Ecology

2. Ecology It is the scientific study in which the relationships among living organisms and the interaction the organisms have with the environment are studied Part 1: Organisms and Their Relationships Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Part 3: Cycling of Matter

3. Biotic The living or once living factors in an organism’s environment Abiotic The nonliving (never alive) factors in an organism’s environment Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Biotic and Abiotic Factors Bio Abio

4. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Biotic and Abiotic Factors How would something be classified as “Biotic”? • They must be composed of cells. • Complex organization patterns are found in all living organisms (i.e., cell  tissue  organ…) • Living organisms use energy. • Living organisms must maintain a state of homeostasis. • All organisms develop and change over time. • All organisms have the potential to reproduce, either sexually or asexually.

5. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Levels of Organization Just to review, let’s start with the atom… Atom  Molecule  Organelle  Cell  Tissue  Organ  Organism  Population  Ecosystem  Community  Biome  Biosphere

6. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Ecological Levels of Organization • Organism: An individual • Population: Individual organisms of a single species that share the same geographic location at the same time. • Community: A group of interacting populations that occupy the same area at the same time.

7. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Levels of Organization • Ecosystem: A biological community and all of the abiotic factors that affect it. • Biome: A large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities. • Biosphere: All biomes together; the Earth

8. Three Types of Ecosystems • Terrestrial • Freshwater • Marine • What is the NC main ecosystem?

9. Types of Biomes • Freshwater (ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands) • Marine (oceans, coral reefs, estuaries) • Desert (hot, dry, semiarid, coastal, cold) • Forest (temperate, tropical, boreal forest(taiga)) • Grassland (savannas, temperate) • Tundra (Artic and Alpine)

10. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Ecosystem Interactions • Habitat: An area where an organism lives • Niche: The role or position that an organism has in its environment

11. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Habitat vs. Niche “The ecological niche of an organism depends not only on where it lives but also on what it does. “By analogy, it may be said that the habitat is the organism's ‘address’, and the niche is its ‘profession’, biologically speaking.” Odum - Fundamentals of Ecology

12. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Habitat vs. Niche A niche is determined by the tolerance limitations of an organism, or a limiting factor. Limiting factor: Any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence of organisms in a specific environment.

13. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Limiting Factors Examples of limiting factors- Amount of water, food, shelter, space. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep12a.htm

14. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Left-side IntNB Reflection • Differentiate between a local organism’s habitat and niche found in your community. • Refer to your notes and neighbors if you need help!

15. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Feeding Relationships There are 3 main types of feeding relationships 1. Producer Consumer 2. Predator Prey 3. Parasite Host

16. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem • Autotroph: An organism that collects energy from sunlight or inorganic substances to produce food. (Producer) • Heterotroph: An organism that gets its energy requirements by consuming other organisms. (Consumer)

17. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Different types of Heterotrophs • Herbivore: Eats only plants • (Deer, rabbits, grasshoppers, etc.) • Carnivore: Prey on other heterotrophs • (Wolves, lions, cats, etc.) • Scavengers feed on carrion (dead animals) • (Hyenas, vultures, some crabs, etc.) • Omnivore: Eat both plants and animals • (Bears, humans, mockingbirds, etc.) • Detritivores: Eat fragments of dead matter • (Earthworms, millipedes, etc.) • Decomposers: Chemically breaks down dead matter • (Bacteria and fungi)

18. Part 1: Organisms and their Relationships Symbiotic relationships • Mutualism: When both organisms benefit • Lichens • Commensalism: One organism benefits, while the other is neither helped nor harmed. • Epiphytes (i.e., Bromeliads) • Parasitism: One organism benefits at the expense of the other. • Parasitoid wasp eggs on a tomato hornworm

19. Part 1 Reflection: Organisms and their Relationships Create and Fill in this table in the left side of your IntNB = 1 species

20. Part 1 Review: Organisms and their Relationships Community Interactions • Competition: More than one organism uses a resource at the same time. • Predation: The act of one organism consuming another organism for food. • Symbiosis: The close relationship that exists when two or more species live together. Niche competition Carnivore Mutualism

21. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow • Trophic Levels: Each step in a food chain or food web. • Autotrophs always make up the first trophic level in ecosystems. • Heterotrophs make up the remaining levels

22. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow • Food chains: A simple model that shows how energy flows through an ecosystem

23. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow • Food webs: A model representing the many interconnected food chains and pathways in which energy flows.

24. How many connections can we make?

25. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Models of Energy Flow • Ecological pyramids: A diagram that can show the relative amounts of energy, biomass, or numbers of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem. • Biomass: The total mass of living matter at each trophic level

26. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Activity: Deadly Links(On the left-hand side of your IntNB, write the following) • Objective: To understand how food (energy) moves through an ecosystem • My role is ____________________. • I am a/an herbivore, omnivore or carnivore (Circle one)

27. Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem What does your graph tell you?

28. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter • Cycles in the Biosphere • Natural processes cycle matter through the atmosphere • The exchange of matter through the biosphere is called the biogeochemical cycle. • Bio: Involves living things • Geo: Geological Processes • Chemical: Chemical Processes

29. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter The Water Cycle Solar Energy Movement of clouds by wind Evaporation Precipitation Precipitation Transpiration from plants Percolation in soil

30. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter The Water Cycle • Most precipitation falls into the ocean • Over land • approximately 90% of the water evaporates • 10% transpires from plants • Only about 2% of water is retained in a reservoir • i.e., a glacier, ice cap, aquifer or lake

31. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Carbon and Oxygen Cycles CO2 in atmosphere Burning Cellular Respiration Photosynthesis Plants, Algae & Cyanobacteria Higher level Consumers Wood & Fossil Fuels Primary Consumer Detritivores(soil microbes & others) Detritus

32. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Carbon and Oxygen Cycles • Short term cycle • Autotrophs use CO2 for ____________. • Heterotrophs produce CO2 during ________ __________. Photosynthesis Cellular Respiration

33. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Carbon and Oxygen Cycles • Long term cycle: Fossil Fuels • Organic matter is buried underground and converted to peat, coal, oil or gas deposits. • 5.5 billion tons are burned each year and 3.3 billion tons stay in the atmos-phere, the rest dissolves in sea water* http://www.ucar.edu/ (The National Center for Atmospheric Research)

34. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Carbon and Oxygen Cycles • Long term cycle: Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) • Marine animals are able to use Carbon to build their skeletal material • These organisms fall to thebottom of the ocean floor,creating limestone rock.

35. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Carbon and Oxygen Cycles • Oxygen is found in the atmosphere at a stable concentration of approximately 21%. • Because it is a very reactive element, it can quickly combine with other elements and disappear from the atmosphere. • Some of the atmospheric oxygen (O2) finds itself lofted high into the upper reaches of the atmosphere called the stratosphere, where it is converted into Ozone (O3) • Ozone serves to absorb biologically damaging ultra-violet (UV) radiation from the sun.

36. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Carbon and Oxygen Cycles • Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the atmosphere. • Humans have burned so much fuel that there is about 30% more Carbon Dioxide in the air today than there was about 150 years ago. • The atmosphere has not held this much Carbon for at least 420,000 years according to data from ice cores. http://www.ucar.edu/ (The National Center for Atmospheric Research)

37. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen in atmosphere Plants Assimilation Denitrifying bacteria Nitrates (NO3-) Nitrogen – fixingbacteria in rootnodules oflegumes Decomposers (aerobic & anaerobic bacteria and fungi) Nitrifying bacteria Ammonification Nitrites (NO2-) Ammonium (NH4+) Nitrogen – fixing bacteria in soil

38. Part 3: Cycling of Matter Cycling of Matter Nitrogen Cycle • Nitrogen comprises the bulk of the atmosphere (approximately 78%). • Most of it is unusable. • A molecule of nitrogen gas is made up of 2 atoms very tightly bound together. • It takes tremendous amounts of energy, such as produced by lightning or fires, to break the bond. • Bacteria can release nitrogen from organic material • These bacteria also release nitrogen from organic material back into the atmosphere. • Nitrogen is the one element found almost entirely in the atmosphere—there's very little on land or in the sea. • Nitrogen is essential to life, a key element in proteins and DNA.