Parts of the Ecosystem

What is Ecology?  Study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

ECOSYSTEMS  An ECOSYSTEM is made of all the living & nonliving things that interact in a particular area  Ecosystems can be large or small large or small

ECOSYSTEMS The living parts of an ecosystem are called BIOTIC factors Examples: trees, plants, flowers, insects, animals

Alive?  To be considered living, an organism must…  Contain all 7 characteristics of life  DNA  Reproduce  Use energy  Adapt  Respond to Stimuli  Made of cells  Grow and Develop

ECOSYSTEMS  The non-living things in an ecosystem are called ABIOTIC ecosystem are called ABIOTIC factors factors  Examples : water, rocks, soil, air, temperature, wind, carbon dioxide, nutrients, sunlight dioxide, nutrients, sunlight

Organization in the Environment  Ecologists have arranged the environment in different levels OrganismPopulationCommunityEcosystem Biosphere Biosphere

The 5 Levels: #1 Organism  1. An individual is a single organism. Ex: an alligator, a human, an oak tree

The 5 Levels: #2 Population A population is a group of individuals of the same species in the same area. Ex: group of alligators, herd of deer

The 5 Levels: #3 Community A community consists of all of the populations of different species that live and interact in an area.

The 5 Levels: #4 Ecosystem An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms and its abiotic environment

The 5 Levels: Level #5 Biosphere The biosphere is the part of Earth where life exists

End of Part 1

ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM How does energy flow in an ecosystem? How does energy flow in an ecosystem? What is an energy pyramid? What is an energy pyramid? What is a trophic level? What is a trophic level?

ENERGY ENTERS ECOSYTEM AAAAll energy in ecosystem comes from the sun FFFFirst law of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed (but it can be transformed into stored energy & heat)

ENERGY LEAVES ECOSYSTEM  Second law of thermodynamics: Energy is lost as energy is transformed  In ecosystem, when energy is transformed, some energy is lost as HEAT

ENERGY PATHS 3 ways to illustrate energy flow 1. Food Chain: Single path 2. Food Web: many paths 3. Food Pyramid

FOOD CHAINS  A food chain shows the path of energy from one organism to the next  energy flows from producers to consumers  arrows point to who is eating (plant is eaten by herbivore)  Usually decomposers are left out

FOOD WEBS A food web shows all feeding relationships in an ecosystem (made of many food chains) A food web shows all feeding relationships in an ecosystem (made of many food chains)

FOOD WEBS  Typically, food webs go like this: PRODUCER CONSUMER (HERBIVORE) CONSUMER (CARNIVORE) CONSUMER (OMNIVORE) DECOMPOSER remember: decomposers receive energy from all other organisms in an ecosystem remember: decomposers receive energy from all other organisms in an ecosystem

FOOD CHAINS AND WEBS Practice! Draw a food chain that includes the following organisms: Practice! Draw a food chain that includes the following organisms: grasshopper grasshopper mouse mouse grass grass owl owl Now label the organisms as producers, consumers (which type?), or decomposers Now label the organisms as producers, consumers (which type?), or decomposers PRODUCER CONSUMER (HERBIVORE) CONSUMER (CARNIVORE)

FOOD CHAINS/WEBS & ENERGY PYRAMIDS  Food chains/webs can be written as a pyramid:  Producers form the base of the pyramid Consumers form the upper layers Consumers form the upper layers

ENERGY PYRAMIDS  A level of the energy pyramid is called a TROPHIC LEVEL  Each trophic level represents the energy for those organisms Top Consumer Energy stored by Secondary Consumers Energy stored by Primary Consumers ENERGY STORED BY PRODUCERS The energy pyramid shows energy flow in an ecosystem:

TROPHIC LEVELS  Energy is lost with each trophic  ~90% is released to the environment as heat  ~10% of the energy is used Only about 10% of the energy from one level is passed on to the next level

QUICK REVIEW  Practice! If 100% of the energy is available at the first trophic level, what percentages of the energy are available at the second and third trophic levels? 100% 10% 1%

QUICK REVIEW! All organisms in an ecosystem need _______ from food to live. An energy ________ shows how much food energy is passed from one ________ to another through food chains. __________ have the largest spot at the base of the pyramid. Altogether, only about _____ of the food energy at each level gets passed up to the next level. All organisms in an ecosystem need _______ from food to live. An energy ________ shows how much food energy is passed from one ________ to another through food chains. __________ have the largest spot at the base of the pyramid. Altogether, only about _____ of the food energy at each level gets passed up to the next level. energy pyramid Producers 10% organism