1. Keystone Ecology Everything you really, really need to know about…

2. Ecology Ecology is the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment. It is a major part of Biology, it overlaps with geography, geology, climatology and other sciences. Ecology focuses on ecosystems and their organisms. Ecosystem: A system composed of organisms and nonliving components of an environment. Environment: The total surroundings of an organism or a group of organisms.

3. BIO.B.4.1.1 Describe the levels of ecological organization (i.e., organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, and biosphere). Organism- individual living things Population- a group of organisms of the same species that live in an area Community- the various populations of organisms that live in an area Ecosystem—collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with the non-living environment Biosphere- the regions of the surface and atmosphere of Earth where living organisms exist

5. BIO.B.4.1.2 Describe characteristic biotic and abiotic components of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Abiotic and biotic factors The environment includes two types of factors: Abiotic factors – the non-living aspects of the environment. They include factors like sunlight, soil, temperature, and water Biotic factors- the living aspects of the environment. They consist of other organisms including members of the same and different species. An ecosystem consists of all the biotic and abiotic factors in an area and their interactions. Habitat: An area that provides an organism with its basic needs for survival.

7. Aquatic vs Terrestrial Ecosystems Aquatic ecosystems: Organisms and their environment in a body of water; can be marine or freshwater Examples: ponds, lakes, marshes, swamps, rivers, streams, estuaries, bays, oceans Abiotic: water depth, sunlight, substrate, oxygen, temperature, nutrient availability Biotic: algae, plankton, under water plants, insect larvae and nymphs, fish, Terrestrial ecosystem: A community of organisms and their environment that occurs on the land masses of continents and islands Examples: Many exist but major types include tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland and desert Abiotic: wind, temperature, rainfall, ground water, humidity, amount of sunlight, soil composition, intensity of daylight Biotic: bacteria, fungi, flowering plants, trees, invertebrates and vertebrates

8. Biome - A large area or geographical region with distinct plant of animal groups adapted to that environment. Each of the major land biomes has a characteristic type of soil, which is determined by several factors, including temperature, precipitation, and type of vegetation. Climate (temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, and other meteorological measurements in a given region over long periods of time) help determine the nature of a Biome.

9. BIO.B.4.2.1 Describe how energy flows through an ecosystem (e.g., food chains, food webs, energy pyramids). To survive, ecosystems need a constant influx of energy. Organisms get the energy they need in two different ways: Producer - An organism that uses a primary energy source (i.e. the sun) to conduct photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.They produce food for themselves and other organisms. Also known as autotrophs. Consumer - An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms or their remains. Also known as heterotrophs. Decomposers- A type of consumer that obtains nutrients by consuming dead and decaying organic matter which allows nutrients to be accessible to other organisms.

10. Food Chain: A single pathway by which energy and matter flow through an ecosystem.

11. Food Web: A complex arrangement of interrelated food chains illustrating the flow of energy between interdependent organisms.

12. Biological magnification (Biomagnification): process by which pollutants become more concentrated in successive trophic levels of a food chain or food web Not a keystone term

13. Energy Pyramid- represents the energy that is passed up a food chain or web from lower to higher trophic levels. Trophic levels are feeding positions in a food chain or web. Only about 10% of energy available at one level is available to the next level. Why? Because it is used for metabolic processes or given off to the environment as heat.

14. BIO.B.4.2.2 Describe biotic interactions in an ecosystem (e.g., competition, predation, symbiosis).

15. Competition and Predation Competition: When individuals or groups of organisms compete for similar resources such as territory, mates, water, and food in the same environment. Predation: Interaction in which one organisms (predator) captures and feeds on another (prey)

16. BIO.B.4.2.3 Describe how matter recycles through an ecosystem (i.e., water cycle, carbon cycle, oxygen cycle, and nitrogen cycle). Biogeochemical Cycles- The movement of abiotic factors between the living and nonliving components within ecosystems; also known as nutrient cycles (i.e., water cycle, oxygen cycle, and nitrogen cycle).

17. Water Cycle

18. Carbon Cycle

19. Nitrogen Cycle

20. BIO.B.4.2.4 Describe how ecosystems change in response to natural and human disturbances (e.g., climate changes, introduction of nonnative species, pollution, fires). Succession - A series of predictable and orderly changes within an ecosystem over time.

21. How do human activities affect the environment? Introduction of nonnative species Nonnative Species: A species normally living outside a distribution range that has been introduced through either deliberate or accidental human activity; also can be known as introduced, invasive, alien, nonindigenous, or exotic. Endemic Species: A species that is found in its originating location and is generally restricted to that geographic area. Extinction: A term that typically describes a species that no longer has any known living individuals.

22. Examples of Nonnative Species Asian Carp - are a fast-growing fish that out-compete native fish for food and habitat Dutch Elm Disease - transmitted to trees by elm bark beetles. Since 1930, the disease has spread from Ohio through most of the country, killing over half of the elm trees in the northern U.S including elm at PSU Gypsy Moth - brought to the US in 1868 and is a serious defoliator of trees and shrubs in North America

23. How do human activities affect the environment? Climate change - human activities are increasing the amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere which is increasing global temperatures

24. BIO.B.4.2.5 Describe the effects of limiting factors on population dynamics and potential species extinction. Population Dynamics: The study of short-and long-term changes in the number of individuals for a given population, as affected by birth, death, immigration, and emigration.

25. In the presence of unlimited resources and in the absence of predation and disease, populations will grow exponentially. Many natural populations show the an S-shaped curve. As resources become limited, population growth slows or stops, leveling off at the carrying capacity.

26. Limiting Factor: Chemical or physical factor that limits the existence, growth, abundance, or distribution of an individual organism or a population.

27. Carrying Capacity: The number of individuals in a population that can be supported in an ecosystem given the resources available and other environmental pressures.

28. Predator/prey relationships