Ecology Basics Everything you should have retained from BIOLOGY!

1. Ecology BasicsEverything you should have retained from BIOLOGY!

2. What is Ecology? • Eco – from the Greek word for House (oikos) • ology – from the Greek work (logos) for study of • Ecology = the study of interactions between organisms & their abiotic environment, interactions among organisms

3. Organization of Life Scheme

4. Organization of Life Scheme • All living matter can be organized • SMALLEST LARGEST atom  molecule  cells  tissues  organs  systems  individuals • Ecology deals with the level above the individual organism • Organism  Populations  CommunitiesEcosystemsBiosphere

5. Organism Organism: individual living thing, able to produce offspring Scientists study daily movements, feeding, or breeding behaviors. • Ex: • A deer • A Parasite

6. Population • Population: members of same species that live together in the same place at the same time • Compete for food, water, mates, and other resources • Resources determine or limit how big/small a population is • Ecologists may study effects of populations of organisms on environment • Also study growth rates of populations and predict future populations • Ex • Many deer • Rabbits • Endangered species

7. Community • Community: populations of different species that live and interact together in a defined area at the same time • Study the # of species, kinds of species, relationships with one another • Ecologists are concerned with effects on community when a new species is added or removed. • Ex: Hawks go up then mice go down

8. Ecosystem • Ecosystem: community + its nonliving surroundings/environment • Both biotic and abiotic interactions • Study HOW ecosystems function as regulators of water, nutrient cycles • Ex: Rain forest

9. Biome • Biome: A group of ecosystems that make up a specific region for species to live • Similar climate (not weather) • Temperature • Elevation • Rainfall + precipitation amounts

10. Biosphere • The biosphere is the highest level of organization. • Biosphere: made up of entire planet & all its living & nonliving parts • Ecologists are concerned with all interactions within the biosphere.

11. Biotic = living components • plants/animals, disease, interactions • Biotic factors= all living organisms found on Earth

13. Abiotic: nonliving components • Air currents • Temperature • Rainfall • Light Exposure • Soil • pH • Dissolved oxygen levels

15. Adjacent Ecosystems Overlap Notice the lack of sharp Boundaries called ecotones Land zone Transition zone Aquatic zone Number of species Species in land zone Species in aquatic zone Species in transition zone only

16. How Organisms interact Key terms- Autotroph, heterotroph, scavenger, decomposer, symbiosis, commensalisms, mutualism, parasitism, food chain, trophic levels, and food web

17. Feeding Relationships • Producer/Autotroph: make their own food, photosynthetic • Ex: plant, tree, fern, algae • Heterotrophs= consume nutrients "I MUST BE A HETEROTROPH I CAN'T MAKE THESE !!"

18. Herbivores • Herbivores: eat plants, Vegetarian! • Squirrel, rabbit, Ms. Chris

19. Omnivores and Decomposers • Omnivores- energy from meat & plants • Examples=me, mouse, bacteria • Decomposers: break down/ absorb nutrients from dead organisms • Ex: Fungus, mushrooms "What shall I eat today...meat or veggies....."

20. Carnivores and Scavengers Carnivore= meat eaters Heterotrophs which eat other heterotrophs Example=lion Scavenger: gets energy from dead organism (doesn’t kill-stealer) They play a beneficial role in ecosystem. Clean up dead animals Example=vulture, dung beetle, maggots

21. Matter & Energy in Ecosystems • 2 laws govern ecosystem function • 1) 1st Law of Thermo - flow of energy, cycling of nutrients • 2) 2nd Law of Thermo – energy tansfers

22. Food Chains • Food Chain: linear model used to show energy transfer • Nutrients and energy go from • autrotroph--> heterotroph-->decomposers. • Food chains consist of 3-5 links • Never 6, b/c amount of energy left by the 5th is only a small fraction from the 1st. • Algae Fish  Heron  Alligator

24. Trophic Levels • trophic level: feeding level for each organism in a food chain, energy lost between each step • A food chain represents only onepossible route for transfer of matter/energy • Many other routes exist.

27. Food Webs • Food Web: complex web of interconnected food chains • Many plants & animals involved. • A food web gives all possible feeding relationships at a trophic level in a community. • More natural then food chains… why?

29. Pyramids of Energy • Illustrate that energy decreases at each trophic level • The total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is only about 10%. What happens to the other 90%? 1 10 100 1000

30. Top Carnivores Carnivores Herbivores Producers Pyramid of Energy

32. Pyramid of Energy Flow • Loss in energy b/n successive trophic levels • 10% gets transferred • Explains… • Why there are few top carnivores (eagles, hawks, tigers, white sharks) • Why such species are first to suffer when the ecosystems that support them are disrupted • Why these species are so vulnerable to extinction

33. Heat Heat Heat Heat Heat Tertiary consumers (human) Decomposers 10 Secondary consumers (perch) 100 Primary consumers (zooplankton) 1,000 10,000 Usable energy Available at Each tropic level (in kilocalories) Producers (phytoplankton)

34. Tertiary consumers Secondary consumers Primary consumers Producers PYRAMIDS OF NUMBERS - depicts numbers of organisms in the various trophic levels for ecosystems Grassland (summer) Temperate Forest (summer) Fig. 4.23, p. 86

35. PYRAMID OF BIOMASS – depicts biomass of organisms in the various trophic levels for ecosystem The size of each square represents dry weight per square meter of all organisms at that trophic level. Tertiary consumers Secondary consumers Primary consumers Producers Abandoned Field Ocean

36. Primary Productivity • An ecosystem’s gross primary productivity (GPP) = Rate at which an ecosystem’s producers convert solar energy into chemical energy as biomass • Net primary productivity (NPP) = {Rate at which producers store chemical energy as biomass <photosynthesis>} - {Rate at which producers use chemical energy stored as biomass <aerobic respiration>}

37. Variation in productivity on Earth Where are the most productive regions? High productivity – green Low productivity -- yellow Fig. 4.24, p. 87

38. Solar Capital Ecosystem Services MEMORIZE these! You will always be asked to relate topics/problems to these issues. Air resources and purification Climate control Recycling vital chemicals Water resources and purification Renewable energy resources Soil formation and renewal Natural Capital Nonrenewable energy resources Waste removal and detoxification Nonrenewable mineral resources Natural pest and disease control Potentially renewable matter resources Biodiversity and gene pool Fig. 4.36, p. 99

39. Habitat and Niche Every species has a particular function in its community called it’s niche Niche: role a species plays in a community space, food, weather, & any other condition an organism needs to survive & reproduce are part of it’s niche Ex Fungi break down of organic matter Coyotes keep rodents down You keep dishes clean & drive little sis around town You read, outline, study as a student

40. Habitat Habitat: the place where organism lives Ex bird in trees Prairie dog in grassland burrows Your house Several species share habitats, the food, shelter and other resources of that habitat

41. Community Interactions

43. Symbiotic relationships= “Living Together” • Competition • Interaction between organisms trying to obtain the same source • Organism A: harmed • Organism B: :-( • Ex: Dogs fight over bone

44. Darwin Theory of natural selection 1) populations have ability to increase size • 2) Resources are limited • 3) Competition will arise • 4) Natural Selection: the strongest (fittest) will survive • 5) Survivors traits passed on to offspring • 6) There will be change over time-evolution

45. Commensalism One species benefits & the other is neither helped nor harmed Org A-helped :-) B-no effect :-| EX: Barnacles on a whale Do not harm or help whale Barnacles benefit because constant moving water source

46. Commensalism Ex #2: Spanish moss flowering plant that drapes itself on branches of trees Orchids can grow on the moss The trees are not harmed or helped but the moss and the orchids have a place to live.

47. Predator vs prey “Predation” One organism hunts another for food Predators- hunt for food Prey- organism that predator eats A(predator) benefit :-), B (prey) killed :-( Ex: Fox hunts & kills rabbit

48. Predator vs prey Ex #2: Praying Mantis Although praying mantis generally eats insects & small tree frogs, the female will devour part of her own mate Commonly found in tropical and warm temperate climates, the mantis was introduced into the United States to help control certain insect populations.

49. Mutualism: both species benefit Org A :-) Org B :-) Ex: whale shark & tiny fish: has small fish that live in its mouth & clean debris from teeth. Shark gets a free cleaning & the fish get lunch

50. Mutualism Ex #2: Hippo & little birds: little birds live on its back which eat insects off hippo, hippo does not get bitten