Download ecological organization

ECOLOGY
The study of the interactions:
 between organisms
 between organisms and their physical environment
-water
-sun
-temperature
-soil
All organisms are dependent on others and their
physical environment.
ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Population- all members of a species inhabiting a
given area.
Examples:
 All water lilies in a pond.
 All gray squirrels in town.
 All dogs in town.
 All people of earth.
 All grasses in town.
Community- all interacting populations in an area.
- all plants, animals, and microorganisms
in an area
Land (terrestrial) and Aquatic Communities exist.
Ecosystem- All members of a community and the
physical environment.
- Biotic (living) and Abiotic (nonliving)
parts functioning together.
- Stable and self-sufficient.
Biosphere- The parts of the earth in which living
things exist.
- Includes many ecosystems.
- A thin zone 20 km thick.
- From the ocean floor to the highest
point in the atmosphere where life is
found.
Population
Simple
Community
Ecosystem
More Complex
Biosphere
ECOSYSTEMS
 Interactions between:
Biotic Parts- living things.
And
Abiotic Parts- nonliving things.
 Both small and large ecosystems exist.
 From a small pond in size to a large Pine Forest.
 The sun is a constant source of needed energy for
- stability
- being self-sustaining
 Cycles oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water,
and minerals
Biotic Factors
 All living things that affect the environment.
 Interact in many ways:
- Nutritional relationships- organisms
eating other organisms.
- Symbiotic relationships- organisms
living in close association.
Abiotic Factors
 Intensity of light.
 Temperature range.
 Amount of water.
 Type of soil.
 Availability of minerals.
 Supply of gases. Oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen.
 Low pH-acid (orange juice, vinegar )
High pH- alkaline ( soapy, drain cleaner )
Limiting Factor- any of the abiotic factors that
determine the type of organism
in the area.
Examples:
 Light Intensity- some plants do well on the
forest floor but not in an open field.
 Strawberries and mosses grow well in low pH
(acid) soils but most other plants do not.
 Fish needing high oxygen levels do not hang
out in very warm water. Oxygen evaporates at
higher temperatures.
NUTRITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Transfer of nutrients from one organism to another.
Autotrophs- synthesize (make) their own food from
inorganic (non-carbon) compounds.
- Most do photosynthesis to make their
own food.
- Make their own protein, sugar, and fats.
- Plants and Algae!
Example: Photosynthesis
CO2 + H2O + Sunlight = Carbohydrates + Oxygen
+ H2O
Heterotrophs-cannot synthesize their own food.
- need nutrients from others.
- Animals, Protists (paramecium),
Monerans (bacteria), Fungi
(mushrooms).
FOOD RELATIONSHIPS
Heterotrophs are classified as:
1. Saprophytes- live on dead matter.
- recycle the breakdown of dead
plant and animals.
- mushrooms, bread mold, bacteria of
decay.
2. Scavengers- feed on dead animals.
- do not recycle materials
- vultures and hyenas
3. Herbivores- feed only on plants.
- deer, rabbits, sheep, horses
4. Carnivores- animals that feed on other animals.
 Predators- kill and eat their prey.
- lions, hawks, wolves.
 Scavengers- feed on dead animals.
5. Omnivore- eat both plants and animals.
- humans, bears, red-tail fox.
Symbiotic Relationships
 Organisms living in close association.
 Sometimes beneficial, sometimes not.
1. Commensalism- one organism benefits, while
the other is not affected.
Examples:
 Barnacles on whales.
 Orchids living on tropical trees.
 Pilot fish living with sharks.
2. Mutualism- both organisms benefit.
Examples:
 Termites and bacteria- termites provide food
and a place for bacteria. The bacteria digest
wood for the termites.
 Lichens- made up of algae and fungus.
- algae provide food for fungus, while
the fungus provide moisture, minerals,
and anchorage for the algae.
3. Parasitism- one benefits and the other is harmed
Example:
 Athlete’s foot fungus.
 Tapeworms and heartworms in dogs.
 Mistletoe.
Parasite- organism that benefits.
Host- organism that is harmed.
COMPETITION IN ECOSYSTEMS
Habitat- where an organism lives.
- It’s address!
Niche- the role of an organism in food getting
reproductive behavior.
- It’s job!
Examples:
 Slime Mold
Habitat- damp floor of forest.
Niche- digesting dead plant matter
 Deer
Habitat- wooded pine lots
Niche- grasses and plants
Competition- niches of two organisms overlap.
- resources become more scarce.
- competiton is more intense.
- one species is eliminated.
- humans and wildlife often compete.
ENERGY FLOW RELATIONSHIPS
 “Flow of Food”
 Eating and being eaten.
 Flow of energy needed to maintain an
ecosystem.
Food Chains
 Pathway for energy (food) flow
Example:
grass
grasshopper
frog
Producers- grass- Autotrophs- green plants, algae.
- sun’s energy is trapped here.
- Level of most energy.
Consumers- grasshopper- Heterotrophs- animals,
Fungi (mushrooms), bacteria, protists
(ameba, paramecium).
Primary consumers- herbivores
Secondary consumers- carnivores, omnivores
Decomposers- breakdown the remains of dead
organisms.
- saprophytes-bacteria and fungi.
Food Chain Example:
Grass
Mouse
Grass
Grasshopper
Algae
Diatoms
Owl
Frog
Minnows
Snake
Hawk
Bass
FOOD PYRAMID
Secondary
HAW
K
SNAKE
Less Energy
More
Competition
consumers
FROG
GRASSHOPPER
Producers
GRASSES
Primary
consumers
More
Energy
Top- Larger animals
- Less in numbers
- Less biomass- all plants and animals
Bottom- Smaller animals
- More in numbers
- More in Biomass
FOOD WEBS
 Two or more food chains in a community that
are interconnected.
 Eating more than one species.
 More complex, more stable than a food chain.
 Greater Biodiversity
Cycles of Materials
 Materials are recycled between organisms and the
abiotic environment to self-sustain an ecosystem.
Carbon-Hydrogen-Oxygen Cycle
 All recycled by:
Photosynthesis- using carbon to store energy (sugar,
Glucose). Oxygen is released.
Respiration- burning of carbon to release energy.
- oxygen is absorbed, Carbon dioxide is
released
 Allows Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen to be used
over and over.

WATER CYCLE
Water moves between the earth's surface and the
atmosphere by:
- Evaporation and Transpiration, water
enters the atmosphere
- Condensation and Precipitation, water
returns to land
- Respiration, water is exhaled
- Excretion, water is urinate
- Photosynthesis, water is a byproduct
NITROGEN CYCLE


Nitrogen is found in amino acids which are
subunits of protein.
Protein is used for:
- Repair of living tissue
- Muscle in animals
- Plant tissue
Plants- absorb nitrogen from the soil and turn it into
protein.
Animals- absorb nitrogen from eating plant protein
and animal protein.
PLANTS
NITRATES
NO3
ANIMALS
NITROGEN
GAS N2
ANIMAL WASTE
DECOMPOSERS
AMMONIA
NH3
 NITROGEN- FIXING BACTERIA
- live on roots of legume plants
- convert free N2 to Nitrates NO3
- nitrates absorbed by plants for making
protein
 ANIMALS CONVERT PLANT PROTEIN TO
ANIMAL PROTEIN
 DEAD ANIMALS AND PLANTS, ANIMAL
WASTES CONVERTED TO AMMONIA BY
DECOMPOSERS
 AMMONIA CONVERTED TO NITRATES BY
NITRIFYING BACTERIA IN SOIL
- nitrates used by plants
 NITRATES CONVERTED TO FREE
NITROGEN BY DINITRIFYING BACTERIA
ECOSYSYTEM AND CHANGE
 Change over a long period of time until a stable
one is formed.
Succession- replacement of one community by
Another.
- bare field to forest
- unstable to stable
Pioneer Organisms
- starts a community
- first plants to populate a given area
- lichen and algae on bare rock
- weeds and mosses in a bare field
STAGES OF SUCCESSION
1. Bare Rock to Lichens
- small amount of soil produced, making
it favorable for next stage
- mosses and ferns
2. Grasses and Shrubs
- shrubs eventually shade-out grasses,
making it favorable for next stage
- more humus is formed
- humus- dark decayed remains of
animals and plants
3. Conifers- Pines and Furs ( softwoods )
- shade out their own seedlings that
require a lot of light
- making it favorable for next stage
4. Climax Stage
- hardwoods
- oak beech maple
- stable community
A catastrophe may change a climax community.
- Forest Fires
- Abandoned Farmlands
- Volcanic Eruptions
- Land Development
Large Climax Communities
- Grasslands, Midwest
- Pine Forest, Northern Canada
- Desert, Southwest
Marine ( pond, lake, ocean ) Successions do occur.
BIOMES
 Large ecosystems covering large areas of land (
terrestrial ) and large body of water ( aquatic ).
 Terrestrial biomes are determined by:
- Temperature
- Solar radiation
- Precipitation
Climate
Tundra
 Permanently frozen subsoil ( 30 meters down )
 Lichens, mosses, grasses
 Caribou, snowy owl
 Parts of Alaska and Canada and Europe, Siberia
 South of ice caps of Artic
Taiga
 Long, severe winters, summer thawing subsoil
 Pines, furs, spruce trees
 Moose, black bear, wolf
 Canada, Europe, Asia
Temperate- Deciduous Forest
 Moderate rain
 Cold winters
 Warm summers
 Maple, oak, beech
 Gray squirrel, fox, deer
Tropical Forest
 Heavy rainfall
 Constant warmth
 Many species of broad leaf plants
 Snake, monkey, leopard, parrots, wide variety
 Equator
Grasslands ( prairies )
 Large range in rainfall and temperature
 Strong winds
 Grasses
 Antelope, prairie dog, bison, coyotes, rattle
snakes
 Interiors of North and South America, Africa
Desert
 Little rainfall
 Extreme daily temperatures
 Drought resistant shrubs, succulent plants like
cacti, yucca, mesquite, sage brush
 Lizards, kangaroo rat, snakes, desert fox
(fennec), spiders, insects
 Mexico, Southwest US, South America, Africa,
Asia
Increasing altitude on a mountain has same effect as
increasing latitude on Biomes.
Aquatic Biomes
 Largest ecosystem on earth
 Oceans and Lakes
 More stable than terrestrial ones temp is more
constant, less variable
Humans and the Biosphere
Humans have changed their environment more than
any other species.
1. Both positive and negative effects.
Negative Effects
 Upset the natural balance of other ecosystems.
- humans and other organisms are
- harmed.
A. Human Population Growth
- rapid rise has caused hunger and
starvation
- growth exceeds food producing capacity
- medical advances have increased life
spans
1650
1840
1930
1980
2000
B. Human Activities
1.over-hunting, trapping, fishing
-extinction, dodo bird, passenger pigeon
-endanger, blue whale
2. importation of organisms
- bringing in species with no natural
enemies
- Japanese beetle, gypsy moth, dutch elm
disease
3. Exploitation
- over use of plant and animal life
- trees of the tropical rain forest for
plywood
- African elephant and the Pacific Walrus
over-hunted for ivory tusks
- Colombian parrots, only 50 at last count
4. Poor Land Use
- urbanization of cities
- suburbanization ( suburbs )
reduced farm land and natural habitats
- overgrazing, overcropping
failure to use cover crops causes loss of
soil and nutrients
6.Technological Oversights caused pollution of
-water
-land
-air
Chemical wastes on land
Phosphates - detergents
Nitrates
- fertilizers
Heavy metals - smelting of iron and copper
PCB's
- industrial solvents
Radioactive materials leaking
Increase temperature of river water
Air
Exhaust gases from factories and autos
- carbon monoxide
- hydrocarbons
- particulate matter
- Nitrogen Oxides
- Sulfur Dioxide
Acid Rain
Acid Rain - lowers Ph of lakes, ponds, and soil
More Acid
Biocides
Insecticides and herbicides contaminate
- soil
- water
enter by way
- wild life
of food chains
- humans
DDT -Killed many Bald Eagles, Falcons, Robins
Positive Effects
In understanding ecology, many changes have been
made:
1. Population Control
Methods of controlling human reproduction.
2. Conservation of resources
Conserve water, fossil fuels, trees
More trees now than in 1900
Recycling iron, copper, aluminum
3. Pollution Control
Laws for water, air, and hazardous materials
4. Species Preservation
Endangered species protection.
Increases size of existing populations.
By setting-up:




Wildlife habitats or refuges
National Parks
Fisheries
Hunting Laws and seasons
Population increases have occurred in:
 Whooping Crane
 Bald Eagles
 Egrets
 Bison
 Buffalo
 Falcon
 Deer
 Turkey
5. Biological Control
Use of sex hormones, sterile males, natural
parasites.
Mainly for control of insect pests rather than
chemicals.
6. Laws
 1985 Farm Act- natural wetlands
 Clean Air Act
EPA has
 Clean Water Act
power to
 Safe Drinking Water Act
enforce
All passed in the 1970’s and renewed in the
1980’s.