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Outline – Principles of Ecology
Ecology - 10 Questions
1. What is ecology?
2. What is a population?
3. What is a community?
4. What is an ecosystem?
5. What is a biome?
6. What is the biosphere?
7. What is a food chain?
8. What is trophic structure and what are consumers, producers & detritivores
9. What ecological issues face us?
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Definition of ecology
Hierarchy of relationships
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Populations
Communities
Ecosystems & Biomes
Biosphere
Ecosystems & Energy Flow
Populations & Exponential Growth
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Population Survivorship Curves
Ecology
Interactions of living organisms
• with each other and
• their physical environment.
Distribution and abundance
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Population Pyramids
United States: Shifting Population Pyramids
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Ecological/Biological Communities
Ecological Footprints
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Biological Communities
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Community Ecology - Habitat and Niche
Community = all the species that occur
together in a place.
1. Live together
2. Evolve together
Competition & Cooperation
3. Achieve stability
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Habitat is the place where an organism lives.
Niche = the total of all ways a species utilizes
the resources of its environment.
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Community Ecology - Predation
Community Ecology - Plant Defenses Against Herbivores
Morphological
thorns, spines
Predation
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One organism consumes another.
A selection pressure
Effect on Prey
favors characteristics in prey that decrease the
probability of capture.
increased fitness of prey.
Effect on Predator
favors characteristics in predator that increase probability
of prey capture.
increased fitness of predator.
Chemical
secondary chemical compounds
Mustard oils, cardiac glycosides
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Animal Defenses Against Predators
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Animal Defenses Against Predators
Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed plants
Some animals benefit from plant toxic secondary compounds
Chemical defenses
– poisons and stings
Defensive coloration
– Warning coloration = aposematic coloration
ƒ individuals advertise poisonous nature
– Camouflage coloration = cryptic coloration
Monarch butterfly
Viceroy butterfly
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Community Succession
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Ecological Community Succession
Succession = change in species composition over time
Characteristics of Succession
Unstable
Stable
Pioneer Communities
Simple Communities
High biotic potential
Don’t compete well
Climax Communities
Complex Communities
Low biotic potential
Compete well
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Biomes
Ecosystem
Biome – Large Ecosystem
Rainforest – warm & high moisture
– Major terrestrial biomes
30ºN
Tropic of
Cancer
Savanna – dry, warm seasonal moisture
Equator
Desert – very little moisture
Tundra – treeless, permafrost
Tropic of
Capricorn
30ºS
Tropical forest
Savanna
Desert
Chaparral
Temperate grassland
Temperate broadleaf forest
Coniferous forest
Tundra
High mountains
Polar ice
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Mean annual Temperature (C)
Biomes
Biosphere
Mean annual Precipitation (cm)
CONNECTION
Ecosystem Food Chains & Trophic Levels
Production pyramid explains why meat is a luxury
Trophic level 4
•Field of corn
Top carnivore
Tertiary consumer
Trophic level 3
–Supports many more herbivores than carnivores.
Ecosystem
Calorie Counting
Carnivore
Secondary consumer
10,000
Trophic level 2
Herbivore
Trophic level
Primary consumer
Secondary
consumers
Other
Humans
Primary
consumers
Human
vegetarians
Human
meat-eaters
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Photosynthesizer
Trophic level 1
Producers
Detritivores
decomposers
Fungi & Bacteria
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Producers
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Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Serious Ecological Problems
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Rainforest Destruction ÆLoss of Biodiversity
Biological Magnification
ƒ heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins
Ozone depletion Æ from Fluorocarbons
Acid Rain Æ from Sulfur dioxide
Global Warming Æ from Greenhouse Gases
Population Growth
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END
Introduction to Ecology
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