Ecology

Unit 10EcologyEcology- the study of relationships between organisms and their natural environmentEcosystem- collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place together with their non-living environment

Habitat- the area where an organism lives Community- assortment of populations that live together in a specific placePopulation- a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area

Individual

Obj. 1: Explain why two species cannot occupy the same niche in a community.

Honey bees will pollinate a large variety of plants. Honey is stored in the honeycomb by bees as a food source for the colony in cold months. Worker bees secrete beeswax they use to form the walls and caps of the comb. Honey bees are natively found in South and South East Asia and many subspecies reside all over the world. In cold climates honey bees stop flying when the temperature drops below about 50 F and crowd into the central area of the hive to form a "winter cluster." All honey bees live in colonies where the worker bees will sting intruders as a form of defense, and alarmed bees will release a pheromone that stimulates the attack response in other bees.Niche- the role an organism plays in its environmentComponents of the honeybee niche:Pollinate flowersStore honeySecrete beeswax to make honeycombLive in southern Asia and other places around the worldCrowd around each other during cold monthsWorker bees defend the hive

Obj 2: Identify and describe symbiotic relationships and explain their importance in food webs and ecosystems.Symbiosis- relationship in which two species lives closely together

Symbiotic RelationshipDefinitionOrganism 1Organism 2CommensalismMutualismParasitismsymbiotic relationship in which one member benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmedsymbiotic relationship in which both members benefitsymbiotic relationship in which one member benefits and the other is harmed++++0-Obj. 3: Describe predator/prey relationships.

Obj. 4: Predict how the use and flow of energy will be altered due to changes in a food web.Producer- organisms that are able to make their own energy from inorganic molecules (ex- sunlight, chemicals)

Consumer- any organism that feeds on other organismsPrimary Consumer- first level consumer, eats producersHerbivore- an organism that only eats plants

Secondary Consumer- second level consumerTertiary Consumer- third level consumerOmnivore- an organism that eats both plants and animalsCarnivore- an organism that only eats animalsFood Web- network of interactions formed by feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem

Circle the producersPut a square around the consumers and label them 1, 2, and/or 3 for primary, secondary, or tertiaryInterpreting a Food WebComponents:Organisms: linked to other animals based on what it consumes/what consumes itArrows: show the direction of energy flow

Stability: the more connections (arrows) between various organisms, the more stable a food web is.Simple: dependence on very few organisms, few interactions within the communityComplex: distribution of dependence on a variety of organisms, many interactions between the organisms of the communityStable or Unstable? Simple or Complex?

Energy pyramid- diagram that shows the transfer of energy through levels in a food chain

10% Rule- only 10% of energy is transferred from one level to another Obj. 5: Identify abiotic and biotic limiting factors and their effects on growth in ecosystems.Abiotic- non-living components of an environment

Biotic- living components of an environment

Obj 6: Explain how the carrying capacity of a species is the population size that an ecosystem can sustain based on available resources.Carrying capacity- largest number of individuals in a population that an environment can support

Limiting factor- factor that causes the growth of a population to decrease or stabilize

Biotic potential- maximum reproductive capacity of a population with unlimited resources

Obj. 7: Explain the processes and importance involved in the cycling of water, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon through an ecosystem.The Water Cycle

Evaporationwater changes from a liquid to a gas (vapor) Condensationwater vapor in the air is changed into liquid water (this is how clouds are formed)Precipitationwater released from clouds (rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail)Transpirationloss of water from a plant through its leavesThe Carbon Cycle

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/6558/preview/

All living things are composed of carbon

Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to do photosynthesis Carbon also becomes a part of the animals who eat these plantsCarbon returns to the atmosphere by plant and animal cellular respirationCarbon also returns to the atmosphere by dead organisms and wastes

The Oxygen Cycle

Photosynthesis adds O2.

Cellular respiration removes O2 from the air

Connected to the Carbon cycle

The Nitrogen CycleNitrogen is used by living organisms to produce a number of complex organic molecules like amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Nitrogen FixationProcess of converting nitrogen gas into ammoniaBy bacteriaBy lightningNitrificationThe process of changing ammonia to nitrates. By bacteriaDenitrification Conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas.By bacteria.

Humans and the Nitrogen CycleNitrogen fertilizers The additional nitrogen entering the groundwater system eventually flows into streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Livestock ranching. Livestock release a large amounts of ammonia into the environment from their wastes. This nitrogen enters the soil system and then the water cycle through leaching, groundwater flow, and runoff.

Obj 8: Explain how some pollutants are biologically magnified in food webs. Biological magnification- process by which toxins become more concentrated in each link of the food chain