1. The study of the interaction between organisms and their environment
ECOLOGY
The study of the interaction between organisms and their environment
Magnet Biology- Ch 46-49

2. Ch 36-Ecological levels of organization
Section 3-1
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3. Ecosystem Structure
Biosphere – part of the Earth in which life exists including land, water, air and atmosphere
Ecosystem – different communities and their non-living environment
Community – different populations living in the same area
Population – many members of 1 species living in the same area
Species – group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring
Organism – 1 member of a species

4. Species, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biosphere?

5. Species, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biosphere?

6. Species, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biosphere?

7. Biomes
Each set of Biomes is defined by a unique set of abiotic factors-particularly climate-and has a characteristic ecological community.

8. Biomes of the Earth Figure 4-17 The World’s Major Land Biomes
Section 4-3
Tropical rain forest
Temperate grassland
Temperate forest
Tundra
Tropical dry forest
Desert
Northwestern
coniferous forest
Mountains and
ice caps
Tropical savanna
Temperate woodland
and shrubland
Boreal forest
(Taiga)
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10. Ten Major Biomes Biome Precipitation Temperature Soil Diversity Trees
Grasses
Tropical Rain Forest
high
hot
poor
dense
Sparse
** tropical RF are the most diverse of all biomes
Tropical Dry Forest
variable
mild
rich
moderate
medium
Tropical Savanna
clay
sparse
Desert
low
Temperate Grassland
summer hot
absent
Shrubland (chaparral)
summer low, winter moderate
Compare/Contrast Table
Section 4-3
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11. Temperate deciduous Forest
moderate
summer moderate, winter cold
rich
high
dense
sparse
Coniferous Forest (Boreal)includes taiga
summer mild, winter cold
rocky, acidic
low
Tundra
Summer mild, winter cold
poor
absent
Medium
**know-permafrost
**biome classifications usually don’t include icecaps

12. Marine Ecosystems Figure 4-17 Zones of a Marine Ecosystem land
Section 4-4
land
Photic zone
200m
Coastal
ocean
1000m
Open
ocean
4000m
Aphotic zone
6000m
Ocean
trench
10,000m
Continental
shelf
Continental slope and
continental rise
Abyssal
plain
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13. Aquatic Ecosystems Freshwater: Estuaries Marine: flowing standing
wetlands
Estuaries
where fresh water merges with salt water.
Very diverse
Marine:
Intertidal;
Pelagic (photic and aphotic)
Benthic (area along ocean floor)

14. Adaptations and Behavior
Animals, plants, and all living things adapt to their environment by evolving unique behaviors and physical characteristics to better survive and reproduce.

15. Instinctive Behavior vs. Learned
Instincts: innate behaviors, usually very complex
Learned Behaviors:
Ex: imprinting

16. Territorial Behavior
One animal defending its space against another animal

17. Migration: instinctive seasonal movement of a species

18. Hibernation and Estivation
Hibernation: species becoming dormant in winter months
Estivation: dormancy during hot or dry period

19. Types of Camoflauge

20. Cryptic Coloration: animal is the same color as the environment

21. Disruptive Color-shading
Two-toned coloration.
Confuses predators because it makes it hard to distinguish organisms in a crowd.

22. Counter-shading
The animal is two-toned, light on bottom and dark on top.
Common in marine species

23. Chemical Defenses
Poisons
Venom
Toxins
Ink (aquatic)

24. Mechanical Defenses
Teeth
Claws
Stingers
Etc.

25. Plants adapt to their environment
Thorns
To stop animals from eating them
Thick stems and leaves
To hold water
Shape
Hold water, attract insects
Smell
Attract and Deter
Bright Colors
Creative Seeds
To be carried by animals, water or wind

26. Sweet Gum Tree – Seed Pods
Spiny seed pods protect seeds from predators

27. Maple Trees – helicopter seeds aid in dispersal

28. Dandelions: seed dispersal

29. Pitcher Plant: carnivorous due to poor soil nutrients

30. Cactus: spines help cool and conserve water

31. Succulent: waxy coat helps preserve water

32. Fragrant and brightly-colored flowers attract pollinators

33. Factors in Ecosystems
Ecosystems are influenced by biological and physical factors.
Biotic Factors (Biological)
Living organisms that influence an ecosystem
Ex Predator and Prey
Abiotic Factors (Physical)
Non-living factors that influence an ecosystem
Ex Soil, Water, Temperature, Sunlight

34. What is an ecosystem composed of? Living & Non-Living Together
Mountain, clouds, water & rocks
Non-Living ONLY
Abiotic Factors
Biotic Factors
Living ONLY
Trees, bird, grass, rabbit, & moose
ECOSYSTEM
Living & Non-Living Together

35. Roles in Ecosystems
Niche – an organisms role in its ecosystem - full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions
If an organism dies, another organism will take over its niche
Examples: Predator, prey, consumer, producer, decomposer
Your niche right now is being a student
Habitat – the environment in which an organism lives
Your habitat is your house

36. Niche Examples

37. Relationships - SYMBIOSIS
Symbiosis – organisms that live together
3 types
Mutualism – both organisms benefit
Ex bee and flower
Commensalism – one organism benefits and the other is not hurt
Ex bird nest in a tree
Parasitism – one organism benefits and the other is harmed
Mistletoe growing on a tree

38. Mistletoe

39. Parasite Example Cuckoo Egg!
The cuckoo lays eggs in other species of bird’s nests. It hatches first and pushes out the other bird’s eggs. Then the mother bird raises the cuckoo rather than her own babies!

40. Community Interactions
Competition
Predation
Symbiotic relationships
Mutualism-ex-Lichens
Commensalism-ex-lichens and a tree
Parasitism-ex-mosquitos and us!

41. Flow of energy in ecosystem
Words to know: autotrophs, heterotrophs,
herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, detrivore
Energy flow: food chains, food webs
Ecological pyramids (Only 10 % of available energy moves up the pyramid)

42. Energy Pyramid

43. Biomass Pyramid Represents the amount of living organic matter at each
trophic level.
Typically, the greatest biomass is at the base of the pyramid.

44. What determines the different types of biomes?
Latitude – distance of any point on the surface of the Earth north or south from the Equator
Impacts weather and climate

45. Climate vs. Weather
Climate – average weather conditions in an area including temperature and precipitation
Weather – condition of the atmosphere at a specific place and time
We listen to the weather report everyday on the news

46. Why we have different seasons and different biomes

47. Global Cycles Water -evaporation, transpiration, precipitation
Carbon -photosynthesis and respiration
Nitrogen -relies on bacteria
Phosphorus -weathering of rock

48. Water cycle The Water Cycle Section 3-3 Go to Section: Condensation
Precipitation
Transpiration
Evaporation
Runoff
Seepage
Root
Uptake
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49. Carbon Cycle
Depends on two main processes-Photosynthesis and Respiration
Remember the equations for both!

50. Figure 3-13 The Carbon Cycle
Section 3-3
CO2 in
Atmosphere
CO2 in Ocean
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51. Nitrogen cycle Most nitrogen is in the atmosphere
Organisms can only use nitrogen in the form of ammonium or nitrate
Bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonium or nitrates, which is absorbed by plants
There are other bacteria that can convert these molecules back to atmospheric nitrogen

52. Figure 3-14 The Nitrogen Cycle
Section 3-3
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53. Phosphorous is found mostly in sedimentary rocks, which are weathered into soil.
Phosphorous is important to all living things
(phosphates in ATP and in DNA)

54. Phosphorus Cycle Depends heavily on the weathering of rock
Plants absorb dissolved phosphate ions from the soil
Also, decomposers can return phosphates back to soil
Because weathering is a slow process, phosphorus is often a limiting nutrient to plant growth

55. Population ecology Concept Map Population Growth Logistic Exponential
Section 5-1
Population
Growth
can be
Exponential
growth
Logistic
characterized by
represented by
characterized by
represented by
Falling
growth rate
S-shaped
curve
Limits on
growth
No limits on
J-shaped
Constant
Unlimited
resources
which cause a
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56. Ch 3-Communities and Biomes
Community- group of interacting organisms that occupy the same area at the same time
Limiting factor- any abiotic or biotic factor that restricts the numbers, reproduction or distribution of organisms (ex-sunlight, water, temp, nutrients, space, etc). All organisms have a range of tolerance

57. Figure 5-4 Logistic Growth of Yeast Population
Carrying Capacity
Section 5-1
the number of living organisms that a region can support without environmental degradation.
Logistic growth curve
Carrying capacity
Number of Yeast Cells
Time (hours)

58. Human Population Growth & historical events – exponential growth curve
Industrial
Revolution
begins
Agriculture
begins
Bubonic
plague
Plowing
and
irrigation

59. Limits to Growth A. Population Limiting Factors
Section Outline
Limits to Growth
Section 5-2
A. Population Limiting Factors
1. Density-Dependent Factors
a. Competition
b. Predation
Parasitism and Disease
Essentially anything “biotic”
2. Density-Independent Factors:
a. abiotic- weather and climate, natural disasters (bottlenecks), human activities (CFC’s, Burning fossil fuels, etc).
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60. Group Discussion
What are some specific factors that have resulted in the growth of the human population?
What is biodiversity?
How have humans threatened biodiversity? Give some specific examples
Renewable vs non-renewable resources?

61. Ecological Succession
Ecological Succession = how an environment responds to a disturbance
Pioneer species – 1st organisms to move into an area
Community continues to grow until limiting factors, environ. change , or natural disasters
Climax community - stable, mature; not much change occurring
2 Types:
Primary
Secondary

62. Primary Succession
a. Creates new colonies of organisms in new areas where no soil exists
(EX: islands formed by volcanoes)
b. takes a long time b/c soil(break down of rocks)

63. Secondary Succession
a. Changes that occur to a community after a natural disaster or environmental destruction b. "Old" species die and new species may move in c. This one doesn’t take as long as primary because the soil is already established.

64. Causes of Ecological Problems
Acid Precipitation
Results from the presence of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides in the air
Come from the burning of fossil fuels
Greenhouse Effect
Due to a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane
Carbon dioxide released from the combustion of fossil fuel

65. More causes Ozone depletion Biological magnification
Due to CFC’s used as refrigerants and propellants
CFC’s turn ozone into oxygen gas
Biological magnification
Because of pyramid of numbers, small concentrations of toxins in an environment become concentrated to dangerous levels in higher trophic organisms
Habitat destruction

66. Human Impact H – Habitat Destruction I – Invasive Species
P – Pollution
P – Population (of humans)
O – over-hunting and over-harvesting (natural resources)

67. H – Habitat Destruction
Deforestation
Urbanization
Mining
Coastal Degradation
Coral Reef Destruction :’(
Leads to extinction of species, climate change, contaminated soil, reduces biodiversity

68. I – Invasive Species
An invasive species is a species that is introduced into a foreign environment
This is a problem because it can choke out preexisting species
These invasive species do not have natural predators, so their population booms
Ex: kudzu, lion fish, red-tailed catfish
We try to stop it through laws, education, and trapping/catching them

69. P - Pollution
Any environmental change that adversely affects the lives of living things
Ex: trash in land/air/ocean, CO2 emissions, nuclear waste, burning fossil fuels, fertilizer runoff, toxins released into water
Results: animals can go extinct, eutrophication, global warming
How to help: reduce/reuse/recycle, use public transportation, renewable energy

70. P- Population (of humans)
When the ecological footprint of a human in a location exceeds the carrying capacity of that location
Tl;dr: too many people in one space 
Increasing birth rates, lowering death rates, migration
Causes all the other parts of HIPPO

71. O – Over-Exploitation Ex: overuse of soil, overhunting,
Can cause extinction, imbalance of predator/prey
Solutions: POLITICS, more wildlife reserves, more strict hunting policies, and, of course, abolish poverty 

72. Human Impact H – Habitat Destruction I – Invasive Species
P – Pollution
P – Population (of humans)
O – over-hunting and over-harvesting (natural resources)