Ecology – the study of how organisms interact with their environment

1. Ecology–the study of how organisms interact with their environment

2. Levels of Organization • Organism • Population • Community • Ecosystem • Biome • Biosphere

3. Biosphere – the portion of the earth that supports life • Biotic – Living • Abiotic – Non-living • Temperature • Air or Water Currents • Sunlight • Soil • Rainfall • Etc.

4. Ecosystem Interactions • Habitat – where an organism lives • Niche – the role or position an organism has in its habitat • (may be described in terms of requirements for living space, temperature, moisture, mating conditions, etc.)

5. Community Interactions • Competition – occurs when one or more organism uses a resource at the same time • Predation – One organism consuming another organism for food

6. Symbiotic Relationships • Symbiosis – the close relationship that exists when two or more species live together • Mutualism: both benefit   • Commensalism: one benefits, the other is neither benefits nor is harmed  O • Parasitism: one benefits, the other is harmed  

7. Mutualism

8. Commensalism

9. Parasitism

10. Flow of Energy • Trophic Levels – Each step in a food chain • Autotrophs make up first level • Heterotrophs make up remaining levels • Decomposers break down dead organisms, Detritivores eat fragments of dead matter (Both return nutrients to soil)

11. Food Webs (more realistic than food chains)

12. Ecological Pyramids • Diagrams that show relative amounts of energy, biomass, or numbers of organisms on each level • Pyramid of Energy • Pyramid of Biomass • Pyramid of Numbers

13. Pyramid of Energy

14. Pyramid of Biomass

15. Pyramid of Numbers

16. Cycling of Matter • Biogeochemical Cycles – Exchange of matter through the biosphere involving living organisms, chemical processes, and geological processes

17. Hydrologic (Water) Cycle

18. Carbon Cycle

19. Nitrogen Cycle

20. Phosphorous Cycle

21. Ecological Succession • The change in an ecosystem that happens when one community replaces another as a result of changing abiotic and biotic factors • Two types • Primary succession • Secondary succession

22. Primary Succession • Occurs in lifeless area where there were originally no organisms and soil has not yet formed • Ex: Volcanic Island arising from sea or retreating glacier

23. Secondary Succession • Occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil intact • Ex: Growth after fires, hurricanes, etc.

24. Succession • Animation

25. Biomes • A large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities • Terrestrial (land) • Aquatic

26. Major Terrestrial Biomes

27. Tundra

28. Taiga (Boreal or Coniferous Forest)

29. Temperate (Deciduous) Forest (Georgia’s Biome!)

30. Temperate Grassland

31. Desert

32. Savanna

33. Chaparral

34. Tropical Rain Forest

35. Aquatic Ecosystems • Freshwater • Rivers and Streams • Lakes and Ponds • Transitional • Wetlands • Estuaries • Marine • Intertidal • Open Ocean • Coral Reefs and Coastal Ocean

36. Lake Zones

37. Lake Types • Oligotrophic – deep and nutrient poor • Eutrophic – shallow and nutrient rich

38. Wetlands and Estuaries

39. Ocean Zones

40. Intertidal, Coral Reef, and Deep Sea Vent

41. Population Characteristics • Density • Spatial Distribution • Population Ranges

42. Dispersal Patterns

43. Limiting Factors • Density-Independent Factors – any factor in the environment that does not depend on the number of members per unit area (ex: weather events) • Density-Dependent Factors – depend on the number of members per unit area (ex: disease, competition, parasites)

44. Population Growth Rates

45. Exponential Growth Model • J-shaped Curve • No limits

46. Logistic Growth Model • S-Shaped curve • Stops growing when it reaches the carrying capacity (maximum number of individuals in a species that an environment can support for the long term)

47. Predator/Prey(Boom and Bust Cycles)

48. Survivorship Curves

49. Human Population Growth

50. Age Structures