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Ecosystems

Ecosystems. Levels of Organization in Ecology. What is the correct level of organization (think back to the card activity from our previous class)? a tom m olecule o rganelle c ell t issue organ o rgan system o rganism p opulation c ommunity e cosystem.

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Ecosystems

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  1. Ecosystems

  2. Levels of Organization in Ecology • What is the correct level of organization (think back to the card activity from our previous class)? • atom • molecule • organelle • cell • tissue • organ • organ system • organism • population • community • ecosystem Wikimedia Commons free use from NASA

  3. Populations vs. Communities • What is the difference between a biological population and a biological community? • A biological population is a group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same area at the same time, while a biological community is made of interacting populations in a certain time.

  4. Limiting Factors • Do populations often grow exponentially? • What are limiting factors? • Limiting factors are any factors (things) that affect an organism’s ability to survive in its environment. These factors affect population growth. • Examples? • availability of food and water, predators, temperature, space/shelter, and disease

  5. Density-Dependent Factors • What are density-dependent factors? • Factors that depend upon the size of the population. These factors will have an increasing effect as the population size increases. • Examples? • availability of food and water, competition, predators, and disease

  6. Competition • What is competition? • Competition is one of the many symbiotic relationships occurring in nature. Members of species compete for resources, especially for limited natural resources. • Examples? • trees that grow very close together vie for sunlight and soil nutrients, lions and tigers that vie for similar prey, and a farm of rice paddies with weeds growing in the field

  7. Competition • What happens to competition between individuals as population size increases? • Competition will also increase. • If the demand for resources exceeds the supply, then the population size will eventually decrease.

  8. Density-Independent Factors • What are density-independent factors? • Factors that are not dependent upon the size of the population and can affect any population. • Examples? • temperature, weather (storms, floods, drought), and habitat disruption by humans

  9. Carrying Capacity • The maximum number of individuals that an environment can support. • Why is knowing carrying capacity important to ecologists? it helps establish hunting restrictions/freedoms, it helps those at wildlife sanctuaries determine the right number of individuals for an area.

  10. Carrying Capacity “t” is time, “N” is number of individuals, and “K” is carrying capacity. At first, the population grows well, as resources are abundant, then as the population reaches it’s carrying capacity (limit), the growth of the population slows and will stay at a steady rate unless there is a disruption such as disease, storm, etc. Cephas Wikimedia Commons free use

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