Ecology introduction Me 23 slides What is Ecology?

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Ecology introduction Me 23 slides

What is Ecology?

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What is Ecology??• The study of interactions that take place between organisms and their environment.

• It explains how living organisms affect each other and the world they live in.

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Habitat & Niche• Habitat is the place a plant or animal lives

• Niche is an organism’s total way of life

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The Nonliving Environment

• Abiotic factors- the nonliving parts of an organism’s environment.

• Examples include air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil.

• Abiotic factors affect an organism’s life.

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The Living Environment• Biotic factors- all the living organisms that inhabit an environment.

• All organisms depend on others directly or indirectly for food, shelter, reproduction, or protection.

Class Quiz• When prompted, blurt your answer

once.• If it becomes too loud, you will be told

to signal your answer visually.

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Abiotic or Biotic?

Biotic

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Abiotic or Biotic?

Abiotic

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Abiotic or Biotic?

Abiotic

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Abiotic or Biotic?

Biotic

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Levels of Organization

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What are the Simplest Levels?

• Atom• Molecule• Organelle• Cell• Tissue• Organ• System• Organism

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on to ECOLOGICAL Levels of Organization

5 levels

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1st Level of Organization• Organism (or Individual):An individual living thing that is made of cells, uses energy, reproduces, responds, grows, and develops

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2nd Level of Organization• Population:

A group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time.

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3rd Level of Organization• Biological Community:All the populations of different species that live in the same place at the same time.

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4th Level of Organization• Ecosystem:

Community plus abiotic factors

• Can be terrestrial or aquatic

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5th Level of Organization• Biosphere:The portion of Earth that supports life.

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Read; don’t copy.

The Biosphere• Life is found in air, on

land, and in fresh and salt water.

• The BIOSPHERE is the portion of Earth that supports living things.

Class Quiz

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What level of organization? (1)

Organism

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What level of Organization? (2)

Community (without the rocks) or Ecosystem (with the rocks and other abiotic

factors)

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What level of Organization? (3) (Ignore

the tree.)

Population

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Ecosystems food energyM.e 25 Slides

Energy Flow in an Ecosystem

Now look for underlined words OR color change for your guided notes.

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Energy Flow• Energy in an ecosystem

originally comes from the sun• Energy flows through

Ecosystems from producers to consumers–Producers (make food)–Consumers (use food by eating producers or other consumers)

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Producers• Sunlight is the main source of energy for most life on earth.

• Producers contain chlorophyll & can use energy directly from the sun

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ConsumersHeterotrophs (e.g. animals) eat other

organisms to obtain energy.

• Herbivores–Eat Only Plants

• Carnivores–Eat Only Other Animals

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Consumers (cont’d.)• Omnivores (like humans)

–Eat Plants & Animals• Scavengers

– (like buzzards) Feed On Dead Plant & Animal Remains

• Decomposers–Fungi & Bacteria

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Feeding RelationshipsEnergy flows through an ecosystem in one direction

from producers to various levels of consumers

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Feeding Relationships (cont’d.)• Food Chain

–Simple Energy path through an ecosystem

• Food Web–More realistic path through an ecosystem made of many food chains

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Here is a Food Chain

Producer (trapped sunlight & stored food)

1st order Consumer

2nd Order Consumer

3rd Order consumer 4th Order

Consumer

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Quiz: Name the Producer, Consumers & Decomposers

in this food chain:

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Food Web

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Trophic LevelsEach Level In A Food Chain or

Food Web is a Trophic Level.• Producers

–Always The First Trophic Level

–How Energy Enters The System

• Herbivores–Second Trophic Level

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Trophic Levels• Carnivores/Omnivores

–Make Up The Remaining Trophic Levels

Each level depends on the one below it for

energy.

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Ecological PyramidsGraphic Representations Of

The Relative Amounts of Energy or Matter At Each

Trophic LevelMay be:

Energy PyramidBiomass Pyramid

Pyramid of Numbers

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Energy Pyramid

10% Rule: Only about 10% of chemical energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The rest (90%) dissipates as heat.

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Biomass Pyramid

5000

10% Rule: Only about 10% of chemical energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The rest (90%) dissipates as heat.

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Pyramid of Numbers

10% Rule: Only about 10% of chemical energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The rest (90%) dissipates as heat.

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What do all three pyramids show?

• Everyone is somebody’s lunch, but...• 10% Rule: Only about 10% of

chemical energy (bodies) is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The rest (90%) is given off as heat.

• That’s where body heat comes from.

The End?

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