ECOLOGY WARM-UPPut the following in order from smallest to largest:ecosystem, biome, organism, population, community, biosphere
Ecosystem AssignmentDraw a picture of your "ideal" ecosystem. In other words, if you could live in anywhere in the world, where would it be and what would it look like. List the biotic and abiotic factors around you. Also, write down the levels of organization in your ecosystem. (organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome)
What is Ecology?
Ecology is the study of the interactions among living things, and between living things and their surroundings.
Biologically_Speaking__Ecosystems_and_the_Cycles_of_Nature.asf
A population is a group of the same species that lives in one area.
Ex: a group of alligators that live in the same place at the same time.
Organism
Population
A community is a group of different species that live together in one area.Ex: alligators, birds, frogs, grass, trees, insects, etc…
An ecosystem includes all of the organisms as well as the climate, soil, water, rocks and other nonliving things in a given area
Ecosystem
A biome is a major regional or global community of organisms characterized by the climate conditions and plant communities that thrive there
Ex: Savanna
Every ecosystem includes both living and nonliving factors:
Biotic Factors: are the living things in a ecosystem.Examples:Plants, animals, fungi,bacteria, and protists
Abiotic Factors are the nonliving things in an ecosystem.Examples: rainfall, temperature, sunlight, soil, & wind
Biodiversity is the assortment, or variety, of living things in an ecosystem.A keystone species is a species that has an unusually large effect on an ecosystem.Ex: Beavers lead to major changes in an ecosystem.
Producers and Consumers
Type Also Called Description
Producer Autotroph Gets energy from nonliving resources
Consumers Heterotrophs Get energy by eating other organisms
Types of Consumers
Name of Consumer: Role:
Herbivore Eats only plants
Carnivore Eats only other animals
Omnivore Eats both plants and animals
Detritivore Eats dead organic matter
(Examples: decomposers & scavengers)
Examples of each???
carnivore decomposer
A food chain is a model that shows a sequence of feeding relationships. *Trophic level s are the nourishment levels of a food chain.
Food Webs
A food web shows the complex network of feeding relationships and flow of energy.Example in notes:Producer: phytoplankton & algaePrimary Consumer: zooplankton, shrimp, etc…Secondary Consumer: sponge, jellyfishTertiary Consumer: Reef Shark
Pyramid Models
Energy pyramid shows the distribution of energy among trophic levels
Tertiary Consumer
Secondary Consumer
Primary Consumer
Producers
Between each tier of an energy pyramid, up to 90 percent of the energy is lost into the atmosphere as heat.Only 10 percent of the energy at each tier is transferred from one trophic level to the next.
Two other pyramid models:
1. Biomass Pyramid: measures: total dry mass of organisms in a given area.
tertiaryconsumers
secondaryconsumers
primaryconsumers
producers
75 g/m2
150g/m2
675g/m2
2000g/m2producers 2000g/m2
2. Pyramid of Numbers: Measures: the number of individuals at each trophic level*Numbers in populations decrease as you go up.
500.000
5000
5
*A niche is an organism’s role in its environment.
*A niche includes all of the factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce.foodabiotic conditionsBehavior
Madagascar
South America
Ecological equivalents are species that occupy similar niches but live in different geographical regions
Community Interactions
Important organism interactions include competition, symbiosis, and predation.
Symbiosis.asf
Types of Symbiotic Relationships
*Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.
Parasitism
Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is harmed.
Organism benefits
0
_
Organism is not affected
Hornworm caterpillarThe host hornworm will eventually die as its organs are consumedby wasp larvae.
Braconid waspBraconid larvae feed on their host and release themselves shortly before reachingthe pupae stage of development.
_
Parasitism +
0
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
*Ecological succession is the natural replacement, over time, of one community of organisms by another. .
-
*Ecosystems are always changing due to natural events or by human action.*After any disturbance, organisms replace other species through the gradual, predictable process of succession.
PRIMARY SUCCESSION:
Primary succession is the gradual development of a new community from nothing..
*It occurs on bare terrain, without soil or pre-existing plant or animal life.)
*Volcanic eruptions or floods that carry away the soil can lead to primary succession.
*Any species to move into a devastated area is a pioneer species.*They must be able to live on limited resources.*Examples include bacteria and tiny plants.*Lichens are common pioneer species because they can live on bare rocks.*The formation of soil is the first step in primary succession.
Primary Succession Animation
SECONDARY SUCCESSION:*Secondary succession occurs when a disturbance changes or partially destroys an ecosystem, but leaves the soil.
*Examples: abandoning farmland, leaving a logged forest to regrow, or burning down a forest
Secondary succession
Succession Eventually Slows:*Succession does not continue indefinitely. *A more stable community called a climax community eventually forms.*A climax community has organisms that are well adapted to the environmental conditions and can survive and reproduce.*Examples include the swamps of Florida and the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.*Climax communities can restart due to natural disasters or human impact.
Populations:
*A population is a group of organisms of one species that live in the same place at the same time. Organisms in a population compete for -food -water -mates
Factors that affect the size of a population:
Immigration-movement of individuals into a population.BirthsEmigration-movement of individuals out of a populationDeath
Types of Population Growth:
Exponential Growth: J-curve graph:
A population grows rapidly because of an abundance of resources.Birth rate exceeds death rate
Logistic Growth:
S-curve:
A population begins with a period of slow growth followed by a brief period of exponential growth before leveling off at a stable size.The carrying capacity is the point at which the population growth becomes stable. (max. number of indiviudals an environment can support)
Limiting Factors: ecological factors limit pop. growth.
Density-Dependent Limiting Factors:
CompetititionPredationParasitism/Disease(affected by the number of organisms that live in a given area)
Density-Independent Limiting Factors
Unusual weather (droughts, floods)Natural disasters Human activities
(affect the populations regardless of their size)