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Ecology. It’s all about interactions!. Nature’s Interactions. Ecology the study of interactions among organisms and their environment. Abiotic (non-living) & Biotic (living) things are considered. Materials, such as nitrogen and carbon, are exchanged back and forth from biotic to abiotic. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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EcologyIt’s all about interactions!
Nature’s Interactions
• Ecology – the study of interactions among
organisms and their environment.– Abiotic (non-living) & Biotic (living) things
are considered.– Materials, such as nitrogen and carbon,
are exchanged back and forth from biotic to abiotic.
– Ecosystems throughout the world are linked together, and organisms move from one ecosystem to another.
Standard I; Objective 3
Nature’s Interactions
• Quick review of biotic and abiotic factors.Animals
PlantsBacteriaFungi
ProtistsDecomposing
matterDead, rotting logs
Leaf matterGrass clippings
Manure
SunlightWater
OxygenTemperature
SoilInorganic nutrients
RocksSand
NitrogenMetals
Biotic Abiotic
Relationships• There are many types of relationships
in nature. One example is predator/prey. This is an example of energy flow with predators getting their energy needs from what/whom they eat. Can you think of some predator/prey relationships?
Standard I; Objective 3
Producers
Decomposers
Energy Flow• Energy flows in all ecosystems. All
food chains start with photosynthesis, and the energy passes from producers up through the consumers.
Herbivores
Carnivores
Project: Mini-Ecosystem
• You will now be asked to build/create a mini-ecosystem.
• Remember… an ecosystem is the interaction of all of the living and non-living things in an area.
Assignment 4-1• You will earn more points for creating an actual
ecosystem.
Symbiotic Relationships
• Another type of relationship is called symbiosis.
• Symbiosis means living together. There are several types of symbiosis.
• Mutualism = both organisms benefit• Parasitism = one organism benefits, one
is harmed• Commensalism = one organism benefits,
the other is neither harmed nor helped.Standard I; Objective
3
Examples of Symbiosis
Mutualism The Moray eel &
shrimp…The eel benefits from the shrimp cleaning bits of food from its teeth. The shrimp gets food, and most likely protection from predators that don’t dare come close to the Moray eel
Examples of Symbiosis
ParasitismTick & Dog… The tick benefits by getting nutrition from the dog’s blood. The dog is harmed because of lost blood, and can pick up diseases from the tick.
Examples of Symbiosis
Commensalism Dugong & Remoras…The Remoras attach themselves to many types of marine animals, and just hang on for the free ride. When the larger animal eats, the Remoras can benefit by picking up scraps. It doesn’t hurt or help the Dugong.
Niche vs. Habitat
• In a balanced ecosystem, each organism/species occupies it’s own niche (role) in an ecosystem. It also occupies a particular territory (habitat), and gets its nutrients in a certain way.
• Competition arises when the niches of two species overlap. Two can share a similar habitat, but must have a unique niche. The greater the overlap, the more requirements the two have in common, and the more intense the competition will be.
Relationship Assignment
• You have read and learned about different relationships that occur in nature. Symbiosis & Predator/Prey. Please complete the next assignment.
Assignment 4-2
Food Chains
• As you have seen, energy flows from the sun, to producers, to consumers, and back to producers.
Producers
Decomposers
Herbivores
Carnivores
Food Chains
• This flow of energy is called a food chain. Every chain starts with a producer, followed by various levels of consumers. Nutrients are returned to producers.
Primary Consumer
Producer
SecondaryConsumer
Tertiary ConsumerDecomposers
Food Chains• Organic material is passed through the food chain.
So a 4 level food chain would be… Grass Mouse Snake Hawk. Notice the arrows show the flow of energy.
1st Level Consumer
Producer
2nd LevelConsumer
3rd Level ConsumerDecomposers
Herbivores – plant eaters
Omnivores – could eat either carnivores or herbivores, or both.
Carnivores – meat eaters
Food Webs
• What’s the difference between a food chain and a food web? A food web is made up of many interconnected food chains. Can you see different food chains in this small food web?
Wolf
Rabbit
Hawk Snak
eGrass
Mouse
Notice how energy flows
from producer to consumers, and from consumers
to other consumers.
Food Chains & Food Webs
• Can you think of some food chains that occur in nature? Could you put them in to a food web?
Standard I; Objective 1
Assignment 4-3
Energy Costs vs. Gains
• In all food chains, organisms are in a battle to gain more
than they spend when eating, fighting, migrating,
etc. It’s all about survival. In all food chains for example,
as you move from one level to another, 90% of the
energy is used to survive.Standard I; Objective
1
100 %10 %1 %
.1 %
1000 calories
100 calories
10 calories
1 calorie
If a plant makes 1000 calories of food, there is only 1 calorie left at
the 4th trophic level.
Activities that cost energy
• Many activities require an investment of energy by the organism. Some of them are…
• Growth• Migrations – some animals go thousands of miles
yearly• Fighting to breed, protect resources, obtaining
prey• Feeding – capturing, metabolism, expenditure of
waste• Hibernation – maintaining a constant body
temperature• Shelter/home building – bird nest, badger hole,
etc.
Standard I; Objective 1
Nutrient Cycling
• There are 4 key nutrients that living things must have. When you think of matter, remember that matter, like energy, cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be converted from one thing to another and back. We will investigate the cycling of these 4 main nutrients.
• Water – used in nearly all bodily functions• Carbon – key component in all organic
compounds• Nitrogen – important in DNA, RNA & proteins• Phosphorus – part of DNA, RNA & ATP
Standard I; Objective 2
Review the following cycles.
Water Cycle
Water cycles
from the earth to
the atmosphere. It’s one
of the nutrients all living things
must have.
Carbon Cycle
Carbon goes from CO2
in the atmospher
e to organic
compounds on earth.
A lot of CO2
comes from fossil
fuels burning.
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen is fixed/pulled from the air by bacteria in plants, then made available to animals.
Nitrogen Fixation by Nitrogen fixing
bacteriaDe-nitrification converts solid
Nitrogen to N2 gas
Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus helps make phosphate which is needed by many living
things. It doesn’t go in to the
atmosphere, but goes from
mountains to lakes/oceans, to
plants, to animals and back to
earth.
Human Impact
• Have you ever stopped to think about what we do to the environment? Do we have a positive or negative impact?
Is it all just “Doom and Gloom”? Assignment 4-4
Invasive Species
• Organisms that are native to an area, are also called indigenous. Occasionally, organisms are introduced accidentally or intentionally in to an ecosystem. These species can be very disruptive, and are known as “Invasive species”. Please watch the short video on Cane Toads, then complete the next
assignment. It’s in the “Resources”.Cane Toads were
introduced to Australia to control Cane grubs.
Assignment 4-5
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