Download Ecology Notes

Let’s Remember…
Certain characteristics apply to all living things:
1. Made of one or more cells
2. Display organization
3. Grow and develop
4. Reproduce
5. Respond to stimuli
6. Require energy
7. Maintain homeostasis
8. Adaptations evolve over time
Let’s Remember…
All living things have levels of organization:
Nucleotide  DNA  chromosome  nucleus  Cell
AND
Cell  Tissues  Organs  Organ Systems  Organisms
AND
Organism  Population  Community  Ecosystem 
Biome  Biosphere
Ecology and our World
Ecology
The study of interactions between
living things and their environment
Levels in Ecology
A single member of a species
1. Organism
2. Population
A group of individuals of a
single species that live in the
same area at the same time.
3. Community
A group of interacting
populations.
4. Ecosystem
A biological community and all
of the abiotic factors that affect it.
5. Biome
A large area that is
characterized by certain
soil, climates, plants, or
animals.
The portion of Earth that supports life.
6. Biosphere
1. Biotic Factors
All living factors in an organism’s
environment
2. Abiotic Factors
The non-living factors in an
organism’s environment
Ex. Temp., soil type, pH, air
and water currents, sunlight,
rainfall
3. Habitat
The natural home or
environment of an organism
4. Niche
The role or position an organism
has in it’s environment. (job)
(How an organism meets its
needs for food, shelter, and
reproduction)
Community Interactions
Competition
Occurs when more than one
organism uses resources at the
same time
Situation leaves winners and
losers.
Ex: food, water, space, light
Predation
Pursuing and consuming
another organism
Prey- Deer
Predator- Coyote
-What causes the prey population to increase?
-Why is the predator line consistently below the prey line?
- Why does the prey population tend to level off around
the same number each cycle.
Symbiotic Relationships
1. Mutualism
Both individuals benefit. (+,+)
2. Commensalism
One is helped, one is neither helped
or harmed. (+,0)
3. Parasitism
One is helped, the other is harmed.
Ex: lice, ticks, mosquitoes, mistletoe,
tapeworm (+,-)
hornworm caterpillar and the braconid wasp
Symbiotic Relationships Practice
How do organisms interact?
Autotrophs
(Producers)
- organisms that
make (produce)
their own energy,
and are food for
other organisms.
Heterotrophs - organisms that
(Consumers) have to eat other
organisms
(consume) for
their energy
Consumers come in a wide variety
- Organisms that eat only plant
material.
Herbivores
Carnivores
- Organisms that eat only
other animals.
Omnivores
- Organisms that eat both plant
and animal.
Detrivores
Decomposers
Scavengers
- Organisms that eat
“dead matter”
(earthworms)
- Organisms that break down
dead organic matter (fungi and
bacteria)
- Organisms that ingest other
dead organisms (buzzards and
vultures).
Trophic Levels
Each Level In A Food Chain or Food
Web is a Trophic Level.
• Producers (autotrophs)
–Always The First Trophic Level
–How Energy Enters The System
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Trophic Levels
• Consumers (herbivore, Omnivore,
Carnivore)
– Primary: eats the producers
– Secondary: eats primary consumer
– Tertiary: eats secondary
consumer
– Quaternary: eats tertiary
consumer
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Who eats whom?
Food Chain
- a series of steps showing what each organism eats in an
ecosystem.
- The arrows represent the transfer of energy from one
trophic level to the next.
1 Primary
Consumer
2 Secondary
Consumer
Producer (converts radiant
energy into chemical energy)
3 Tertiary
Consumer
4 Quaternary
Consumer
Feeding Relationships
• A food chain shows a simple feeding
relationship.
Sun →
• All food chains start with the sun
carbon dioxide from the air
water from
the roots
food
transported to the
rest of the plant
energy from
sunlight
(or light)
Photosynthesis
carbon dioxide from the air
water from
the roots
food
transported to the
rest of the plant
energy from
sunlight
(or light)
Feeding Relationships
• A food chain shows a simple feeding
relationship.
Sun → grass →
Feeding Relationships
• A food chain shows a simple feeding
relationship.
Sun → grass → rabbit →
Feeding Relationships
• A food chain shows a simple feeding
relationship.
Sun → grass → rabbit → fox
All food chains start with
ENERGY from the sun
Because plants produce their own food,
they are called ‘Producers’
The energy is then passed on to animals when they
eat the plant.
Animals of all shapes…
…and sizes!
Because these animals
are the first to take
the food energy
from the plants,
They are called
primary
consumers
Some of these primary
consumers have predators.
Other animals that feed on them
Aphids are eaten
by….
Ladybugs
Animals that eat primary
consumers are called
secondary consumers
• So far this is a straightforward food chain
• Sun → leaves → aphid → ladybugs
But in reality it is more complicated than that
This bird eats
ladybugs and
aphids
This bird eats
smaller birds, mice,
and rabbits
Mice and rabbits have other
predators
What will eat the
frog?
What do you
think the
frog eats?
Sometimes it’s not
entirely clear who is
eating whom!
We can show what goes on with the help of a
Food Web
a diagram linking several food chains in an ecosystem
What would happen if a disease killed off many of the
hawks?
There will be nothing
to eat the snakes, so
their numbers will
increase.
All the frogs get
eaten
No frogs.
More
crickets
Most of the
cattail gets
eaten by the
crickets
Now the crickets
don’t have enough
food so their
numbers go down
..and so on. Numbers of each species have an effect on the
numbers of the other species in the web.
• Use the food web to predict what might
happen in the following situations:
1. There is very little rain and much of the
Marsh Grass and Cattail die off.
2. Humans nearby bring cats into the area.
3. The frogs eats some poisoned slugs
from a garden
Food Web Analysis Worksheet
Exit Ticket
On a yellow piece of paper, infer what would
happen to the population of frogs if the
population of foxes decreased due to disease.
The population of frogs would ______________.
Ecology Notes Part 2
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Ecological Pyramids
Population Ecology
Biodiversity
Succession
Cycles in Nature
Biomes
Energy Pyramid
- each transition shows the amount
of energy retained from one level to
the next.
10% Rule: Only 10%
of the energy from
food is actually
incorporated into
running cell processes!
90% of energy is lost to the atmosphere as heat from
one level to the next.
Numbers Pyramid
- Each level shows the number of individuals in each trophic level
- Loss of energy helps explain why there are fewer organisms in each higher
trophic level
Biomass Pyramid
- each level in the pyramid
shows the total mass
available at each trophic
level
Energy through an Ecosystem
Worksheet
Ecological Practice Problems
Worksheet
Factors that effect a biological community
Limiting Factor
Climax Community
Any factor that restricts the
numbers, reproduction, or
distribution of an organism
A stable, mature community
that results when there is
little change in factors.
Ex. Food, space, water,
climate
Tolerance
The ability of an organism to
survive when dealing with
negative factors.
Carrying Capacity
The largest number of a
species that an environment
can support long term.
Population Ecology Graphs
Can a population continue to
grow exponentially forever?
What are some things that
effect carrying capacity?
Biodiversity
• Biodiversity: the variety of living things in an
area.
– Increases the stability of an ecosystem
– Contributes to the health of the biosphere
Threats to Biodiversity
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Overexploitation
Habitat Loss
Fragmentation of Habitat (edge effect)
Pollution (biomagnification)
Introduced Species
Population Dynamics and
Biodiversity Worksheet
Ecosystems are constantly changing.
Succession is the change in an
ecosystem that happens when one
community replaces another as a
result of changing biotic and abiotic
factors.
Primary succession:
-happens in an area that has NO soil
and happens very slowly.
-NEW growth
-The pioneer species will be lichen
and mosses.
-The pioneer species will help to
create new soil.
Ecosystems are constantly changing.
Secondary succession:
- Happens when an established
population is disrupted by things
like fire, flood, or windstorm
- Regrowth; happens more quickly
- The pioneer species will be small
plants and animals.
Succession Comparison
1. Draw a Three column t-chart:
Primary Succession
Both
Secondary Succession
2. Place the following statements under the
correct heading:
Pioneer species
Lichen
Changes over time
New growth
Regrowth
No soil
Some soil
Fire
Volcanic eruption
Volcanic island formation
Flood
Glaciation
Exit Ticket
• Describe the main difference
between primary and secondary
succession.
Succession Drawings
Cycles in Nature
Biogeochemical Cycles
The exchange or movement of matter through
the biosphere. These cycles involve:
- Living organisms (bio)
- Geological processes (geo)
- Chemical processes (chemical)
Cycles in Nature
Water Cycle
- shows the different stages that water goes through in ecology
Carbon, in the form of
CO2, is recycled quickly
through living organisms
during photosynthesis
and cellular respiration.
Carbon enters a longterm cycle when it is
buried underground and
converted to fossil fuels.
Nitrogen Cycle
• The largest
concentration of
nitrogen is found in the
atmosphere but plants
and animals cannot
directly use
atmospheric nitrogen.
• Nitrogen fixation is a
process of capturing
and converting nitrogen
into a form that is
useable by plants.
– Bacteria
– Lightning
– Fertilizer
• Denitrification is a process where some soil
bacteria convert fixed nitrogen compounds
back into nitrogen gas to be released back into
the atmosphere.
Carbon Cycle and Nitrogen Cycle
Coloring
1. You may use any colors 3. Underline all of
you choose as long as
vocabulary words from
you color your key
the word wall that you
correctly.
find in the reading.
2. Color the words in the
reading the same color
as your picture.
Biomes Foldable