Download Dominant Animal Life

Ecology
Chapter
3-1
E
c
o
l
o
g
y
Scientific study of
interactions among
organisms & their
interactions within
the environment or
surroundings.
Levels of Organization
Smallest 
Largest
Individual  Population  Community  Ecosystem  Biome  Biosphere
Page 64
Population
(groups of
individuals of
same species
living in same
area)
Individual
(Single or ONE
member of a
population)
Community -
different populations
living in a defined area.
Ecosystem – lowest level of
environmental complexity which include
both the biotic and abiotic factors.
What are Biotic and Abiotic factors?
• Biotic:
• Abiotic:
Biological (living) influences Physical (nonliving) influences
upon organisms in an
upon organisms in an
ecosystem.
ecosystem.
Ex.: Other organisms
Ex.: Climate, Soil, Water
(plants, fungi, bacteria,..)
Populations are affected by both abiotic and
biotic ecological pressures.
Habitat- The area in which an organism lives
Niche:The organism’s place or ecological role it
takes in the ecosystem.
No two species can share the exact same niche in a
habitat!
BIOMES:
Complex communities that are defined by
a unique set of factors such as climate and soil.
BIOSPHERE: A part of the earth in which life
exists to include land, water, air/atmosphere.
BIOMES:
TUNDRA:
* Soil: mostly Permafrost
• Dominant Plant Life - mosses,
lichens, sedges and short grasses
• Dominant Animal Life – Arctic
foxes, lemmings, Caribou,
Shorebirds
• Climate – short, soggy summers,
long, cold and dark winters.
•Location: Northern Canada, Alaska
TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
•Soil – not very rich due to dense
canopy of trees and understory of
shorter trees and vines.
• Dominant Plant Life – Broad-leaved
evergreens, woody vines, climbing
plants.
• Dominant Animal Life – Sloths,
Jaguars, Anteaters, Toucans, Boa
Constrictors….
•Climate – Hot and wet year round.
•Location: South America, SW Africa
DESERT:
•Soil – rich in minerals, but poor in
organic matter.
•Dominant Plant Life – Cacti and
other succulents.
•Dominant Animal Life – mountain
lions, mule deer, bats, rats, owls,
hawks…..
•Climate – low precipitation, variable
temperatures
•Location – Western California,
Northern Africa…
TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST
•Soil – fertile
•Dominant Plant Life – broad leaf
deciduous trees (Maple, Elm), some
conifers, and flowering shrubs…
• Dominant Animal Life – Deer, black
bears, bobcats, squirrels….
•Climate – cold to moderate winters,
warm summers, year round
precipitation.
•Location: Eastern half of the US (inc.
parts of Texas and Louisiana)
TAIGA OR BOREAL FOREST
Soil – acidic, nutrient poor
Plant Life – Coniferous trees
(pines, spruce, fir…)
Dominant Animal Life – Lynx,
Timberwolves, Moose, Beavers…..
Climate – Long, cold winters,
short, mild summers, moderate
precipitation
Location: Northern areas of
North America (Canada), Northern
parts of Eurasia
GRASSLANDS:
Dominant
Plant Life –
lush, perennial
grasses and
herbs.
Location: South
America, some
parts of Russia
and the Ukraine.
Soil is most fertile
Dominant Animal Life –
Coyotes, Badgers, Prairie
Dogs, Antelopes, Llamas…
CLIMATE – Warm
to hot summers,
cold winters,
moderate and
seasonal
precipitation
CONIFEROUS FOREST:
SOIL – Acidic and Rocky
Dominant Plant Life – Douglas
Firs, Redwoods, Sitka Spruce
(coniferous trees).
Dominant Animal Life – Bears,
Elk, Deer, Owls
Climate – mild temps., abundant
precipitation during fall, winter and
spring, relatively cool and dry
summers.
Location: Northern North
America, Northern Europe…
Ecology
Ch. 3-2
Energy
Flow
autotroph
producer
Make their own
food from
energy in the
environment.
Photosynthesis:
Light
Energy
6CO2 + 6H2O
(water)
+
C6H12O6 (carbohydrate) + 6O2(oxygen)
heterotroph
consumer
Eat or consume
other
organisms for
energy
MANY TYPES OF
HETEROTROPHS
Herbivores:
• Obtain energy only
from plants
Carnivores:
• Obtain
energy
by eating
only
animals.
Omnivores:
• Obtain
energy
from both
plants and
animals.
Detritivores:
• Obtain
energy from
plant &
animal
remains, &
other dead
matter.
Decomposers:
• Heterotrophs
• Break down
organic matter
• Include
bacteria &
fungi
What is the
difference
between
a Food Web
and a
Food Chain?
Page 71
Food chain – a series of steps in an ecosystem in
which organisms transfer energy by eating or being eaten.
Algae
Food Chain
FOOD WEB: a network of interrelated food chains
within an ecosystem.
Can you find
all the
relationships?
Ecological Pyramids A diagram that shows the relative amounts of
energy or matter contained within each trophic
level in a food chain or food web.
Only 10% of the energy stored in a trophic
level is passed on to the next level because
the majority of the energy is used by the
organism to carry out life processes such as
respiration, movement and reproduction.
Some of the remaining energy is released
into the environment as heat.
1% energy
10% energy
100%
energy
ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID OF ENERGY
shows relative amount of energy
available to the next trophic level.
Pyramid of Energy
Pyramid of Numbers
shows relative amount of
individual organisms at each
trophic level
Pages 72-73
PYRAMID OF MASS:
Ecological Pyramids:
Energy
Mass
Symbiosis:
Describes a close relationship between 2
organisms, in which at least one of the
organisms involved benefits.
 Types of Symbiosis:
1. Mutualism
2. Parasitism
3. Commensalism
Mutualism
• Both organisms benefit from the relationship.
A).Clown fish is provided a
protective home and the sea
anemone is provided food
as the clownfish lures other
fish toward the sea
anemone.
B). Bees receive food (nectar),
while the flower’s pollen is
spread for reproduction.
Parasitism
• One organism benefits, and the other is
harmed (host).
A).Ticks feed on the blood of the host in which they
live. The closer together organisms live, the easier
these parasites can spread through the population.
B). Make up one of your own
Commensalism
• One organism benefits, and the other is
neither helped nor harmed.
A). Barnacles live and grow on the bodies of various
ocean organisms like whales. However, they do not
help or cause any harm to them.
B). Make up one of your own.
Symbiosis
Mutualism
Both species
Commensalism
One species
benefit from
benefits, but
the relationship the other is
neither helped
or harmed
i.e.i.e.Flowers & Bees Barnacles &
Whales
Parasitism
One organism
lives in (or on)
another and
harms it
i.e.Tapeworms,
Fleas & Tics
Aphids feed on
sugary sap from the
plant.
-Parasitism
Aphids are herded
and protected by
the ants because
the ants feed on
sugary excretions
the aphids produce.
-Mutualism
4. PREDATION: An interaction in which one organism
captures and feeds on another
organism
5. COMPETITION:
Could be over a
mate, food,
space, water
etc. Anything
that would
affect survival.
when organisms attempt to use
an ecological resource in the
same place at the same time.
Ecological Succession
Ecological Succession
• The gradual replacement of an existing
environment by another.
Primary Succession: when
a community develops where
there was none before.

Pioneer Organisms/Species : The first species to
populate an area.
Secondary Succession: when an existing
community is disturbed or destroyed without
removing the soil and a new community begins.
CYCLES OF MATTER
Water Cycle: process by which water
moves from ocean and land into the atmosphere and
back.
1. Water enters the
atmosphere through
evaporation and transpiration.
2, Water vapor cools and
condenses to form clouds.
Condensation
3. The cloud cools and
droplets fall back to earth in the
form of some type of
precipitation.
Precipitation: snow, rain, sleet,
hail, etc.
4. Some rain water runs right
back into the lake. The rest
seeps into the ground.
5. This underground water
collects and flows back to the
lake. The cycle begins again..
The Carbon Cycle: a process through which the element
carbon cycles through the environment.
Draw this in your notes.
1. In photosynthesis, producers
remove CO2 gas from the
atmosphere to make organic
molecules (sugars)
2. Animals get organic molecules from
plants & return CO2 gas to the
atmosphere through respiration.
3. When plants and animals die in an
ecosystem, CO2 gas is returned to
the atmosphere during
decomposition.
3. Fossil fuels (Coal, oil, natural gas
which were once living organic
material) when burned produce CO2
gas and this is returned to the
atmosphere and increases the
amount of CO2 gas in the air.
The Nitrogen Cycle: a process through which the element
Nitrogen is changed into a useable form and recycled back into the
atmosphere.
Draw this in your notes.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Producers (plants) absorb these
forms through their roots.
Nitrogen fixation: actions by
some bacteria & lightning change
N2 gas into ammonia (NH4+) and
nitrate ions (NO3-).
Consumers (herbivores) obtain
nitrogen from the plants they
eat.
Decomposers break down animal
waste, dead animals, & dead
plant material & return the
nitrogen to the soil.
Other bacteria return nitrogen in
the soil back to the atmosphere
(denitrification)
Populations
Chapter 5
POPULATION ECOLOGY: The study of how the population sizes of species
living together in groups change over time and space.
Three Characteristics of a Population
1. Geographic Distribution – describes an area inhabited by a
population
2. Density : # of individuals per unit area
3. Growth Rate : rate at which population changes in size
Factors that affect Size of a
Population
1. Birth Rate - number of organisms born each year.
2. Death Rate – number of organisms that die yearly.
3. Immigration – People moving into an area
4. Emigration – People moving out of an area
Limits to a Population
• 1. Carrying Capacity: the number of
organisms that an environment can
support.
• 2. Limiting Factors: something that
could cause a population growth to
decrease. There are 2 types of
limiting factors – Density-Dependent
and Density-Independent.
Density-dependent Factors
(affect larger populations)
1.Competition
2.Predation
3.Parasitism
4.Disease brought on not
only by bacteria but also
by stress, overcrowding
etc.
(ex: Indian tigers fighting over land as
it becomes less available, causes
stress and they won’t mate)
Density-Independent Factors
1. Unusual Weather (drought, freeze)
2. Natural Disasters (Tsunami, Earthquake, Forest Fires,
Floods)
3. Seasonal Cycles (Hurricanes)
4. Human Activities (deforestation, pollution, overhunting, industrial growth, urban dev.)
Renewable & Non-Renewable Resources
Renewable: can be
regenerated or replenished
but not necessarily unlimited.
Ex: trees, water
• Non-Renewable: can’t
be replenished
Ex: fossil fuels such as
coal, oil and
natural gas
Biodiversity
The variety of organisms in the biosphere
Has provided us with a variety of foods, industrial
products and medicines inc. painkillers,
antibiotics, heart medications, antidepressants
and anticancer drugs.
Threats to the Biodiversity can lead to species
becoming endangered even extinct.
Examples of threats are altering habitats,
overhunting, introduction toxic compounds into
food webs and introduction of foreign species to
new environments.