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ECOLOGY

ECOLOGY. The study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment. NICHES AND COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS. Niche – * organism’s role in the environment

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ECOLOGY

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  1. ECOLOGY The study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

  2. NICHES AND COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS • Niche – * organism’s role in the environment • range of physical and biological conditions in which a species lives, and the way in which a species obtains food/energy to survive and reproduce • Niche describes the following: • Where an organism lives • What it does • How it interacts with the biotic and abiotic factors in an environment Niche refers to an organism’s total way of life!

  3. NICHES AND COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS • Organisms occupy different places in a community because each species has a range of conditions under which it can grow and reproduce • These conditions help define where and how an organism lives

  4. Resources and the niche • Resource – any necessity of life: water, nutrients, light, food, space • For plants: sunlight, water, soil nutrients • For animals: nesting space, shelter, types of food, places to feed

  5. Aspects of the niche • Physical aspects of the niche: • Abiotic factors – sunlight, water, soil, rocks, temperature • Biological aspects of the niche: • Biotic factors – when and how it reproduces, the food it eats, the way it obtains the food

  6. RELATIONSHIPS • COMPETITION • PREDATOR-PREY RELATIONSHIPS • HERBIVORY • SYMBIOSES

  7. COMPETITION • Competition occurs when organisms attempt to use the same limited ecological niche in the same place at the same time. • The Competitive Exclusion Principle states that no 2 species can occupy exactly the same niche in exactly the same habitat at exactly the same time.

  8. What is the result if 2 species do attempt to occupy the same niche? One species will be better at competing for limited resources and will eventually exclude the other species. • Instead of competing for similar resources, members of the same species usually divide them. • Example: 3 species of North American warblers all live in the same trees and eat insects, but feed on different types of insects in different sections of the tree.

  9. By causing species to divide resources, competition helps determine the number and kinds of species in a community and the niche each species occupies.

  10. PREDATOR-PREY RELATIONSHIPS • Predation – an interaction in which one animal (the predator) captures and feeds on another animal (the prey) • Predators can affect the size of prey populations in a community and determine the places they can live and feed.

  11. HERBIVORE-PLANT RELATINSHIPS • Herbivory– an interaction in which one animal (the herbivore) feeds on producers (plants) • Herbivores can affect both the size and distribution of plant populations in a community and determine the places that certain plants can survive and grow.

  12. Symbiosis Living Together

  13. SYMBIOSES • SYMBIOSIS – any relationship in which 2 species live closely together • mutualism – both species benefit • parasitism – one species benefits, one is harmed • commensalism – one species benefits, the other is unaffected

  14. Mutualism • Both organisms benefit from the relationship Otters and Kelp The otters help the kelp by eating the sea urchins which endanger it. The kelp provides an anchor for the otters while they sleep.

  15. Lichen • Lichen is really two organisms: algae and fungus. The fungus needs food but cannot make it. The algae makes food but needs some way to keep moist. The fungus forms a crust around the algae which holds in moisture. Both organisms benefit.

  16. The Chital and the Tree-pie • The tree-pies help the chital by stripping the dead velvet from the antlers. This provides them with nourishment Therefore both species are benefiting from this symbiotic behavior.

  17. Cleaner Fish and the Moray Eel • The cleaner fish eats parasites and food bits out of the inside of this moray eel. It gets a meal and is protected from predators by the fierce eel.

  18. Yucca Plants and Yucca Moths • Each type of Yucca plant can only be pollinated by a specific kind of Yucca moth. • That moth can only live on that kind of Yucca.

  19. Swollen Thorn Acacia Tree and Ants • The tree provides a nursery for the ants in the thorns and makes special food for the ant babies. • In return the ants sting and attack any other plants or insects that try to invade the tree.

  20. Commensalism • One species benefits while the other is uneffected The cattle egret and cows The cows help the egret who look for grasshoppers and beetles that are raised by the cows. Now and then they sit on the back of a cow, looking for ticks and flies. This does not effect the cattle in any way. Egret gets food.

  21. Barnacles and Whales • Barnacles need a place to anchor. They must wait for food to come their way. Some barnacles hitch a ride on unsuspecting whales who deliver them to a food source. This does not affect the whale in any way.

  22. Oak Gall Wasps and Oak Trees • The oak gall wasp stings the oak tree. • the tree then grows a GALL which is a nest for the wasp’s babies. • When the larva hatch, they eat their way out of the gall. • Does not help or hurt the oak tree

  23. Parasitism • One species benefits while the other is harmed Mistletoe is an aerial parasite that has no roots of its own and lives off the tree that it attaches itself to. Without that tree it would die. It slowly chokes out the life of the host tree.

  24. Bedbugs • Bedbugs are small, nocturnal parasites that come out of hiding at night to feed on unsuspecting humans.  They feed exclusively on blood!  Their bites often result in an allergic reaction.

  25. Tapeworms • The definitive host of the cucumber tapeworm is a dog or a cat (occasionally a human). Fleas and lice are the intermediate host. The dog or cat becomes contaminated when the eggs are passed in the feces, and the flea or louse ingests the eggs.  The dog or cat (or human) is infected when they ingest a flea or louse.  Hence the importance of controlling fleas on your pet!

  26. Which type of symbiosis is it? • Mutualism, commensalism, parasitism Fleas/dogs Lice/humans Clownfish/sea anemone Crocodile bird/crocodile Joshua tree/pronuba moth

  27. questions • Bacteria living in a cow’s stomach help the cow break down the cellulose in grass, gaining nutrients in the process. What type of symbiotic relationship does this represent? Why? • What is the difference between a predator and a parasite?

  28. Choose the type of relationship: • Competition b. Commensalism c. Parastitsm d. mutualism 1. Small cleaner fish swims into Potato Code’s mouth to feed on parasites. The Code gets groomed and small cleaner fish gets dinner. 2. Plasmodium lives in and feeds on human red blood cells causing the human to feel ill.

  29. 3. The cattle egret, a type of bird, forages in fields among cattle and horses, feeding on insects stirred up by the grazing animals. The egret benefits from this relationship, while the livestock are typically unaffected.  4. In male red deer, male aggression occurs during the breeding season. Deer must struggle/compete with each other over the mates available in their ecosystem.

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