DO NOW Turn in your Animal Behavior Lab What is Ecology?? List 3 “things” that you know about ecology.

Ecology Basics – Food Webs and Energy Flow

What is Ecology? Study of the interaction between organisms and their surrounding environment.

Abiotic factors Non-living components of the environment

Biotic factors Living components of the environment

Identify 3 Abiotic and Biotic Factors in the Picture Below

Levels of Organization within the Environment 1.INDIVIDUA L or SPECIES: One organism

Levels of Organization within the Environment 2. POPULATION: Group of similar individuals/species

Levels of Organization within the Environment 3. COMMUNITY: Group of populations living together

Levels of Organization within the Environment 4. ECOSYSTEM: All the communities (biotic) “living” with the abiotic parts of the environment

Levels of Organization within the Environment 6. BIOSPHERE: All the ecosystems on the planet

Two Laws that Allow Ecosystems to Function: #1 The Flow of Energy; The Sun is the ULTIMATE source of energy for living things

Two Laws that Allow Ecosystems to Function: #2 The Cycling of Nutrients Nutrients = Water, Carbon, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Phosphorus

The Flow of Energy within Ecosystems; The sun is the ultimate source of energy What is meant by energy? How do we get our energy?

We EAT!!!!!

What eats what in an ecosystem?

Organism can feed using two methods: Autotroph/Producer Organisms make their own food in their cells - automatically

Energy source for Producer Sun

Example of Producers: PLANTS

Bacteria

Phytoplankton (phyto=light)

Organism can feed using two methods: Heterotroph/Consumer Organisms cannot make their own food in their cells – need to eat/consume

Herbivore Consumer that eats ONLY producers

Carnivore: Consumer that eats ONLY other “meat”; other consumers

Omnivore: Consumer that eats BOTH producers and consumers

Scavenger: Consumer that eats the remains of dead/decaying organisms

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Detritivores: eat partially decomposed plants and animals

Decomposer: Consumer that breaks down the remains of dead/decaying organisms; returns nutrients to the producers

Is there a pattern to how organisms consume others?

Food Chain Set sequence of consumption; one organism eats another that eats another, etc. Like a CHAIN!!!

Each organism in a food chain has a trophic level; A trophic level is a feeding level

Producer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Quaternary Consumer 1 st Trophic Level 2 nd Trophic Level 3 rd Trophic Level 4 th Trophic Level 5 th Trophic Level

Food Web Made up of many food chains; one organism can consume MANY different organisms Like a WEB!!!

Energy Flow in Ecosystem Sun is the ultimate energy source in ecosystems

What happens to the amount of available energy? Energy decreases as is moves through the ecosystem

What happens to the amount of available energy? Only 10% of usable energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next

What accounts for the decreased amount of energy?

How much energy is lost? 90% of the energy is lost; only 10% available energy moves to the next trophic level

Energy Pyramid Diagram representing the amount of available energy

Food Web Puzzle