1. Ecology

2. Ecology Study of organisms and their environment Biosphere:
-portion of earth that supports life
-Bio meaning life; Sphere meaning ball shaped

3. Two major factors
Biotic Factors- living factors in an organism’s environment
Ex. Frogs, fish, algae, tree
Abiotic Factors- Non-living factors in an organism’s environment
Ex. Sunlight, rainfall, temperature, air, soil

4. Ecology Habitat- Area where an organism lives
Ex. A part of a tree, hole in the ground

5. List 3 Biotic Factors, 2 Abiotic Factors, 1 habitat

6. Hierarchy of Life (Recall)
Cells Tissues Organs Organ System Organism

7. Levels of Organization
Organism
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biome
Biosphere

8. Population Group of the SAME species living in a common area.
Ex. Population of Lions or Zebras

9. Community
A group of living things (Biotic) interacting with each other in a common area

10. Ecosystem
A community of living organisms (Biotic) interacting with the non-living factors (Abiotic) in the same environment.

11. Biome
Areas with similar types of communities and same climates, including temperature and precipitation.
9 Major Biomes
-Tundra -Boreal Forest(Taiga)
-Temperate Deciduous -Temperate Woodland
Forest -Temperate Grassland –Desert -Savanna Tropical Seasonal Forest -Tropical Rain Forest

12. Studying the interaction between living things in an ecosystem
[What Ecology is all about]

13. What’s your role?
Niche
- the role or position an organism has in it’s environment
- how an organism meets it’s needs for food, shelter, or reproduction
Producer- Produce their energy
Consumer- Consume others for energy
Decomposer-Decompose (Breakdown) dead/decaying fragments

14. Types of Interaction
Competition- more than one organism uses one resource at one time
Predation- One organism consuming another. Predator/prey relationship
Symbiosis- relationship that exist when two or more species live together

15. Types of Symbiosis (Relationships)
Mutualism- relationship where organisms benefit from each other
Commensalism- relationship where one organism benefits and the other neither benefits or harmed
Parasitism-relationship where one benefits on the expense of the other

16. Mutualism
Acacia Tree and Ant

17. Commensalism
Remora Fish/ Shark

18. Parasitism
Wasp and Caterpillar

19. Discover Streaming
Types of interactions within ecosystems

20. Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem

21. Energy in an ecosystem
Organisms are classified based on how they obtain energy
Autotroph: organism that obtains nutrients from the sunlight or inorganic substances to produce energy
Example: Plants go through Photosynthesis
Sunlight Glucose

22. Heterotroph: organisms that obtain nutrients through consuming other organisms
Example: Animals go through Cellular Respiration
Glucose ATP

23. Types of Heterotrophs Herbivore- eats plants Carnivore- eats meats
Omnivore- eats both meats and plants
Detritivore- eat fragments of dead matter in an ecosystem and return it back to the soil, air, or water as nutrients for other organisms to use

24. Flow of Energy Models 1st Tropic Level are considered the Producers.
Food Web or Food Chains used to illustrate the flow of energy through an ecosystem
Each step in a food web or food chain is a tropic level
1st Tropic Level are considered the Producers.
Why???

25. 2nd tropic level is considered the primary consumer
3rd trophic level is considered the secondary consumer
4th trophic level is considered the tertiary consumer

26. Food Chain
Simple model that shows the flow of energy through an ecosystem

28. Food Web
A model representing the many food chains and pathways in which energy flows through a group of organisms

31. Energy Pyramids

32. Energy Pyramids They tell us 4 things about each trophic level:
The amount of energy
-90% of the original energy is lost through heat energy or processes inside the organism
The niche
-Producers, Primary consumers, etc.
Biomass
-total mass of living matter
Population size

33. Energy Pyramid

35. Create your own energy pyramid
Only 3 levels
Include: Name of organism, niche, amount of energy at the level

37. Is a perfect ecosystem attainable? Can we be balanced in a community?
Population Growth

38. Climax Community
The stable, mature community that results when there is little change in the composition of species
Unlikely to achieve because of:
Limiting Factors
Density independent/dependent Factors
Carrying Capacity
Succession

39. Population Density Number of organisms per unit in an area
Population Growth
Emigration- # of individuals moving AWAY from a population
Immigration- # of individuals moving INTO a population

40. The J-Curve The growth of the population accelerates
There is no limit on the population……..yet
Exponential Growth

41. What stops the Growth of a population/community?

42. Limiting Factors
Any abiotic or biotic factor that restricts the numbers, reproduction, or distribution of organisms
Ex. Sunlight, Climate, Temperature (Abiotic Factors)
Plants, animals (Biotic Factors)

43. Limiting Factors 2 types of limiting factors
a) Density-independent Factors
b) Density-dependent Factors

44. A. (Population) Density-independent Factors
Any factor that does NOT depend on the number of members in a population.
-Ex. Flooding, drought, extreme heat, tornadoes, fire
This will lead to
succession

45. Ecological Succession
The change in an ecosystem occurring when one community replaces another as a result of changing abiotic and biotic factors
2 Types

46. Ecological Succession
Primary Succession- establishment of a community in an area of exposed rock that does not have any topsoil.
Pioneer Species- first organisms that appear when the area beings to establish
-Ex. Lichens, mosses
-Help to create soil by secreting acids that help to break down rocks.

47. Lichens
An important pioneer species in primary succession

48. Secondary Succession- orderly and predictable change that takes place after a community of organism has been removed but the soil has remained intact.
EX. Plowing of a field

49. Primary Succession

50. Secondary Succesion

51. B) Density-Dependent Factors
Any factor that DOES depend on the number of members in a population
-Ex. Predation, disease (High pop. = transmission easily), parasites, and competition (As competition increases, resources such as food or space decreases, or becomes limited)

52. Wolf vs. Moose The growth depends on the others population

53. Carrying Capacity
The maximum number of individuals in a species that an environment can support for the long term.

54. The S-Curve
Rate of population growth begins to slow down because you are reaching carrying capacity.
Logistic Growth

55. Carrying Capacity Graphs
What is the carrying capacity?

56. Carrying Capacity
What is the carrying capacity?

57. Carrying Capacity
What is the carrying capacity?

58. 3-2-1
3 Limiting factors (Abiotic or biotic) 2 Types of Succession 1 Pioneer Species Pg 62-64

59. 4 Main Cycles

60. Water Cycle Evaporation-90% of water vapor
evaporates from oceans, lakes and
rivers
Transpiration-10% of water is
Evaporated from the surface of
Plants.
Condensation- changing water vapor into a liquid form
Precipitation- Rain

61. The Water Cycle

62. The Carbon and Oxygen Cycle
Carbon released in three ways:
Combustion and burning of fossil fuels
Decay and decomposition of organisms
Respiration
Carbon taken out of air through:
1)Photosynthesis

63. The Carbon and Oxygen Cycle

64. Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Fixation- Process of capture and conversion of nitrogen into a form that is useable by plants
Denitrification- Soil bacteria convert fixed nitrogen compounds back into nitrogen gas, which make it useable by plants

65. Nitrogen Cycle

66. Phosphorus Cycle Two cycles:
Short term-Cycled from soil to producer to consumer to decomposer to soil
Long term-weathering or erosion of rocks add phosphorus back into the environment
-Through precipitation and sedimentation, rocks are formed through this process.

67. Phosphorus Cycle