* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Ecology
Survey
Document related concepts
Photosynthesis wikipedia , lookup
Human impact on the nitrogen cycle wikipedia , lookup
Nitrogen cycle wikipedia , lookup
Natural environment wikipedia , lookup
Sustainable agriculture wikipedia , lookup
History of wildlife tracking technology wikipedia , lookup
Triclocarban wikipedia , lookup
Microbial metabolism wikipedia , lookup
Theoretical ecology wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
Ecology What is Ecology? • The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment Levels of Organization • Individual organisms • Populations: groups of individuals that belong to the same species (Species- group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring) and live in the same area • Community: Assemblages of different populations that live together in a defined area Levels of Organization (continued) • Ecosystem: Collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with nonliving, or physical, environment • Biome: A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities • Biosphere: Combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, including land, water, and air, or atmosphere (8km above surface and 11km below in the oceans) Energy Flow Energy Flows • Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction – Sun Autotrophs Heterotrophs Sunlight • The main energy source for life on Earth Autotroph • Plants, some algae, and certain bacteria • Capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use that energy to produce food • Also called producers because they make their own food Photosynthesis • Autotrophs use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates Chemosynthesis • Autotrophs (such as bacteria) that use chemical energy instead of sunlight to make carbohydrates Heterotroph • Animals, fungi, and many bacteria • They must rely on other organisms for their energy & food supply • Also called consumers Types of Heterotrophs • Herbivores – Eat only plants – Cows, deer, & caterpillar • Carnivores – Eat only animals – Snakes, dogs, & owls • Omnivores – Eat both plants & animals – Humans, bears, & crows Types of Heterotrophs • Detritivores – Eat plant & animal remains & other dead matter known as detritus – mites, earthworms, & snails • Decomposers – Break down organic matter – Bacteria and fungi Classification • Pick up a stack of pictures • Sort them into 2 piles – Autotrophs – Heterotrophs • Sort the heterotrophs into 4 piles – – – – Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores Decomposers • Make a list of what organisms are in each pile Food Chains • A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten • Must be a straight line • Grass Producer Antelope Coyote Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Food Chain • Draw a food chain of which you are a member Food Web • Network of complex feeding relationships among various organisms • Links all food chains in an ecosystem together Trophic Level • 1st trophic level – Producers • 2nd trophic level – Primary Consumer • 3rd trophic level – Secondary Consumer • 4th trophic level – Tertiary Consumer • 5th trophic level – Quaternary Consumer Ecological Pyramid • A diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food web or food chain – Energy Pyramid – Biomass Pyramid – Pyramid of Numbers Energy Pyramid • Only about 10% of the energy in each trophic level is transferred to the next higher level • 90% of the energy is lost as heat 1%-2nd level Consumer 10%- 1st level Consumer 100% -Producers Heat Biomass Pyramid • Amount of living matter at each level in grams • The greatest biomass is usually at the base of the pyramid Human 50 grams Chicken 500 grams Grain 5000 grams Pyramid of Numbers • Shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level 3rd level consumers 2nd level consumers 1st level consumers Producers Pyramid of Numbers What Shapes An Ecosystem? What shapes an ecosystem? • Abiotic Factors – Physical or nonliving factors – Temperature, precipitation, humidity, soil type, sunlight • Biotic Factors – All living things with which an organism might interact – Birds, trees, mushrooms, algae, herons Niche • Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses these conditions • Includes type of food and how it obtains food, physical conditions it needs, how and when it reproduces, and more Predation • An interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism • Predator – Organism that does the killing and eating • Prey – The food Predator and Prey Symbiosis • Any relationship in which two species live closely together • Three types – Mutualism – Commensalism – Parasitism Mutualism • Both species benefit from the relationship • +,+ • Example-Flowers and insects Commensalism • One member benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed • +,0 • Example- Barnacles and whales Parasitism • One organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it • +,• Example- Tapeworms and mammals or fleas and dogs Parasitism Biomes Biomes • • • • • • • • Tropical Rain Forest Tropical Dry Forest Tropical Savanna Desert Temperate Grassland Northwestern Coniferous Forest Boreal Forest Tundra Biomes • Species vary in their adaptations to different conditions • Adaptations-Inherited characteristics that increases an organisms ability to survive and reproduce Adaptations of Plants and Animals • Cactus-Leaves are only spines to reduce water loss and stem stores water • Desert rats-kidneys conserve water and extract water from food • Rain forest plants have long thin leaves that shed excess water Population Growth Population Growth • Factors that affect population size – # of births – # of deaths – # of individuals that enter/leave the population Exponential Growth • Abundant space and food and protection from predators and disease • Ideal conditions with unlimited resources • Individuals produce at a constant rate Growth of Elephant Population Exponential Growth Logistic Growth • Resources become less available and the growth slows or stops after a period of exponential growth Carrying capacity • Number of individuals of a species that a given environment can support Carrying capacity Limiting Factor • A factor that causes population growth to decrease • May be density-dependent or densityindependent Density Dependent Factors • Limiting factor that depends on population size – Competition-In crowded populations, organisms compete for food, water, space, sunlight, and other essentials – Predation – Parasitism – Disease Density-Independent Factors • Affect all populations in similar ways regardless of the population size – Unusual weather – Natural disasters such as droughts – Human disturbances such as damming rivers Biological Magnification • Concentration of a harmful substance increases in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food web • Top level carnivores are at highest risk Biological Magnification Fish-eating Birds Large Fish Small Fish Zooplankton Producers Water Magnification of DDT Concentration Cycles of Matter Biogeochemical Cycles • Cycles that connect biological, geological, and chemical aspects of the biosphere Water Cycle • • • • • • • Evaporation-liquid to gas Transpiration-evaporation from leaves Condensation-water vapor into clouds Precipitation-Rains, sleets, or hails Runoff-water from stream to ocean Groundwater seepage Roots uptake water Water Cycle Carbon Cycle • Released to atmosphere – Volcanic activity and erosion – Respiration – Burning of fossil fuels and vegetation – Decomposition of organic matter Carbon Cycle • Absorbed – Plants take in carbon dioxide – Plants eaten by heterotrophs – In ocean in calcium carbonate – Burial and decomposition of dead organisms & conversion to fossil fuels Nitrogen Cycle • Nitrogen fixation-bacteria in soil and roots of plants called legumes convert nitrogen into ammonia • Other bacteria convert ammonia into nitrates & nitrogen • Producers (plants) use nitrates and nitrogen to make proteins Nitrogen cycle (continued) • Consumers eat producers and reuse the nitrogen to make their own proteins • When the consumers die, decomposers return nitrogen to the soil as ammonia • Ammonia is taken up by producers or converted to nitrogen gas by bacteria (called denitrification) Phosphorus Cycle • • • • Important in DNA and RNA Not in atmosphere but on land Rocks wear down and released Some reaches ocean and used by marine organisms • Some stays on land and plants absorb and pass on through food web