Download Ecology Notes

Ecology
Means “house”
Means “study of”
“Study of (natures) house”
The scientific study of interactions
that take place between organisms and
their environment.
© J Beauchemin 2006
Levels of
Organization
What are the Simplest Levels?
• Atom
• Molecule
• Cell
• Tissue
• Organ
• Organ System
• Organism
Levels of Organization
• Ecologists have organized the
interactions an organism takes part
in into different levels according to
complexity.
1st Level of Organization
• Organism a.k.a. species :
An individual living thing that is made of
cells, uses energy, reproduces, responds,
grows, and develops
A single zebra
2nd Level of Organization
• Population:
A group of
organisms, all of
the same species,
which interbreed
and live in the
same place at the
A group of
same time.
zebras
3rd Level of Organization
• Community:
All the
populations of
different
species that live
in the same
place at the
same time.
All the zebras &
wildebeest
4th Level of Organization
• Ecosystem:
Populations
of plants and animals that
interact with each other in
a given area along with the
abiotic components of that
area.
– BIOME: A group of
ecosystems with the
same climate & dominant
communities
All the animals plus the nonliving components (i.e. rocks,
weather, water etc.)
th
5
Level of Organization
• Biosphere: The
portion of Earth that
supports life.
– Life is found in air, on land,
and in fresh and salt water.
What level of organization?
Organism
What level of Organization?
Community
What level of Organization?
Population
ECOSYSTEM BASICS:
ECOSYSTEMS
Interactions between the biotic and
abiotic components of an
environment
The Living Environment
• BIOTIC
THE LIVING PARTS
of an organisms
environment.
• All organisms depend on
others directly or
indirectly for food,
shelter, reproduction,
or protection.
The Nonliving Environment
• ABIOTIC
THE NON-LIVING
PARTS of an organism’s
environment.
– Examples include air
currents, temperature,
moisture, light, and soil.
• Abiotic factors affect an
organism’s life.
Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic
Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
Habitat & Niche
• HABITAT: is the place a plant
or animal lives
– EX: a birds habitat is its nest,
essentially, its “address”
– Includes biotic & abiotic factors
• NICHE :is an organism’s TOTAL
way of life; its “occupation”
– Includes its place in a food web
– The range of temperature it needs
to survive
– The type of food it eats
– When and how it reproduces
ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY!
Here are some important
terms that will help you
describe interactions in a
food chain & web.
Eat or be eaten
PRODUCER a.k.a. (Autotroph)
Auto= self
Troph= nutrition
– Organism that can “self”
feed, i.e. make its own food
– Use photosynthesis or
chemosynthesis to produce
glucose
Mmmmm…delicious.
CONSUMER a.k.a (heterotroph)
Hetero= other/different
Troph= nutrition
- Organism that must consume “others”
because it can not make its own food
There are several words that describe consumers…
– Prey: the hunted
– Predator: the hunter
– Herbivore: eats plants
– Carnivore: eats animals
– Omnivore: eats both plants and animals
Hey, you gonna eat that?
DECOMPOSER:
– Breaks down dead organisms
– Examples: bacteria, maggots, fungi, worms
– Complete the circle of life by returning
nutrients to the soil
Jus gimmie the left overs!
• SCAVENGER: an organism who feeds on refuse (trash)
or carrion (dead, decaying matter)
• Play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the
decomposition of dead animal remains.
Vulture
Dung beetle
FOOD CHAIN
Definition- Traces the path of
nutrients and energy from producer
to top consumer
Show’s “who eats who”
Arrows indicate the flow of energy “FROM”
what is consumed “TO” the consumer
Producer
Primary Consumer
Secondary Consumer
Food webs
Definition- show more complex feeding
interactions between organisms
• Food webs show “what eats what”
• Several “food chains” interacting with each other
FOOD CHAIN & TROPHIC
LEVELS
A TROPHIC LEVEL is the position
occupied by an organism in a food
chain.
Trophic levels can be analyzed on an
energy pyramid.
LEAST
ENERGY HERE
RULE OF TEN:
ONLY 10% OF
PREVIOUS
ENERGY IS
AVAILABLE FROM
ONE LEVEL TO
THE NEXT
90% LOST AS
HEAT!
MOST ENERGY
HERE
Energy in Ecosystems
• Every level you go up, you divide the
amount of energy by “10”
RULE OF TEN:
ONLY 10% OF
PREVIOUS
ENERGY IS
AVAILABLE FROM
ONE LEVEL TO
THE NEXT
90% LOST AS
HEAT!
Rule of 10
Every level
you go up you
divide the
amount of
energy by 10
0.2 Joules
2 Joules
20 Joules
200 Joules
0.2 Joules
2 Joules
20 Joules
200 Joules
Ecological Pyramids
Pyramid of Numbers
SHOWS THE NUMBER OF
INDIVIDUALS AT EACH
TROPHIC LEVEL
Energy Pyramid
SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF
ENERGY AVAILABLE AT
EACH TROPHIC LEVEL.
Organisms use about
10% of this energy for life
processes.
The rest is lost as heat.
Biomass Pyramid
SHOW THE AMOUNT OF
“LIVING” MATTER AT EACH
TROPHIC LEVEL.
The MOST biomass is at
the bottom of the pyramid
Biomass Pyramids
• Bio=life
Mass=how much matter
• Bio + Mass = how much of living matter
within an ecosystem.
• Energy is sometimes considered in terms of
biomass, the mass of all the organisms and
organic material in an area.
• MORE biomass at trophic level of
PRODUCERS (There are more plants on Earth
than there are animals.)
• LESS biomass at trophic level of CONSUMERS
LEAST
BIOMASS
MOST BIOMASS
Biomass
• Biomass does NOT
always follow the
rule of 10.
• Instead the boxes
are drawn bigger to
show bigger
amounts and
smaller to show
smaller amounts.
Biomass Analysis Question
• What happens with the phytoplankton that
lets it have the most energy but the smallest
biomass?
ANSWER: It makes
new phytoplankton
very quickly, so even
though it gets eaten
quickly it also
regenerates quickly
Pyramid of Numbers
• Pyramids of Numbers tell you how many
of each organism there are
QUESTION: Will
there always be more
producers than
consumers?
Pyramid of Numbers
• Pyramids of Numbers tell you how many
of each organism there are
Will there always be
more producers than
consumers?
No!
Here there are only 200
trees but 150,000
insects can live in those
trees!
Biological Magnification
• toxins in any trophic level effects the other
levels.
Most toxin
The tiny primary consumers eat a
little bit of the toxin.
The secondary consumers eat many
of the 1st consumers so they eat
more of the toxin
Least toxin
The tertiary consumers eat many of
the 2nd consumers so they eat even
more of the toxin
At every level the amount of toxin
increases!
What would a pyramid for this look
like?
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
LET’S REVIEW
ORGANISMS
THAT CAN
MAKE THEIR
OWN FOOD
At the base of
EVERY food
chain/web
MOST energy
MOST biomass
Producers
(AUTOTROPH)
1000J
ORGANISM THAT
FEEDS OF OTHER
ORGANISMS
BECAUSE THEY
CANT MAKE THEIR
OWN FOOD
HERBIVORE=
“Plant Eater”
Primary consumer
(HERBIVORE)
100 J
ORGANISM THAT
FEEDS OF OTHER
ORGANISMS
BECAUSE THEY
CANT MAKE THEIR
OWN FOOD
Secondary Consumer
(CARNIVORE OR
OMNIVORE)
10 J
LEAST ENERGY
LEAST BIOMASS
CARNIVORE=
“Meat Eater”
OMNIVORE=
“Plant & Meat
Eater”
Secondary Consumer
10J
Primary consumer
100J
Producers
1000J