1. What is Ecology?

2. Abiotic Factors- Non-living parts of the environment.
Ecology:
Study of interactions
between organisms
and their environment
Abiotic Factors- Non-living parts of the environment.
Scavenger-eats dead organisms
Producer- Uses the sun to make food “autotroph”
Biotic Factors- All the living parts of the environment
Decomposer- break down dead organisms and cause decay
Consumer-organisms eat others for energy “heterotrophs”

3. Biotic vs. Abiotic
See if you know the difference between the two!

4. Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic

5. Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic

6. Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic

7. Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic

8. Biotic Factors Review

9. Biotic Factors Producers Organisms that make their own food.
Ex- Plants & some bacteria
Consumers:
Organisms that eat (consume) other organisms for energy (animals)

10. Biotic Factors
Decomposers: Consumers that eat waste products for energy. Waste products are feces, urine, fallen leaves, dead animals. (Fungi, some bacteria)

11. Levels of Organization

12. Review: What are the Simplest Levels?
Atom
Molecule
Organelle
Cell
Tissue
Organ
System

13. Levels of Organization
2. Populations- groups of organisms of the same species.
1. Organism- individual possessing all 8 characteristics of life
3. Community- group of populations living together.
The 5 Levels
of Ecological
Organization
4. Ecosystem- living & nonliving parts interact together.
5. Biosphere- part of the earth that supports life

14. Which Level of Ecological Organization
Which Level of Ecological Organization? Take this quiz to see if you can tell the difference between the two!

15. Which Level?
Organism

16. Which Level of Organization?
Population

17. Which Level of Organization?
Biological Community:

18. Which Level of Organization?
Ecosystem:

19. Which Level of Organization?
Biosphere:

20. What level of organization?
Organism

21. What level of Organization?
Community

22. What level of Organization?
Population

23. Habitat & Niche Habitat is where something lives
Niche is an organism’s total way of life (how it eats, competes with others)

24. Feeding Relationships
Autotrophs: Organisms that make their own food (plants and some bacteria)….PRODUCERS!!
Heterotrophs: Organisms that eat other organisms (they cannot make their own food)….CONSUMERS!!!

25. Feeding Relationships
Herbivores: eat plants (cows)
Carnivores: eat meat (wolves)
Detrivore: eat decaying (dead) materials
Omnivores: eat plants and meat (humans)

26. FYI- Niche
Includes all its interactions with the biotic and abiotic parts of the environment
Each type of organism occupies its own niche to avoid competition with other types of organisms
Two species can share the same habitat but not the same niche
Example: Ants and bacteria both live in the dirt (habitat) but have different niches. Ants eat dead insects and bacteria eat dead leaves, dead logs, and animal waste. So ants and bacteria don’t compete for resources.

27. Survival Relationships
Predator-prey: predators are consumers that hunt and eat other organisms called prey.

28. Survival Relationships
Symbiosis: relationship in which one species lives on, in, or near another species and affects its survival.
3 Types:
Mutualism
Commensalisms
Parasitism

29. Mutualism type of symbiosis in which both species benefit.
Ex. Clownfish living in the sea anemones. It provides protection for the fish, and attracts potential food for the anemones.

31. Commensalism
type of symbiosis in which one species benefits and the other species is neither harmed nor benefited
Example: Spanish moss grows on the branches of trees. The moss gets a habitat and the tree gets nothing.

32. Parasitism one species benefits and the other species is harmed.
Parasite: organism that harms but does not usually kill another organism
Host: organism that is harmed by a parasite
Ex. Ticks feed on dogs, people, etc. The ticks get food (blood) and the hosts lose blood and can be infected with disease.

33. Trophic levels and food chains
Trophic level: A feeding level in an ecosystem.
Food chain: lineup of organisms that shows who eats who.
Shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystem.
Directions: On your paper, draw a picture that goes with each trophic level.

34. Trophic Levels Eaten by Eaten by
1st trophic level: producers (make their own food)
Eaten by
Eaten by
2nd trophic level: primary consumer
(eats plants)
Bacteria
3rd trophic level: secondary consumer (small carnivore)
Eaten by
4th trophic level: tertiary consumer (large carnivore)
Last trophic level: decomposer (eats dead animals)

36. Energy Pyramid
Every time an organism eats, it obtains energy from its food.
Energy is transferred from the 1st 2nd 3rd trophic level and so on.
of this energy is lost along the way during an organism’s metabolism and as heat.
This energy can be measured in kilocalories (kcal).
90%

37. Energy Pyramid
Picture that shows how much energy is transferred among the different trophic levels in a food chain; energy is lost as you move up the pyramid.

38. Trophic Level
Energy Available
4th
Tertiary consumers
10 kcal/m2/year
3rd
Secondary consumers
100 kcal/m2/year
2nd
Primary consumers
1000 kcal/m2/year
1st
Producers
10,000 kcal/m2/year

41. Some energy is lost as heat and the rest is consumed or excreted as waste.

42. Food Webs
A food web is a network of connected food chains. More realistic than a food chain because most organisms feed on more than one species for food.

44. Practice with Food Chains & Food Webs

45. Identify the food chains inside the food web.

46. Do it yourself!
1. AS AN INDIVIDUAL….sketch a foodchain including 4-5 animals on extra paper.
2. AS A GROUP….On the paper provided, make your own food web using organisms from everyone’s food chains!
3. Remember to include every trophic level
4. Label all 15 organisms with their name and their trophic level (ex. Grass = producer)

47. Cycles in Nature
There is only a limited amount of resources (water, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon) on the earth.
In order to keep these resources available to organisms, they must be recycled after they are used.
Cycle: a process that recycles a resource so that you end up with what you started with.

48. Nitrogen Cycle
1. Nitrogen fixation: Bacteria in the ground change nitrogen from the atmosphere (N2) to different nitrogen compounds
5. Denitrification: Bacteria change the nitrogen compounds back to N2 and release it to the atmosphere
2. These bacteria live in plants and transfer the nitrogen compounds to the plants
4. Bacteria eat the dead animals and animal waste and take in the nitrogen compounds
3. Animals eat the plants and take in the nitrogen compounds

49. Nitrogen Cycle

50. Water Cycle 2. Seepage: Water seeps into the ground and plants use it
3. Transpiration: Plants give off water to the atmosphere
1. Precipitation: Rain and snow fall from the atmosphere to the earth
2. Runoff: Extra water runs off the land to lower-lying bodies of water
3. Evaporation of water from the bodies of water back into the atmosphere

51. Water Cycle

52. Carbon Cycle
1. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) are found in the atmosphere
2. Plants use CO2 to make their own food (photosynthesis)
2. Animals and plants use the O2 to make energy (respiration)
3. During photosynthesis, plants release O2 back into the atomosphere
3. During respiration, animals and plants release CO2 back into the atomosphere

53. Carbon Cycle

54. Population Size

55. Populations What is a population?
What are some factors that can contribute to the size of a population?

56. Organism Interactions Limit Population Size
Organisms depend on each other for:
So what happens when these factors change?
Protection
Food
Reproduction
Shelter

57. Organism Interactions Limit Population Size
Predation:
What could happen if a predator is introduced to a population and there are no organisms to eat it?
Unchecked for many years, the snakes caused the extinction of nearly every native bird species on the Pacific island of Guam

58. Organism Interactions Limit Population Size
2. Competition
- What can happen if resources become limited?

59. Organism Interactions Limit Population Size
3. Crowding & Stress
As pop. Increase in size and start straining their resources, they may become stressed. What are some examples of stress symptoms?
Aggression
Decrease in parental care
Decreased fertility
Decreased resistance to disease

60. How do you determine human population size?
Growth rate—amount that a population’s size changes over time
Birth rate—number of births occurring during a period of time (ADD)
-- Death rate (or mortality rate)—number of deaths in a period of time (SUBTRACTS)

61. How do you determine human population size?
Birth rate – death rate = growth rate
- Positive number means the pop. is growing
- Negative number means the pop. is shrinking

62. Human population size Other things that affect a population’s numbers:
Life expectancy—how long on average an individual is expected to live
US men: 72 yrs, US women: 79 yrs
Immigration—individuals moving into a population (ADDS)
Emigration—individuals moving out of a population (SUBTRACTS)

63. What can affect population size?
When you figure out the number of individuals living in a certain area, this is called the population density.
There are two limiting factors (biotic and abiotic) that can affect the pop. density
Limiting factor—any biotic or abiotic factor that restrains the growth of a population

64. What are limiting factors?
Density-independent factors—factors that affect the population regardless of the population’s size
Ex: fires, climate
Density-dependent factors—factors whose effects on the population depend on the population’s size
Ex. food shortages, disease

65. Density- dependent or Density- independent
Density- dependent or Density- independent? Take the following quiz to find out!

66. Predation Volcanic eruption Chemical pesticides Parasitism Forest fire
Density-dependent
Volcanic eruption
Density-independent
Chemical pesticides
Parasitism
Density-dependent
Forest fire
Density-independent
Migration

67. Communities

68. FYI: How are communities formed?
Communities are made of several populations living together
Think back to population size. What are some limiting factors that can affect a community?

69. FYI: Forming Communities
What would happen if people stopped cutting the grass in their yards?
1. The grass would get taller & weeds would grow
2. Later, bushes would grow; trees would appear, and different animals would enter the area
3. After 30 years, it would eventually become a forest…BUT WHY?

70. Forming Communities
Succession—orderly, natural changes and species replacements that take place in the communities of an ecosystem

71. Communitites
Primary succession—development of a community in an area that did not previously exist
Ex: new volcanic island, bare rock, sand dune
Happens slowly

73. Communities
Pioneer species—usually small, fast growing, and fast reproducing organisms that are first to colonize land after a disturbance
Example of primary succession: lichens

74. Communities
Secondary succession—sequential replacement of species that follows a disruption of an existing community
Example of secondary succession: fire, tornado

76. Communities
Climax community—stable end point of a community after succession
takes place

77. Biomes

78. Biomes
Biomes—very large ecosystems that are distinguished by characteristic plants and animals.
Terrestrial—land based
Aquatic—water based

79. Tundra extreme northern latitudes cold, largely treeless
permafrost—permanently frozen layer of soil

80. Tundra long, cold winters and very short summers
short growing season limits the producers in food webs
very little precipitation
thin, poor soil that can only support shallow-root plants

81. Tundra plants: grass, moss, small shrubs
animals: caribou, snowy owl, artic fox, mosquitoes in summer, hares, reindeer. (Most migrate here in summer)

82. Taiga forested biome with evergreen conifers South of tundra
Long winters, but overall warmer and wetter than tundra
Abundance of trees provides more food/shelter than tundra

83. Taiga Plants: pines, firs, some grasses
Animals: moose, bears, wolves, lynx

84. Temperate deciduous forests
characterized by trees that lose all their leaves in fall (Alabaster, AL)
Receive constant rainfall ( cm annually)
Longer summers
Rich topsoil with layer of clay underneath

85. Temperate deciduous forests
Plants: hickory, maples, oaks
Animals: deer, hawk, squirrel, rabbits, bears

86. Grasslands Usually in interiors of continents (Prairies & Savannas)
Rainfall is not enough to support large trees

87. Grasslands Plants: dominated by grasses
Animals: jackrabbits, bison, deer, prairie dogs

88. Savannahs
tropical or subtropical grasslands with scattered trees or shrubs

89. Savannahs Africa, South America, Australia Alternating wet/dry seasons
Plants—short trees, shrubs, grasses
Animals– lions, giraffes, antelopes, kangaroo (in Australia)

90. receive less than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain each year
Deserts
receive less than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain each year
Can be hot or cold!
Most plants and animals adapted to storing/saving water
Rainfall is a limiting factor

91. Deserts
Plants: cacti and other succulents (plants with thick/waxy leaves that can store water)

92. Deserts

93. Deserts
Animals: tortoises, desert fox, kangaroo rat, coyotes, scorpions, camels
Most animals stay hidden during day

94. Tropical rain forests tall trees Stable, year round growing seasons
Warm weather year round
Most biologically diverse biome
Average temp 25 degrees C

95. Tropical rain forests Many niches b/c of “vertical layering” in forest
Canopy (sunny tree tops), understory (dark/moist where smaller trees, ferns, shrubs grow), ground level

96. Tropical rain forests Plants—trees of all sizes, herbs, grasses
Animals—monkeys, birds, jaguars,( and lots more…)

97. Aquatic Biomes: Marine biomes—saltwater areas
Contains different zones based on light availability

98. Aquatic Biomes:
Estuaries—coastal body of water, partially surrounded by land in which freshwater and salt water mix

99. Aquatic Biomes: Freshwater biome—lakes, ponds, rivers, streams
Tadpoles, fish, insects, turtles, beavers, algae, water plants
Water temperature and light are limiting factors

100. Aquatic Biomes:
Wetlands—where land and water meet

101. Swamps—have trees and running water
Aquatic Biomes:
Swamps—have trees and running water

102. Marshes—no trees, but has running water
Aquatic Biomes:
Marshes—no trees, but has running water

103. Bogs—get water supply from rain
Aquatic Biomes:
Bogs—get water supply from rain

104. Environmental Concerns

105. Pollution Pollution—of air, water, soil.
Acid rain kills aquatic life and plant life—disrupts food web
Too much nitrogen/phosphates from runoff damages lakes by disrupting plant/algae growth and food webs
Toxins (heavy metals, organic chemicals) cause illnesses, cancers in humans

106. Ozone
Ozone—naturally occurring gas (O3) that screens most of UV light from sun
Humans are releasing Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) from refrigerator chemicals and aerosol cans.
Chemicals destroy ozone. Is causing a hole in the ozone layer. Could lead to more cancers
Ground level ozone contributes to smog and breathing problems.
Shelby and Jefferson Co. frequently exceed the legal limit (Ozone Alert Days/Air Quality Index)

107. Human Impact
Human overpopulation—resources are limited while waste increases
Loss of biodiversity—deforestation, urban sprawl, endangered species (habitat loss and illegal animal trade), invasive species, overfishing

108. Global Warming/Climate Change
Greenhouse effect—The natural warming of the Earth due to gasses present in the atmosphere (CO2 and methane) .These gasses trap in heat from the sun.
Concern: humans ARE releasing more pollutants and gasses, such as carbon dioxide, into the air. Average temperature HAS increased. Strange weather patterns noted
How we’re releasing gasses/pollutants: burning fossil fuels for energy, burning rainforest, chemical industry wastes

109. Global Warming/Climate Change
The debate:
Are these gasses allowing more heat to be trapped, leading to a rise in global temperatures?
Is the recorded temperature rise and changing weather patterns a normal response to many factors, all of which we may not understand?
Predictions:
Earth warms up, polar ice caps and glaciers melt all over world, sea levels rise, massive flooding and global climate changes occurs. Increase in water born diseases.
Global warming will be a mild problem