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Chapter 6

Ecosystems and Ecosystem Management. Chapter 6. Basic Characteristics of Ecosystems. Sustained life on Earth is a characteristic of ecosystems, not of individual organisms or populations- no member of a community can carry out the processes of life alone

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Chapter 6

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  1. Ecosystems and Ecosystem Management Chapter 6 Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  2. Basic Characteristics of Ecosystems • Sustained life on Earth is a characteristic of ecosystems, not of individual organisms or populations- no member of a community can carry out the processes of life alone • Structure: An ecosystem is made up of two major parts: • Non-Living (Abiotic)- Physical Environment (Soil, Air and Water) • Living (Biotic)- Ecological community Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  3. Basic Characteristics of Ecosystems 2) Processes:Two basic kinds of processes must occur in an ecosystem: a cycling of chemical elements and a flow of energy 3) Change:An ecosystem changes over time and can undergo development through a process called succession Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  4. Ecological Communities and Food Chains Ecological Communities: • A set of interacting species that occur in the same place and function together to make possible the persistence of life • Energy, chemical elements and some compounds are transferred from creature to creature along FOOD CHAINS/FOOD WEBS (Linkage of who feeds on whom) Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  5. Trophic Levels • A trophic level consists of all those organisms in a food web that are the same number of feeding levels away from the original source of energy. • The original source of energy in most ecosystems is The Sun. Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  6. Food Chains and Food Webs • A Terrestrial Food Chain • 4 trophic levels: • Autotrophs (Photosynthesizing plants, algae and bacteria) • Herbivores (Plant-Eaters) • Carnivores (Feed directly on Herbivores) • Carnivores (Feed on other Carnivores) and Decomposers (Bacteria and Fungi-Feed on everything) • People are Omnivores (Herbivore & Carnivore) Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  7. Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  8. Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  9. The Community Effect • Species interact directly and indirectly • Community-level interactions Example: Sea Otters of Pacific Ocean • Otters eat Sea Urchins • Sea Urchins eat kelp (important habitat for many creatures) • More Sea Otters= Less Sea Urchins= More Kelp Forests for many sea creatures Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  10. Keystone Species • A species such as the Sea Otter that has a large effect on its community or ecosystem is called a Keystone Species • Removal or change in the role of a keystone species within the ecosystem changes the basic nature of the community Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  11. Community Interactions with Sea Otter Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  12. Oceanic Food Web Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  13. Food Web of Harp Seal Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  14. Natural and Artificial Ecosystems • Ecosystems can be natural or artificial or a combination of both • Agriculture can be thought of as partial management of certain kinds of ecosystems • Wildlife Preserves are examples of partially managed ecosystems Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  15. Review Questions • 1) What is the difference between an ecosystem and an ecological community? • 2) In what ways would an increase in the number of sea otters and a change in their geographical distribution benefit fisherman? In what ways would these changes be a problem for fisherman? Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

  16. Review Questions • 3) Based on the discussion in this chapter, would you expect a highly polluted ecosystem to have many species or few species? • 4) Is our species a keystone species? Explain. Botkin and Keller Environmental Science 5e

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