1. Chapter 3: The Biosphere
ECOLOGY
Section 3-1
Section 3-2
Section 3-3

2. 3-1: What is Ecology? Key Concepts
What different levels of organization do ecologists study?

3. Ecology
Study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their surroundings
Ecologist- scientist that studies the environment

4. Biosphere
All portions where life exists, including land, water, and air.

5. Levels of Organization

6. Levels of Organization
Species (individual)
Populations
A group of organisms that can breed and produce offspring
Example: Ladybugs
Groups of individuals of the same species and live in the same area
Example: Population of Ladybugs

7. Levels of Organization
Communities
Groups of populations that live in the same area
What organisms do you see in this pond community?

8. Levels of Organization
Ecosystem
Group of organisms that live in one environment, together with their nonliving (abiotic) environment
Abiotic Factors: Biotic Factors:

9. List the abiotic and biotic factors in the picture..

10. Levels of Organization
Ecosystem
Abiotic Factors
Air
Wind
Water
Light
Temperature
Sun
Gases
Biotic Factors
Shark
Tuna
Baleen whale
Zooplankton
Phytoplankton
Small fishes
Flounder
Algae
Scallops
Sea stars
lobster

11. Levels of Organization - Biomes
A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and communities
Examples:
Desert
Grasslands
Rain Forest
Ocean

12. Levels of Organization
Biosphere
Highest level of organization that includes all of the other levels of organization

13. Checkpoint 1: Correct Answer? C: Ecosystem
A collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place along with their physical environment make up a (an):
Species
Biome
Ecosystem
Correct Answer?
C: Ecosystem

14. Now create a sentence to remember the order!
Checkpoint 2:
List the six different levels of organization that ecologists study, in order, from smallest to largest.
Species
Populations
Communities
Ecosystem
Biome
Biosphere
Now create a sentence to remember the order!

15. Checkpoint 3:
The branch of biology dealing with interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment is called _______________.
A person who studies these populations is called an ecologist.
ECOLOGY

16. Checkpoint 4:
All of the members of a particular species that live in one area are called a (an) ___________________.
Draw your own population of species that you may have seen in the past week.
POPULATION

17. Complete this worksheet with your table partner:

18. 3-2 Energy Flow Key Concepts
Where does the energy for life processes come from?
How does energy flow though living systems?
How efficient is the transfer of energy among organisms in an ecosystem?

19. Sunlight Main energy source for life on Earth.1%
Main energy source for life on Earth.
Less than 1% is used by living things.
However, some types of organisms rely on the energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds. These organisms obtain energy from a source other than sunlight.

20. Who Uses the Sun for energy?
Only plants, some algae, and certain bacteria can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use that energy to produce food.

21. Use energy (sun, chemical) from the environment to make complex organic molecules.
Autotrophs make their own food.
Autotrophs

22. Autotrophs Autotrophs PRODUCERS
A form of an autotroph (makes own food)
Can capture sunlight or chemical energy
Example: KELP
Kelp is found in the ocean

23. In Water: Photosynthetic Bacteria
Autotroph HALL OF FAME
On Land: PLANTS
In Water: ALGAE
Use photosynthesis
Use sunlight to make energy rich sugars and oxygen
Found in freshwater and top layers of the ocean
In Water: Photosynthetic Bacteria

24. Autotroph HALL OF FAME (with a twist)
Chemosynthesis
Can produce food without light!
Use chemical energy to produce
carbohydrates
These bacteria are found in remote places like:
Volcanic vents on ocean floor
Hot springs in Yellowstone
Tidal marshes

26. Heterotrophs
Animals, fungi, and many bacteria cannot harness their own energy.
Heterotrophs rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply
Heterotrophs
CONSUMERS
A form of an Heterotroph
(cannot make own food)
Acquire energy from other organisms
Different types of heterotrophs: herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, detritivores, and decomposers

31. Detritivores
Feed on plant and animal remains or dead matter, called detritus
Examples:
Mites
Earthworms
Snails
Crabs

33. Feeding Relationships
Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction,
1) Sun or inorganic compounds
2) autotrophs (producers)
3) heterotrophs (consumers)
The relationships between PRODUCERS and CONSUMERS connect organisms into feeding networks based on who eats whom.

34. Label the producers and consumers
Food Chain
Label the producers and consumers
Definition: Shows energy flow from producers to consumers
Producer
Consumer
(Herbivore)
Consumer
(Herbivore)
Consumer
(Carnivore)
Consumer
(Carnivore)

35. GAME TIME!!!

36. Food Webs
Definition:
A food web links all the food chains in an ecosystem together.
A food web in a salt-marsh community.
* Let’s take a look at the Heron….

37. Trophic Levels Each step in a food chain/web= Trophic level.
Tertiary Consumer
Each step in a food chain/web= Trophic level.
Producers make up the first/primary layer
Consumers make up the successive layers.
Secondary Consumer
Primary Consumer
Producers

38. Ecological Pyramid
Ecological Pyramids- shows amounts of energy or matter at each trophic level
3 types: Energy, Biomass & Numbers pyramid.

39. Energy Pyramid Shows how energy reduces by 90% each trophic level.
Organisms use this 10 % of energy for life processes.
The rest is lost as heat.

40. Biomass Pyramid Biomass Pyramid:
Shows the amount of living tissue in a trophic level expressed in grams per unit area.

41. Inverted Biomass Pyramid in an Aquatic Ecosystem

42. Pyramid of Numbers Pyramid of Numbers:
Shows the # of organisms in a trophic level.

43. Correct Answer? (A) Chemosynthesis
Checkpoint 1:
When organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates, the process is called:
Chemosynthesis
Autosynthesis
Photosynthesis
Correct Answer? (A) Chemosynthesis

44. Correct Answer? (C) Chemosynthetic Bacteria!
Checkpoint 2:
Which of the following organisms DO NOT NEED sunlight to live?
Trees
Photosynthetic Bacteria
Chemosynthetic Bacteria
Algae
Correct Answer? (C) Chemosynthetic Bacteria!
But WHY??????

45. Checkpoint 3: TRUE!!!! TRUE or FALSE?
Algae are both producers and autotrophs.
TRUE!!!!

46. Correct Answer? (A) Food Web!!!
Checkpoint 4:
All the food chains in an ecosystem are linked together by a (an)
Food Web
Trophic Level
Ecosystem
Correct Answer? (A) Food Web!!!

47. Checkpoint 5:
Only about 10 percent of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next trophic level.
Of the remaining energy, some of it is used for life’s processes and the rest is lost as what?????
HEAT!!!!

48. Checkpoint 6:
In words, briefly describe the flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.
HINT: Think feeding relationships!
Energy is transferred from one organism to the next through trophic levels. Only 10% of the energy is transferred from level to level. The rest is lost as heat!

49. Checkpoint 7:
Explain the relationships in this food chain: omnivore, herbivore, and autotroph.
Autotroph is an organism that creates its own energy using chemicals or sunlight. An organism that eats an autotroph is called an herbivore. An omnivore could eat either the herbivore OR the autotroph.

50. Checkpoint 8:
Refer to the “Salt-Marsh Food Web”, which shows a food web in the salt marsh. Choose one of the food chains within this web. Then, write a paragraph describing the feeding relationships among the organisms in the food chain.
Hint: Use the terms producers, consumers, and decomposers ALONG with who eats whom in your description.
(You may also draw them out as well)