are dependent on other organisms
for their food
Types of Heterotrophs
• Saprophytes: include those heterotrophic
plants, fungi, and bacteria which live on
dead matter (a.k.a. decomposers or
detritivores)
Types of Heterotrophs
• Herbivores: plant-eating animals
Types of
Heterotrophs
Omnivores:
• consume both
plants and meat
Types of Heterotrophs
• Carnivores: meat-eating animals
Types of Carnivores
Predators: animals which kill and
consume their other animals (prey)
Prey: animals which are killed by predators
More Predator/Prey Relationships
Types of Carnivores
Scavengers: those animals that feed on other
animals that they have not killed
Examples: crows vultures hyenas
Which is the Predator?
Critical Questions
• What is weather?
• What is climate?
• Where does wind come from?
• Where does weather come from?
• Why do we have different seasons?
• What factors influence climate?
• How does climate effect species?
• Why is the climate changing?
• How does climate change effect biodiversity?
Greenhouse effect
Climate and Seasons
Wind
Wind and Weather
Oceans and Weather
Competition
• Competition: occurs when two different
species or organisms living in the same
environment (habitat) utilize the same
limited resources
– Examples:
• food, water, space, light, oxygen, and minerals.
• The more similar the requirements of the
organisms involved, the more intense the
competition.
Limiting Factors
• Limiting Factor:
anything that makes it more difficult for a species to live, grow, or reproduce in its environment
– Determines the types of organisms that exist in that environment
Acclimationwhen organisms adapt to changes
• Range of Tolerance: the ability of an organism
to withstand changes in their environment.
Organisms in Ecosystem
• Habitat:
– A place where an organism lives out its life. It
is an organism’s home, their address.
• Niche:
- The organism's role in the community. How
an organism meets its need for food, shelter,
how it survives & reproduces. Interactions
with biotic & abiotic factors.
Material Cycles
• Material Cycles:
– In a self-sustaining ecosystem, materials must
be recycled among the organisms and the
abiotic environment.
– The same materials can be reused.
– Examples of Cycles:
• Water
• Carbon-Oxygen
• Nitrogen
Symbiotic Relationships
• Symbiosis: close, long-term, biological interaction between two species
–Types of symbiosis:
• Commensalism
• Mutualism
• Parasitism
Types of Symbiosis
• Commensalism: one organism is
benefited and the other is unharmed (+,0)
– Example: barnacles on whales, bioluminescent
bacteria , pilot fish and shark, cattle egret
Types of Symbiosis
• Mutualism: both organisms benefit from
the association (+,+)
– Example: Nile crocodile and plover, pollinators,
manatee and small fish, clown fish and anemone,
The human microbiome!
Types of Symbiosis
• Parasitism: one organism benefits at the
expense of the host (+,-)
– Example: tapeworm and heartworm in dogs
athlete's foot fungus on humans
leech sucking blood from host
Mosquitos, ticks
Symbiosis
Mutualism Parasitism
Commensalism
Flow of Energy Through an Ecosystem
• Energy Flows Through an ecosystem in ONE DIRECTION.– It is not recycled!
• Organisms use approximately 90% of the energy they take in for metabolic activity (life processes)– Most of this energy is lost to the environment as heat.
• Only about 10% of the energy that an organism takes in is stored in its structures and available for organisms at the next trophic level (step of the food chain)
• This relationship can be shown in an energy pyramid
The Food Chain
• Series of steps that show feeding relationships and flow of energy through an ecosystem
– Each STEP IN FOOD CHAIN = TROPHIC LEVEL
– Starts with producer
• Convert energy from sunlight
Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
• Food chain: a single pathway
Food Webs
• Food web: Interrelated food chains in a
community
– Most organisms may be
consumed by more
than one species
Food Webs
• Show all the feeding relationships or interconnected food chains within an ecosystem
Trophic Levels
An organism’s
position in a
sequence of energy
transfers
First trophic
level
Second
trophic
Third
trophic
Fourth
trophic
Energy Transfer
• There is a decrease in the
overall energy as you move up
in trophic levels.
• There is much more energy in
the producer level in a food web
than at the consumer levels
• Approximately 10% of ingested
nutrients is passed on to the
next trophic level to build new
tissue
Energy Flow, continuedWhy is the % of energy passed on to the next
trophic level so low?
• No transfer of energy 100%, therefore some energy is lost in the form of heat
• Some animals escape from being eaten & just die. Their energy in their bodies do not pass to a higher energy level.
• Some animal parts can not be eaten.
Cougar eats deer, can not extract energy from antlers, hooves or hair.
The ENERGY Pyramid
Biomass: amount of organic matter
producers
primary consumers
secondary consumers
tertiary consumers
Terrestrial Energy Pyramid
Complete the Energy Pyramid using these organisms:
Eagles, Green Plants, Mice, and Snakes
Green Plants
Mice
Snakes
Eagles
Succession
Read and Take Notes…
pg. 106-109
Succession• a gradual process of change and replacement
of populations in a community.– occurs when the environment is altered.
– These changes cause species to replace others, resulting in long-term gradual changes
– Ecosystems tend to change until a climax community is formed.
Primary Succession
• The development of plant communities in
an area that has never supported life.
• examples: bare rock, lava flow or glaciers.
Primary Succession - in a Pond
Aquatic succession of a lake
Thick aquatic vegetation is filling in this shallow pond;
eventually, soil and dead plant matter may support terrestrial
vegetation
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Primary succession on bare rock
Moss and lichens invade bare rock and act as collectors,
accumulating enough soil for complex plants to become
established
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The Start of Primary Succession
• Pioneer organisms: the first organisms to inhabit a given location
(example: lichens on bare rock)
– Breaks down rock into soil
– Establish conditions under
which more advanced
organisms can live.
Lichens
• complex life form that is a symbiotic
partnership of two separate organisms, a
fungus and an alga.
Lichens contribute to a phenomenon known as biological
weathering.
The lichen mycobionts break down rocks and release
minerals by producing certain chemicals.
Primary Succession ExampleAdirondack Bog Succession
1. water plants at pond edge
2. sedges and sediments begin to fill pond
3. sphagnum moss and bog shrubs fill pond (cranberries)
4. black spruce and larch
5. birches, maple, or fir
Secondary Succession
• is the change of species that follows disruption
of an existing community
• Occurs in areas that previously contained life
and SOIL!!!
Secondary succession in an abandoned field
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Secondary Succession
created by natural disasters or human
activity
• forest fire at Yellowstone National Park.
Resilience after a volcanic eruption
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State
covered the ground with gray ash, but the forests soon
regenerated
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Ground fires remove excessive fuel
Periodic ground fires are necessary to preserve the balance of
pine forests by removing excess fuel and killing competing
species
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Secondary Succession Example
• If the BHS baseball field is not mowed,
would it be primary or secondary
succession?
Climax Community
• Climax community: a community that has
reach a stable state.
– populations remain stable and
exist in balance with each other
and their environment
– ecosystems may reach a
point of stability that can last for
hundreds or thousands of years
Climax Community
• A climax community persists until a
catastrophic change alters or destroys a
major biotic or abiotic resource – (ex. forest fires, abandoned farmlands, floods, areas
where the topsoil has been removed)
• After the original climax community has been
destroyed, the damaged ecosystem is likely to
recover in stages that eventually result in a
stable system similar to the original one.
Iceland had profound distubance
Forests were totally stripped from Iceland, making succession
impossible and leaving Iceland barren and tundra-like
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Resilience mechanisms restore normal
ecosystem function in a short time
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The world’s major terrestrial biomes
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Biomes
• Biome: a large region characterized by a specific type of climate & certain plant and animal communities.
• A certain biome may exist in more than one location on earth.
• Biomes are terrestrial (dry) or aquatic (wet)– Dependent on:
• Temperature
• Solar radiation
• Precipitation
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
– Tropical rain forests are home to more
species than all the other biomes combined.
– Rain forests get at least 2 meters of rain a
year!
TROPICAL DRY FOREST
– Tropical dry forests grow in areas where
rainy seasons alternate with dry seasons.
– In most places, a short period of rain is
followed by a prolonged period of drought.
TROPICAL GRASSLAND/
SAVANNA/SHRUBLAND
– This biome receives more seasonal rainfall
than deserts but less than tropical dry forests.
– Grassy areas are spotted with isolated trees
and small groves of trees and shrubs.
–
DESERT
– Deserts have less than 25 centimeters of
precipitation annually, but otherwise vary greatly,
depending on elevation and latitude.
– Many deserts undergo extreme daily temperature
changes, alternating between hot and cold.
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND
– Temperate grasslands experience warm to hot
summers and cold winters, with moderate seasonal
precipitation.
– The soil is fertile and there are occasional fires.
TEMPERATE WOODLAND
AND SHRUBLANDAbiotic Factors
– The woodlands experience hot dry summers and
cool moist winters.
– They have thin, nutrient-poor soils and experience
periodic fires.
TEMPERATE FOREST– Temperate forests have cold winters. In
autumn, deciduous trees shed their leaves. In
the spring, small plants burst from the ground
and flower.
– The fertile soils are rich in humus, a material
formed from decaying leaves and other
organic matter.
NORTHWESTERN
CONIFEROUS FOREST–
– Mild moist air from the Pacific Ocean
influenced by the Rocky Mountains provides
abundant rainfall to this biome.
–
BOREAL FOREST– Dense forests of coniferous evergreens along the
northern edge of the temperate zone are called boreal
forests, or taiga.
– Winters are bitterly cold, but summers are mild and
long enough to allow the ground to thaw.
– Boreal forests occur mostly in the northern part of the
Northern Hemisphere. The word boreal comes from the
Greek word for “north.”
TUNDRA
– Cold temperatures, high winds, a short
growing season, and humus-poor soils also
limit plant height.
Terrestrial Biomes
• Terrestrial Biomes:
– In general, six land biomes
– Characterized by climax vegetation
– Have characteristic flora (plants) and fauna
(animals)
Terrestrial Biomes: Tundra
• Climax flora: treeless. lichens, mosses, grasses
• Climax fauna: caribou, snowy owl
• Characteristics:
long & extremely cold winters
& permanently frozen subsoil called permafrost
• Location:
Continuous belt around N America, Europe & Asia
Terrestrial Biomes: Taiga
• Climax flora: conifers
or evergreen trees
• Climax fauna: moose, black bear, squirrels
• Characteristics:
long, severe winters
• Location:
south of the tundra & north of temperate forest
Terrestrial Biomes: Temperate-
Deciduous Forest• Climax flora: trees that
shed leaves
• Climax fauna: gray squirrel, fox, deer
• Characteristics: moderate precipitation, cold winters, warm summers
• Location:
South of taiga
Terrestrial Biomes: Tropical Forest• Climax flora: many
species of broad-leaved plants
• Climax fauna: snake, monkey, and leopard
• Characteristics: heavy rainfall(300 inches/year), constant warmth
• Biodiversity:
The size of 2 football fields may have 300 species of trees
• Location:
Near the equator
Terrestrial Biomes: Grasslands• Climax flora: grasses
• Climax fauna: prairie dog, bison, usually herd animals.
• Characteristics: rainfall and temperature vary greatly, strong winds
• Grasslands: also known as prairies, steppes, savannas & pampas.
• Location: interior of continents
Terrestrial Biomes: Desert• Climax flora: drought-
resistant shrubs and plants
• Climax fauna: kangaroo rat, lizard
• Characteristics: sparse rainfall (9 inches/year).
• Extreme temperature. Hot days cool nights.
Temperatures may have a 50 degree drop.
Aquatic Biomes
• Aquatic Biomes: the largest ecosystems
on Earth
– 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by water
– Water is the principal medium for life
– More stable then terrestrial biomes
• Moisture not a limiting factor
• Temperature changes are not as great
2 Types of Aquatic Biomes
• Marine Biomes: salt water biomes
– Most stable aquatic environment
– Habitat for large number of diverse organisms
– Ocean- Intertidal, Costal, Open, Photic, Aphotic (Estuaries)
• Freshwater Biomes: ponds, lakes, rivers & wetlands (Bogs, Marshes, Swamps)
– Will fill in due to seasonal die-back and erosion
– Eventually terminate in a terrestrial climax community
Freshwater Biomes
• Types of Lakes: (PE- Intro - 37:45, wetlands)
1. Eutrophic -rich in organic matter & vegetation
Murky water
Bacteria feed on decomposing matter &
uses up all the oxygen, killing all life.
2. Oligotrophic -little organic matter & vegetation
Clear water.
• Freshwater Biomes
(Lake PE 27)
• Wetlands: aka swamps & marshes
an area of land that is covered by water for a
certain amount of time during the year.
Why are wetlands so important?
filters out pollutants
controls flooding
stopover for migratory birds
recreational
Zone of Photosynthesis
• Plant production occurs at the edges of land
masses
• No light penetrates the deeper regions of aquatic
biomes
Aphotic
Competition
• Competition: occurs when two different
species or organisms living in the same
environment (habitat) utilize the same
limited resources
– Examples:
• food, water, space, light, oxygen, and minerals.
• The more similar the requirements of the
organisms involved, the more intense the
competition.
Organisms in Ecosystem
• Habitat:
– A place where an organism lives out its life. It
is an organism’s home, their address.
• Niche:
- The organism's role in the community. How
an organism meets its need for food, shelter,
how it survives & reproduces. Interactions
with biotic & abiotic factors.
Material Cycles
• Material Cycles:
– In a self-sustaining ecosystem, materials must
be recycled among the organisms and the
abiotic environment.
– The same materials can be reused.
– Examples of Cycles:
• Water
• Carbon-Oxygen
• Nitrogen
Water Cycle
• Water Cycle: involves the processes of
–Photosynthesis
–Transpiration
–Evaporation and condensation
–Respiration
–Excretion
Water Cycle
Carbon-Oxygen Cycles
• Carbon-Oxygen Cycle:
involves the processes of
– Respiration
– Photosynthesis
Carbon-Oxygen Cycle
oxygen
Nitrogen Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle:
– Organisms must have nitrogen to
produce proteins and amino acids
– Living things cannot use nitrogen gas in
the air
– Life is possible due to nitrogen-fixation
• Nitrogen Fixation: Nitrogen gas is
converted to ammonia
Nitrogen Fixers
• Legumes: peas and beans contain
nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their roots
– Clover and alfalfa are other examples of
nitrogen fixers
Bean
Plant
Alfalfa
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Gas (N2)
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen-fixing
bacteria in plant
roots
Animals
eating
plantsDecomposition
Soil
bacteria
Biodiversity
• Evolutionary processes have resulted in a
diversity of organisms and a diversity of roles
in ecosystems.
• Biodiversity: the differences in living things in
an ecosystem
1. Increased biodiversity increases the stability
of an ecosystem.
2. Increased biodiversity increases the chance that at
least some living things will survive in the face of
large changes in the environment
What are some other reasons
biodiversity is valuable?
3. Biodiversity ensures the availability of a
rich variety of genetic material that may
lead to future agricultural or medical
discoveries with significant value to
humans.
4. Biodiversity adds aesthetic qualities to
the environment
Monoculture
• Monoculture: planting one species over a
huge area
– Why?
– Leaves an area more vulnerable to predation
or disease
GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY VALUE
A map showing
the distribution
of some of the
most highly valued
terrestrial biodiversity
world-wide (mammals,
reptiles, amphibians and
seed plants), with red for
high biodiversity and
blue for low biodiversity
High Biodiversity vs. Low Biodiversity