1. THE BIOSPHERE Ch. 3 p.62-83

2. What is Ecology?
Study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environment.
Ernst Haeckel – coined term Ecology in 1866
Greek word “oikos” means house
Natures “houses”come in many sizes

3. Levels of Organization
Ecologist study organisms ranging from the various levels of organization:
Species
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biome
Biosphere

4. Species
Group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring
Organism

5. Population
group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same area.
Population

6. Community an assemblage of different populations that live together

7. Ecosystem
Collection of organisms that live in a place with the nonliving environment
Ecosystem

8. Biome Group of ecosystems with the same climate and dominant commuties
Tropical rain forest
Tropical dry forest
Tropical savanna
Temperate woodland
and shrubland
Desert
Temperate grassland
Boreal forest
(Taiga)
Northwestern
coniferous forest
Temperate forest
Mountains and
ice caps
Tundra
Ecosystem

9. Ecosystem
Biosphere
The part of the earth where life exists including land, water, air, and atmosphere

10. Three Ecological Methods of Study
Observing
What species live here?
How many individuals of species are there?
Experimenting
Used to test a hypothesis
Ex - making artificial environments in the lab
Modeling
Making models to gain insight into complex phenomena
Ex. - Global warming

11. Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs
Autotrophs – make their own food so they are called PRODUCERS
Heterotrophs – get their food from another source so they are called CONSUMERS

12. Two Main forms of Energy for Autotrophs
Sunlight
The main source of energy for life on earth
Photosynthesis
Chemical
Some organisms such as bacteria, rely on the energy stored in inorganic compounds
Chemosynthesis

13. Detritivores and Decomposers Feeds on plant and animal remains
Types of Consumers
Omnivores
Eat plants and meat
Herbivores- only eat plants
Carnivores - only eat meat
Detritivores and Decomposers
Feeds on plant and animal remains

14. How does Energy flow through an Ecosystem?
Energy flows through an ecosystem in ONE direction,
sun or chemicals
Autotrophs
heterotrophs

15. Energy Flow in Ecosystems:

16. Feeding Relationships
Food Chain – steps of organisms transferring energy by eating & being eaten
Food Web – network of all the food chains in an ecosystem

17. Food Web

18. Ecological Pyramids
Trophic Level – each step in a food chain or food web
Biomass Pyramid
Energy Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers

19. Pyramid of Numbers -relative number of individuals at each trophic level

20. Pyramid of Biomass - amount of potential food available for each trophic level

21. Pyramid of Energy - amount of energy available at each trophic level
Only 10% of the energy from each trophic level is passed on to the next level
Most of the energy is used by the organisms for life processes
Some of the energy is lost as heat

22. How does Matter move through an ecosystem?
Unlike the one way flow of energy, matter is recycled within & between ecosystems
Nutrients are passed between
organisms & the environment through biogeochemical cycles
Biogeochemical Cycles:
Bio –life
Geo – Earth
Chemo – chemical
WATER CYCLE
NUTRIENT CYCLES:
CARBON CYCLE
NITROGEN CYCLE
PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

23. Why are nutrients important ?
Every living organism needs nutrients to build tissues and carry out essential life functions.
95% of your body is made of…
OXYGEN
CARBON
HYDROGEN
NITROGEN

24. Availibility of nutrients
If a nutrient is in short supply, it will limit an organisms growth. It is called a limiting nutrient
When a limiting nutrient is dumped into a lake or pond, an algal bloom occurs and can disrupt the ecosystem

25. THE WATER CYCLE

26. CARBON CYCLE (see fig.3-13)
4 PROCESSES MOVE CARBON THROUGH ITS CYCLE:
Biological
Geochemical
Mixed biochemical
Human Activity
CO2
CO2

27. NITROGEN CYCLE (see fig.3-14)
in Atmosphere
Nitrogen-containing nutrients in the biosphere include:
Ammonia (NH3)
Nitrate (NO3-)
Nitrite (NO2-)
ORGANISMS NEED NITROGEN TO MAKE AMINO ACIDS FOR BUILDING PROTEINS!!!
N03- &
N02-
NH3

28. PHOSPHORUS CYCLE (see fig.3-15)
PHOSPHORUS FORMS PART OF IMPORTANT LIFE-SUSTAINING MOLECULES (ex. DNA & RNA)