ECOLOGY.

ECOLOGY

What is Ecology? The study of the interactions between living organisms (plants and animals) and their environment

ECOLOGY INDIVIDUAL POPULATION COMMUNITY ECOSYSTEM BIOME BIOSPHERE

Individual A plant or an animal belonging to a specific species
Ex: 1 zebra

Population A group of individuals from the same species living in a specific area or region Members of a population usually interbreed with one another Ex: A herd of zebras

Community A group of populations that interact with each other and their environment Ex: Zebras, lions, antelope, elephants, trees, grass, etc.

Ecosystem One or more communities that interact with each other.
Also includes non-living physical features that support life, including rocks, water, air and sunlight Ex: all the grassland communities of Africa

What does an ecosystem need to sustain itself?
Light (from Sun) Plants (photosynthesis) The cycling of materials (such as carbon and nitrogen) between living things and their environment

Biome An area or region of the world that has a particular climate and specific types of plants and animals. For example, all deserts form one biome. All tropical rain forests form another

Biosphere The area on Earth between the highest mountains and deepest oceans where life can exist. It is made up of all the different biomes

Man-made Biosphere

Habitat: A place where a species lives

Terrestrial (dry land) Aquatic (wet)
BIOMES Terrestrial (dry land) Aquatic (wet)

Terrestrial Biomes

Aquatic Ocean (saltwater) Freshwater Lake River Stream Pond Terrestrial Tundra Taiga Coniferous Forest **Deciduous Forest Tropical Rain Forest Grasslands Savannah Desert

Earth’s Biomes

Tundra Frozen land Very cold temperatures Northern latitudes, Alaska
No trees Lichens, mosses, short grasses Caribou, snowy owls, polar bears, arctic fox

Tundra

TUNDRA

Deciduous Forest Animals

Deciduous Forest Oak Beech Fern Mushrooms

Where are the Rainforests?

Bengal Tiger Africa Forest Elephant

Slender Loris Orangutan

Venezuela Amazon Rainforest

Grasslands

Bobcat Coyote Bald Eagle

Prairie Dog Badger

Savannahs

Deserts

Gila Monster Kangaroo Rat Thorny Devil Desert Tortoise

Bobcat Cactus Ren Coyote Desert Bighorn Sheep

Aquatic Biomes

King Crab

Freshwater Biomes

Freshwater Biome Includes lakes, ponds, rivers

Anaconda

Piranha

Otters

Pufferfish

Abiotic Factors

Abiotic Factors Abiotic components are the nonliving parts of the biosphere. Water, soil (rocks), temperature, light, gases, weather, etc. are considered non-living

Abiotic factors that characterize a forest ecosystem include
(1) light and biodiversity (2) temperature and amount of available water (3) types of producers and decomposers (4) pH and number of heterotrophs

How do these Abiotic Factors affect ecosystems?

1. Water: Water must generally be plentiful and in useable form (not ice) Adaptations to varying amounts of water: Needles as leaves in the desert Seasonal dropping of leaves to conserve water loss Extensive root systems with root hairs to “grab” as much water as possible

Desert Adaptations

Desert Adaptations: Instead of broad leaves, desert plants have needles to help conserve water

Seasonal Adaptations

Seasonal Adaptations:
As temperatures drop and the amount of daylight decreases, plants lose the green pigment in their leaves to help conserve water loss

Why do leaves change color in the fall?
Firstly, the days get shorter. This causes the chlorophyll that keeps the leaves green to decrease, thus giving them their natural color. Because of the chemical reactions, the leaves are at their brightest when there are dry, sunny days followed by dry, cool nights. As the days get shorter, what the trees are actually doing is just storing their reserves so they will be able to survive through the winter.

Root Adaptations

Root adaptations: Plants with extensive root systems will soak up more water from the soil, thereby helping them grow

Root Types Prop Roots Primary Root Fibrous Roots

Let's look at other abiotic factors

2. Soil: Formed by the slow decay of organic matter
Has a specific pH which affects plant growth

Temperature

3: Temperature: Temperature affects organisms in different ways
Ex: Animals that live in very cold environments have layers of fat and/or blubber to help stay warm In the summer time, house pets shed their fur to help keep cool

Alaskan Dogs

Whale Blubber

Animals shed some of their fur when the temperature warms up

Shells are for protection and warmth

Burrowing Frog

Burrowing owl at sunset

4: Light: Light from the Sun is the main source of energy for living things Plants need light to undergo photosynthesis

5: Gases Carbon dioxide and Oxygen are the 2 main gases most needed by living things Ex 1: fish will die when bacteria in a polluted lake use up all of the oxygen Ex 2: Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis

Pollution, heavy in organic matter, enters lake
Healthy lake Pollution, heavy in organic matter, enters lake

Microbes decade organic matter and use up dissolved oxygen
No more dissolved oxygen and fish die 

Biotic Factors

Biotic Factors The living organisms in a habitat

What are some characteristics of living things?
Composed of one or more cells Use energy (to grow and develop) Possess definite form and limited size Have a limited life span Grow Respond to changes in the environment Reproduce Groups of living things evolve over time

Living, Nonliving, OR Dead...

Living, Nonliving, or Dead?

Autotrophs Heterotrophs Decomposers
Biotic Organisms: Autotrophs Heterotrophs Decomposers

Autotrophs

Autotrophs: Also known as producers Can make their own food Ex: Plants

Heterotrophs

Heterotrophs: A.k.a. - Consumers Cannot make their own food Ex: people

Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores
Heterotrophs Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores

Herbivores: Eat mostly plant materials
Teeth are generally wide and flat Ex: Cows, horses, rabbits, panda bears, etc.

Herbivore Teeth

Herbivores

Carnivores: Eat mostly meat (other animals)
Large, powerful jaws with sharp teeth for ripping meat Ex: Lions, tigers, etc.

Carnivore - Wolf

Bird Carnivores Meat-eating birds like hawks and owls have keen eyesight that makes it easier for them to spot prey. They have sharp talons to catch prey and curved beaks to tear up meat. All of these adaptations help carnivores catch their prey.

Omnivores: Eat BOTH plants and animals
Ex: Bears, humans, raccoons, etc.

Pigs - Omnivores

Decomposers

Decomposers: Nature’s clean-up squad Feed on dead or decaying matter
They break down the matter into minerals that enrich the soil and serve as food for new plants Ex: maggots, fungus, worms, bacteria

Maggot-covered Sea Lion

Scavengers Eat dead animals or plants
Ex: Flies, maggots, vultures, hyena, gulls, pigeons, crows, bald eagle

Hyenas and Vultures

The chart below contains both autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms.
Organisms that carry out only heterotrophic nutrition are found in: (1) row A, only (3) rows A and B (2) row B, only (4) rows A and C

A stable pond ecosystem would not contain
(1) materials being cycled (2) oxygen (3) decomposers (4) more consumers than producers

How Species Interact with Each other

Predators

What is Predation? When one species kills and eats another to obtain the energy and nutrients it needs

Who is the Predator? The one that kills and eats the other
Plant predators: Venus Flytrap, Animal predators: Cats, dogs, bears, hawks, spiders, etc.

Who is the Prey? The one that is eaten
There must always be more prey than predators

Predator/Prey Relationships
As prey increase, predators ____________ As predators increase, prey begin to _______________ As prey decrease, predators have no food so they ___________________ Without predators, the prey population can ________________ once again increase decrease decrease increase

Thompson’s Gazelle – Small lion prey

In this snowy environment, the polar bear is white to avoid being noticed as it approaches the seal, and the seal pup is white to avoid being noticed by the bear.

Predator-Prey Relationship
The fastest lions are able to catch food and eat, so they survive and reproduce, and gradually, faster lions make up more and more of the population. The fastest zebras are able to escape the lions, so they survive and reproduce, and gradually, faster zebras make up more and more of the population. An important thing to realize is that as both organisms become faster to adapt to their environments, their relationship remains the same: because they are both getting faster, neither gets faster in relation to the other. This is true in all predator-prey relationships.

What is the most probable reason for the increasing predator population from day 5 to day 7?
(1) an increasing food supply from day 5 to day 6 (2) a predator population equal in size to the prey population from day 5 to day 6 (3) the decreasing prey population from day 1 to day 2 (4) the extinction of the yeast on day 3

What is a Niche? All organisms have their own niche in an ecosystem.
This is their role in the ecosystem and is usually determined by what the organism eats. If two organisms try to fill the same niche, competition usually results.

Competition A relationship between species in which they attempt to use the same limited resource (same food, water, shelter, etc.) Ex: a lion, hyena and vulture competing over the same carcass Different bird species competing over the same nesting areas The better-adapted organism will often compete better for food and will survive “Survival of the Fittest”

Population – Limiting Factors
Limiting factors – are influences on a population that keeps the populations level in check. It keeps a species population from increasing too high.

Limiting Factors Space Water Food Finding a mate

Carrying Capacity The largest number of individuals of a population that a given environment can support. How many individuals can Nyack support?

CARRYING CAPACITY

The section of the graph labeled A represents
The graph below indicates the size of a fish population over a period of time. The section of the graph labeled A represents (1) biodiversity within the species (2) nutritional relationships of the species (3) a population becoming extinct (4) a population at equilibrium

II- The birth rate exceeds the death rate; increase in population

Review Questions

1: Producer or Consumer?

2. Producer or Consumer?

3. Producer or Consumer?

Energy Flow

Food Chains

Food Chain: Feeding relationships in which a series of organisms pass food energy to each other

Food Chain: Sunlight is essential for most food chains
Plants use the Sun’s energy to make their own food – starch – which they store in their leaves Herbivores eat the plants (rabbits) Carnivores or omnivores eat herbivores They, in turn, are eaten by other carnivores

Food Chains and Webs Food Chains and Food Webs show the path of energy flow through an ecosystem. Please draw the following diagrams: Producer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer Grass Grasshopper Mouse Hawk

Humans are just another link on the food chain!

Producers Consumers Energy Flow: Decomposers Most Energy Least amount
of energy Decomposers Consumers Most Energy Producers

Pyramid of Biomass The most amount of energy available in an ecosystem is a the bottom of a trophic pyramid. WRITE THIS IN YOUR PACKET: As energy is transferred to a higher trophic level energy is lost as HEAT. PRODUCERS = MOST AVAILABLE ENERGY 30 CONSUMERS = LEAST AVAILABLE ENERGY

Energy Flow

Energy Pyramid: Producers (autotrophs): make their own food and possess the greatest amount of energy (leaves, grasses, algae) Primary (1st) Consumers: eat the leaves, grasses, algae, etc. Ex: grasshoppers, crickets Secondary (2nd) Consumers: eat the primary consumers. Ex: frogs Tertiary (3rd) Consumers: eat the secondary consumers. Ex: snakes, hawks, owls, lions Decomposers: break down dead animals and plants (possess the least amount of energy)

Food Web: Interconnected food chains

Food Webs: In order to meet their energy requirements, most animals are a part of more than one food chain. Not many animals feed on only one kind of food The risk of becoming overly dependent would be too great. These interconnected food chains form a food web Food webs are more accurate than food chains in representing what actually goes on in nature

Which condition would most likely upset the stability
of an ecosystem? (1) a cycling of elements between organisms and the environment (2) energy constantly entering the environment (3) green plants incorporating sunlight into organic compounds (4) a greater mass of animals than plants

Organism Relationships

Mutualism Commensalism & Parasitism

Mutualism Relationship in which both organisms benefit
Ex: Rhino and tick bird (oxpecker) Ex: Bacteria living in guts of animals Ex: Flowers and bees

Zebra and Oxpecker Oxpeckers land on rhinos or zebras and eat ticks and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and the beasts get pest control. Also, when there is danger, the oxpeckers fly upward and scream a warning, which helps the symbiont (a name for the other partner in a relationship).

Bacteria in your Guts There are good bacteria that live in the human digestive tract The bacteria help break down food They get food and a nice place to live, and we get aid in digestion!

Flowers and Bees Bees fly from flower to flower gathering nectar, which they make into food, benefiting the bees. When they land on a flower, the bees get some pollen on their hairy bodies, and when they land in the next flower, some of the pollen from the first one rubs off, pollinating the plant. This benefits the plants. In this symbiotic relationship, the bees get to eat, and the flowering plants get to reproduce.

Commensalism When one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped Ex: shark and remora fish (fish get free food, protection and ride) Barnacles and whale Orchid atop palm trees (flower closer to sun) Eyebrow mites and people! (mites get free food, we don’t even know they are there!)

Commensalism continued…
Shark and Remora Fish – The remora attaches itself to the shark and feeds on scraps from the shark.

Barnacles live on Gray Whales

Parasitism Parasites are small animals that live off larger “host” animals Parasite benefits, host is harmed Parasites must be careful though. If they sap too much energy from a host, they too will die Ex: leech, ticks, tapeworm, malaria

Hookworms feed off your intestines!

Parasitism continued…
Severe Athlete’s Foot – Caused by a fungus called tinea pedis, also known as ringworm. Note to Self… Wear flip flops when I shower in public restrooms!

Ringworm on child’s face, scalp, and ear

Tapeworm

Guinea Worm is a terrible parasitic disease that affects millions in Central Africa. The disease is transmitted by drinking water contaminated with larvae. The UN is in the final stages of eradicating this disease. This is a history making attempt as NO other parasitic disease is as close to being eradicated as this disease.

Material Cycles

The Water Cycle

The Water Cycle Water falls from clouds in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail It runs into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Some of it seeps into the ground and becomes part of underground water pools, called aquifers The Sun’s heat causes water to evaporate. It rises through the air as water vapor Plants soak up water from the ground. Some of this water evaporates through the plant’s leaves Water vapor in the air cools and condenses into droplets of liquid water, which form clouds Cycle repeats itself over, and over, and over…

Water Cycle

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon Cycle The air contains several gases, including carbon dioxide
Plants take in CO2 Animals eat plants, and carbon becomes a part of their bodies Animals exhale CO2. Rotting plants and animal carcasses also release CO2 into the air The burning of wood and fossil fuels, like oil and coal, also releases large amounts of CO2 into the air Cycle repeats itself

The Oxygen Cycle

The Oxygen Cycle Plants release oxygen to the air as the byproducts of photosynthesis Animals breathe in oxygen from the air and release CO2 for plants to use for photosynthesis Cycle repeats itself

The Oxygen Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle Organic wastes (from plants and animals) add nitrogen to the soil. Bacteria in the soil convert the nitrogen into forms plants can use. Plants use nitrogen in the soil to grow, develop, and produce seeds. Plants are eaten by animals and people. The organic waste (which contains nitrogen) is returned to the soil again. Cycle repeats itself

Nitrogen Cycle

Why cow farts are bad…

Ecological Succession

Ecological Succession
A series of changes in a community as it gets older Community – all the plants and animals that live in a certain area Usually, smaller less competitive plants get replaced by larger, more competitive plants

Ecological Succession

Primary Successions

Primary Succession Succession that occurs on an area that never had life on it before. There is NO soil, just bare rock Therefore, soil must develop before plants can live there.

Pioneer Organisms: Pioneer plants are the 1st plants that live in an area after a disturbance to the environment. Their seeds are carried to the area in several ways: By wind By water Accidentally in the guano (bird feces) Stuck to the feathers or fur of animals

During Primary Succession:
The first plants (pioneer organisms) to live on bare rock include bacteria, blue-green algae, and lichens. Lichens are common pioneer plants on rock. Lichens are a fungus which provide a home on the rock and absorb minerals and water from the rock. Blue-green algae live inside the fungus and make food via photosynthesis.

Lichens

Lichens Lichens help break down rock by releasing carbon dioxide which makes an acid when mixed with water. This acid dissolves rock particles, and breaks big rocks down into sand. The wind then blows the sand grains into cracks where it collects. As pieces of lichen die, they are blown into the cracks too, mixed with sand, and these then make soil which larger plants may live in.

Secondary Succession

Secondary Succession:
Secondary Succession is when a community of plants already exist, but then changed after some kind of disturbance to the environment. Some natural disturbances include forest fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides Some human caused disturbances are farming, logging, road building, and home or building construction.

Secondary Succession The key factor in secondary succession is that the soil already exists, so that succession can quickly resume and rebuild the area with plants and animals. The pioneer plants after disturbances during secondary succession include mosses, grasses, and weeds.

Succession after the retreat of a glacier

Climax Community

Climax Community: The last or final stage of succession in a community
Sometimes called “Old Growth”

Climax Forest

Review of Successions

Stages of Succession

In December 2004, a tsunami (giant wave) destroyed many of the marine organisms along the coast of the Indian Ocean. What can be expected to happen to the ecosystem that was most severely hit by the tsunami? (1) The ecosystem will change until a new stable community is established. (2) Succession will continue in the ecosystem until one species of marine organism is established. (3) Ecological succession will no longer occur in this marine ecosystem. (4) The organisms in the ecosystem will become extinct.

Which concept is represented in the graph below?
(1) ecological succession in a community (2) cycling of carbon and nitrogen in a forest (3) energy flow in a food chain over time (4) negative human impact on the environment

The End

ECOLOGY.

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