CP Biology Name 2014-2015

UNIT 1B: Introduction to Ecology

Science is a body of knowledge and skills acquired through systematic experimentation and observation to describe natural

phenomena; or, more simply, it is a “way of knowing”. The process of science helps biologists investigate how nature works at all

levels, from the molecules in cells to the biosphere.

3.1 What is Ecology?

Biosphere: all life on Earth and all parts of Earth in which life exists including land, water and air or atmosphere.

Ecology: the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical environment.

Interactions within the biosphere produce a web of interde-pendence between organisms and the environments in which they live. Organisms respond to their environments and can also change their environments; therefore, biosphere is dy-namic and ever-changing.

How is economics linked with ecology?

The existence of life on Earth depends on interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment. There is a great diversity

among living organisms yet there are similar characteristics that all organisms share.

Where is the biosphere located AND what does it include?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How is economics linked with ecology? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Levels of Organization in the biosphere: (use #2-7 from USG to label)

Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:

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*Practice Task:In the space below, fill in the blanks with the

appropriate levels of organization using the word bank below.

Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:

Word Bank

Biome Population EcosystemCommunity Biosphere Organism

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Environment: all conditions or factors surrounding an organism

**Environmental conditions include both biotic and abiotic factors**

Biotic Factors________________________________________________________________________________________________Pick any organism and name 4 biotic factors relating to it:

Organism: __________________1. ___________________________________2. ___________________________________3. ___________________________________4. ___________________________________

Abiotic Factors________________________________________________________________________________________________Using the same organism you picked earlier, name 4 abiotic factors relating to it

1. ___________________________________2. ___________________________________3. ___________________________________4. ___________________________________

Abiotic and Biotic factors are closely linked. Many physical (abiotic) factors can be strongly influenced by the activities of organisms. The dynamic mix of biotic and abiotic factors shapes every environment.

Is a mucky shoreline around a pond strictly part of the physical

(abiotic) environment? Explain. ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

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3.2 Energy, Producers, and Consumers

Energy is needed to power life's processes (including growth, reproduction, metabolism, etc.). No organism can "create" energy. Organisms can only use energy from other sources. You may have wondered where this energy comes from and how it is transferred from one organism to another.

For most life on Earth, sunlight is the ultimate energy source. However, for some organisms, chemical energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds serves as the ultimate energy source for life processes.

The following are the only organisms that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and convert it into forms that living cells can use, therefore they are essential to the flow of energy through the biosphere. They store energy in forms that make it available to other organisms that eat them.

Autotrophs: organism that is capable of capturing energy from sunlight or chemicals and use to produce its own food from inorganic compounds;

Also Known As: Producers

The next process is how the best-known and most common primary producers harness solar energy

Photosynthesis : captures light energy and uses it to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates such as sugars and starches

What would happen to the amount of oxygen in our atmosphere without the presence of photosynthetic producers?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name three examples of organisms which are autotrophs (primary producers):

1. _____________________________

2. _____________________________

3. _____________________________

Photosynthesis

Chemosynthesis: Chemosynthetic autotrophs do not need sunlight. Often they may be found in extreme environments such as tidal marshes along the coast, or around hot springs or volcanic vents on the ocean floor. Here they utilize the energy stored in chemical bonds of inorganic molecules such as hydrogen sulfide to make energy-rich carbohydrates.

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Consumers are organisms that cannot directly harness energy from the environment as autotrophs do.

Heterotrophs: organism that obtains its energy by consuming other organisms

Also Known As: Consumers

Name three examples of organisms which are heterotrophs (consumers).

1. _____________________________

2. _____________________________

3. _____________________________

Consumers are classified by the specific ways in which they acquire energy and nutrients from other organisms.

The type of "food" eaten may vary widely from one type of consumer to another.

Realize, however, that organisms in nature often do not stay inside the tidy categories in which ecologists place them.

For example, some animals often described as carnivores will scavenge if they get a chance.

Herbivores: organisms that obtain energy by eating plant leaves, roots, seeds, and or fruits

Carnivores: organisms that obtain energy by eating animals

Omnivores: organisms that obtain energy by eating both plants and animals

Decomposers: organisms that break down and obtain energy from dead organic matter

Detritivores: organisms that feed on detritus which are the small pieces of dead and decaying plant and animal remains

Scavengers: animals that consume the carcasses of other animals

Examples of:Herbivores: ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Carnivores: ________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Omnivores: ________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Decomposers: ______________________________________

___________________________________________________

Detritivores: _______________________________________

___________________________________________________

Scavengers: ________________________________________

___________________________________________________Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:

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3.3 Food Chains and Food Webs

Energy flows through an ecosystem in a one-way stream, from primary producers to various consumers.

You can think of energy as passing through an ecosystem along a food chain. Some food chains are simple, being composed of only two steps, while others can be longer with as many as 5 or 6 steps!

Food chain: a series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

A common type of primary producer found at the base of many aquatic food chains is a mixture of floating algae called phytoplankton and attached algae.

Partially because many animals eat more than one kind of food, a single, simple food chain is usually insufficient to describe the complicated feeding relationships typically found in an ecosystem.

Food Web: network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem; a food web can also be defined as a series of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.

Therefore studying a food web may be more appropriate when trying to understand the flow of energy and materials in a complex ecosystem

Example of a Food Chain

Construct a 4-step food chain below:

grass ______________ ______________ ______________

What do you think would happen to the ecosystem above if the

algae were killed off?__________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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All of the animals in the food web shown to the right, ultimately depend on krill. If the marine algae population is disturbed, then there may be changes in all of the populations connected in this food web.

Killer whales indirectly depend on krill for

survival.

The food web shows that killer whales depend directly on blue whales and leopard seals to obtain energy. Blue whales consume krill for energy; therefore, since killer whales consume blue whales, killer whales indirectly depend on the krill population for energy. Leopard seals consume Adelie penguins which in turn consume krill, so again, killer whales depend on krill for energy, indirectly. In addition, krill are the only herbivores in this web, so they are the only organisms that consume the primary producers of this web.

Primary producers are always at the first trophic level of a food chain or food web.

Trophic level: each step in a food chain or a food web

Food chains and food webs cannot go on forever; in other words they cannot have an unlimited number of trophic levels. Why do you think this is true? _______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Some might make an analogy of decomposers being like earth's "recycling center". Summarize the importance of decomposers and detritivores in food webs.

Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:

4.2 Niches and Community Interactions7

When trying to understand fully why an organism lives where it does and how it fits into its surroundings, an ecologist needs to know more than just where an organism can be found.

The NicheEach species has a range of conditions under which it can grow and reproduce; this is part of the reason why organisms occupy different places and help to define where and how an organism lives.

Each species has its own range of tolerance.

Tolerance: the ability to survive and reproduce under a range of environmental circumstances

A species' tolerance for environmental conditions helps determine its habitat (address").

Outside of optimum ranges, the organism experiences stress because it has to expend more energy to maintain homeostasis, leaving less available energy for growth and reproduction. Every organism has an upper and lower limit of tolerance for every environmental factor. Beyond those limits, the organism cannot survive.

Habitat: area where an organism lives including the biotic and abiotic factors that affect it

In addition to an "address", a species also has an ecological "occupation" - where and how it "makes a living".

Niche: the range of physical and biological conditions in which a species lives and the way the species obtains what it needs to survive and reproduce.

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Competition8

Competition: occurs when organisms attempt to use the same limited ecological resource in the same place at the same time.

Intraspecific competition: competition among members of the same species.Interspecific competition: competition between members of different species.

If we look at natural communities, we rarely find species whose niches overlap significantly. Direct competition between different species almost always results in a "losing" species which dies out.

4.4 Biomes

Biomes are described in terms of abiotic factors like climate and soil type, and biotic factors like plant and animal life.

Even within a well-defined biome, there is often considerable variation among communities of plants and animals - these variations can be caused by differences in local conditions and can be greatly influenced by human activity or community interactions.

In which biome is Livingston, New Jersey located?

_______________________________________

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*****Pgs. 112-115 of your textbook describes the major terrestrial biomes on Earth. Pgs. 117-121 describes aquatic biomes on Earth. Use this information to fill out the following biomes chart. *****

Biome Details & Climate (abiotic factors)

Type of Plants(biotic factors)

Types of Animals(biotic factors)

Tropical Rain Forest

Tropical Dry Forest

Tropical Grassland/Savanna/Shrubland

Desert

Temperate Grassland

Temperate WoodlandAnd Shrubland

Temperate Forest(Deciduous Forest)

Northwestern Coniferous Forest(aka Temperate Rain Forest)

Boreal Forest (Taiga)“boreal” from the Greek meaning northern

Tundra

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