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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. Chapter 4 The Organization of Life 4.1 Ecosystems: Everything is Connected. 4.1 Ecosystems: Everything is Connected Objectives. Distinguish between the biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. Describe how a population differs from a species.

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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

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  1. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Chapter 4 The Organization of Life 4.1 Ecosystems: Everything is Connected

  2. 4.1 Ecosystems: Everything is Connected Objectives • Distinguish between the biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. • Describe how a population differs from a species. • Explain how habitats are important for organisms.

  3. Defining an Ecosystem • An ecosystem is all of the organisms living in an area together with their physical environment. • Coral reefs, rainforests, oak forests, and deserts are all examples of ecosystems. • Ecosystems have no clear boundaries – they are all interconnected.

  4. The Components of an Ecosystem • All ecosystems need five basic components in order to survive. • Energy • Mineral nutrients • Water • Oxygen • Living organisms • The energy source for most ecosystems is the sun.

  5. The Components of an Ecosystem • An ecosystem is made up of both living and nonliving things. • Biotic factors are the living (and once living) components of an ecosystem including all of the plants, animals, dead organisms and their parts, and waste products • Abiotic factors are the nonliving parts of an ecosystem which include water, air, rocks and soil, light, and temperature

  6. The Components of an Ecosystem • Life can be organized into different levels of ecological organization from most inclusive down to individual. • Biosphere – an inclusive term for all of the life on Earth • Ecosystem – all of the organisms in a given area along with the physical factors in the area • Community – a group of various species that live in the same place and interact with one another • Species – a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring • Population – all the members of the same species that live in a given area and time • Organism – an individual living thing

  7. The Components of an Ecosystem • Every organism is a member of a species. • For example, a human is a member of the species Homo sapiens • If members of a given species are separated, they may never interact, thus forming more than one population of a given species. • All living things in an ecosystem belong to one or more communities. • The plants present often determine what other organisms can live in a certain area.

  8. Habitat • A habitat is the specific place that an organism lives kind of like our address to humans. • For example, a habitat could be as specific as a pool area or ripples in a stream or as broad as a desert • Every habitat has specific characteristics that meet the needs of the organism which lives there. • If the factors that make the habitat suitable for certain species change, then the nature of the habitat and the organisms that it can support changes. • Animals need specific habitats in order to survive. • If habitat change is so rapid that species cannot adapt, then extinction may be the result.

  9. Habitat • The Red Hills Salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti) is a large, terrestrial salamander discovered in 1960. • This salamander is confined to two geologic formations (Tallahatta and Hatchetigbee) in the Red Hills of Alabama. • It’s habitat is burrows on the slopes of shaded mesic ravines with much hardwood vegetation. • It is nocturnal and feeds primarily on insects and spiders.

  10. References • Coral Reef Florida Keys - http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/reef/reef2559.htm • El Yunque Puerto Rico - http://www.elyunque.com/about.html • Jaguar - http://www.nwf.org/internationalwildlife/bolivia.html • Fungus - http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/cur/Bio96_97/P5/rainf/T_Rain_Forest.html

  11. References • Wildebeest - http://www.worldwander.com/southafrica • Wildebeest Herd - http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/Kardas/Courses/C&P/Homing_and_Migration.html • Serengeti Community - http://www.africanluxuryholidays.net/tanzania-serengeti.htm • Biosphere Concentration - http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/SeaWiFS/BACKGROUND/Gallery

  12. References • Red Hills Salamander Distribution - http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/ARMIatlas/species.cfm?recordID=173725 • Red Hills Salamander - http://www.forestry.state.al.us/publication/TF_publications/endangered/red_hills_salamander.htm

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