Upload
susanna-floyd
View
213
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Ecology: The Study of Ecosystems
Mrs. Hart
Biology
What is an Ecosystem?
An ecosystem includes all the living and non-living things in a given area
Biotic Factors: Living ThingsEx:Abiotic Factors: Non-Living ThingsEx:
How does the ecosystem get energy?
Autotrophs
Living things that can make their own foodGreen Plants that have “chlorophyll” are
able to convert the sun’s energy to chemical energy (food)
This process is called photosynthesisAutotrophs are also known as “Producers”
because they produce the energy for the ecosystem
How do the rest of us get energy?
We’ve got to EAT!!!
Heterotrophs: Living things that are NOT able to make their own energy; we must eat other living things for energy
Heterotrophs are also known as “Consumers” because they consume other living things for energy
But what kind of living things do we eat???
Herbivores
Eat only plants!!!
Carnivores
Eat only meat
Omnivores
Eat both plant and animal material
Is there another type of feeder?
Decomposers: Live off of dead living things and wastes
Scavengers
Consumers that eat animals that are already dead
How can we organize the different types of feeders?
Food chain- A diagram of what eats whatTrophic Levels- A name for the feeding
levels within a food chainProducers, Primary Consumers,
Secondary Consumers, Tertiary Consumers, Decomposers
Food Webs
Many interconnected food chains within an ecosystem
Can be very complicated
Quick Quiz:
1. What only eats plants?
2. Who always starts the food chain?
3. Who eats plants AND animals?
4. Who only eats animals?
5. How is a Food Web different from a Food Chain?
Quick Quiz, cont.6. Who eats EVERYBODY when they’re
dead? 7. What do we call producers (like plants)
who make their own food?8. What is the other name for consumers? 9. What is the name for living things in the
environment?10. What is the name for non-living things in
the environment?
Matter is recycled
How is matter recycled?It moves from the producers, to the
consumers, through the food webThen it is broken down by decomposersThen it is taken up as nutrients by producersWhat is recycled?Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, SulfurMany more!!!!!!!
What about energy???
Energy moves through the food chain, from producers to consumers to decomposers
Where does the energy come from??? Is energy recycled?What is the “Law of Conservation of
Energy” aka “The First Law of Thermodynamics”……
Energy Cannot be Created or
Destroyed!!!
However, Energy is NOT recycled…
Answer: it is changed from one form to another.
Where does the energy go?
Most of the energy at each trophic level is used by the living things to conduct their metabolism, in hunting/killing/consuming food, and in other life activities
Not all living material is consumed, ex: bones, bark, etc. These parts will be decomposed
So where does this energy go?
The Law of 10%
At each trophic level, 90% of the available energy is used, with most of it being “lost” as heat to the atmosphere.
Only 10% of the energy at each level is available to the next trophic level
So if a producer has 10,000 Calories (or kilocalories) of energy, how much energy would each level after that have?
Energy Pyramid
Energy Can also be measured in Joules (J)
What does this mean for higher level consumers?
There’s less energy
That means there are lower numbers of higher level consumers, and higher levels of producers and lower level consumers
What will happen to an ecosystem if all of the producers are killed? (Think deforestation, forest fire, drought, etc)
Symbiosis
Living together
-Two different species
Parasitism
Not symbiotic Causes harm to host
A tapeworm in a
person or animal
intestines
Mutualism
Both organisms derive mutual benefit
tickbirds and rhinos
Commensalism
Only one member benefits The other member: no benefit/ no harm
Whale and barnacles
Barnacle: gets place to live/feed.
Whale: no harm/no benefit