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Ecology Notes – Part 1

Ecology Notes – Part 1. Tuesday, September 3 rd. What is ecology?. Ecology: the study of interactions between living organisms and their physical environment Non-living components in the environment … Light Water Nutrients in soil Heat (ex Solar radiation) Called ABIOTIC factors.

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Ecology Notes – Part 1

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  1. Ecology Notes – Part 1 Tuesday, September 3rd

  2. What is ecology? • Ecology: the study of interactions between living organisms and their physical environment • Non-living components in the environment… • Light • Water • Nutrients in soil • Heat (ex Solar radiation) • Called ABIOTIC factors

  3. What is ecology? • Living organisms… • Plants • Animals • Microorganisms in the soil • Called BIOTIC factors

  4. What are biomes? • Biomes in include: • TUNDRA • TAIGA • DESERT • TROPICAL RAINFOREST • TEMPERATE RAINFOREST • DECIDUOUS FOREST • GRASSLAND

  5. Overview of Biomes • Tundra • Cold, dry • Treeless • Less than 25 cm of precipitation each year • Short growing season • Permafrost • Winters that can be 6-9 months long

  6. TUNDRA

  7. Overview of Biomes • Taiga • World's largest biome • Located south of the tundra • Long, cold winters • Precipitation 35 cm - 100 cm each year • Cone-bearing evergreen trees • Dense forests

  8. TAIGA

  9. Overview of Biomes • Temperate rainforest • 200 cm to 400 cm of precipitation each year • Average temperatures between 9°C and 12°C • Forests dominated by trees with needlelike leaves

  10. TEMPERATE RAINFOREST

  11. Overview of Biomes • Deciduous forest • Usually has 4 distinct seasons • Annual precipitation 75 cm - 150 cm • Communities of deciduous trees

  12. DECIDUOUS FOREST

  13. Overview of Biomes • Tropical rain forest • Most biologically diverse biome • Has average temperature of 25°C • Receives between 200 cm and 600 cm of precipitation each year

  14. TROPICAL RAINFOREST

  15. Overview of Biomes • Grasslands • Temperate and tropical regions with 25 cm to 75 cm of precipitation each year • Dominated by communities of grasses • Ideal for growing crops, raising cattle and sheep

  16. GRASSLANDS

  17. Overview of Biomes • Desert • Driest biome on Earth • Less than 25 cm of rain each year • Has dunes or thin soil with little organic matter • Plants & animals specially adapted to survive extreme conditions

  18. Desert

  19. What are the levels of ecological organization? • From largest to smallest… • 1. Biosphere • Surface of the earth • 2. Ecosystem • Includes ABIOTIC and BIOTIC factors

  20. 3. Habitat – physical location of community 4. Community – groups of organisms from different species living in the same area What are the levels of ecological organization?

  21. 5. Population– groups of one species living in one place at one time 6. Organism– simplest level of organization What are the levels of ecological organization?

  22. Ecology Notes – Part 2 Energy Flow Wednesday, September 4th

  23. How does energy flow in ecosystems? • Limiting factor - ANYTHING that can restrict the size of a population • Including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem • Ex: Predation, drought • Carrying capacity - largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time

  24. How does energy flow in ecosystems? • Energy flow through an ecosystem… • The movement of energy through an ecosystem through food webs • The transfer of energy from one organism to another • Primary productivity • The rate at which organic material is produced by photosynthetic organisms in an ecosystem

  25. How does energy flow in ecosystems? • Producer: organism that does photosynthesis or chemosynthesis • Autotrophs • Plants, fungus (mushrooms) • Consumers: All other organisms in an ecosystem • Heterotrophs

  26. DRAW THISInclude the arrows and labels!

  27. How does energy flow in ecosystems? • Energy Pyramid • A way of showing energy flow • As the amount of available energy decreases, the pyramid gets smaller. • Each layer on a pyramid is called a trophiclevel

  28. Energy Pyramid – Draw this 5-6 levels; The organism found at the top is called an APEX PREDATOR Ex: Great white shark, killer whale, humans Or omnivores

  29. What is the 10% Rule? • As producers are consumed, roughly 10% of the energy at the producer level is passed on to the next level • The other 90% is used for life processes • Photosynthesis, respiration, reproduction, digestion • The organisms at that level use it up • Ultimately transformed into heat energy

  30. Notice how many producers are needed to sustain life in the next trophic level (herbivores) • Notice how much energy is required to support ONE top carnivore, the hawk

  31. Why should we eat LOW on the food chain? • More energy • Larger number of organisms • Those organisms reproduce faster • Ecosystem cannot support a large number of tertiary consumers

  32. Ecology Part 3Relationships

  33. What is the role of climate on an ecosystem? • Climate: the prevailing weather conditions in a given area (year-after-year) • Weather: Day-to-day fluctuations in conditions • Temperature (sunlight) and moisture (water) are the 2 most important elements • Diversity and ecosystem productivity increase with the amount of solar energy available • Think of how diverse the rain forest is

  34. What is the role of climate on an ecosystem? • Greenhouse effect: warming of planet due to atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor. • As global temperatures increase: • Glaciers melt • Coral reefs “bleach” due to the increase in ocean temp • Organisms migrate to other areas • Forests gradually die off, turn into grasslands • Tundra turns into forests

  35. How does competition shape communities? • Competition: a biological interaction in which 2 species use the same resource

  36. How does competition shapes communities? • Niche • The ecological role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem. • Involves both the location (where it lives) & the roles that an organism does in its habitat. • Ex: Sunflower growing in your backyard • Absorbs sunlight, water and nutrients for photosynthesis • Provides shelter for other organisms (bees, ants) • Provides food for other organisms (birds, deer, rabbits) • Gives off oxygen into the atmosphere

  37. How does competition shapes communities? • Competitive exclusion: the elimination of a competing species • “Complete competitors cannot coexist” • RARELY observed

  38. How does competition shapes communities? • Galapagos Finches • Seed eating vs insect eating finches • Different species can co-exist on the same island if they have traits that allow them to eat different things • Beak sizes are different

  39. How do Predator Prey relationships change communities? • Predator and prey evolve together • They are important components of the ecosystem • If there are no more prey, there are no more predators • Without predators, certain species of prey would drive other species to extinction through competition

  40. Predator vs Prey Graph

  41. How do Predator Prey relationships change communities? • Things to consider about predator vs prey • The time it takes for organisms to reproduce varies across species • Remember the energy pyramid? • Think about how many prey animals it takes to sustain one predator

  42. What are some ecological relationships? • Symbiosis: 2 or more species interact and live together • Mutualism: a symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit. • Birds that feed onparasites of other large animals

  43. What are some ecological relationships? • Commensalism: relationship where 1 organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped

  44. What are some ecological relationships? • Parasitism: organisms feed on and live on/in another organism

  45. Ecology Notes Part 4 - Populations

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