Download Ecological Systems

Biodiversity
Ecological Systems
Ecology
is the
study of living
things and the
way they interact
with the physical
environment.
Understanding
this is important
in determining
what role
organisms play
in the Earth’s
system and how
to sustain them
for future
generations.
Ecologist-
Someone who studies
the interactions of the living and
non-living world.
Careers
• Environmental
Consultant
• Research Scientist
• Professor
Biotic-
Any living or
once living
organism
including plants,
animals,
bacteria and
fungi.
Abiotic-
Any
nonliving factors
of the environment
that interact with
the biotic world.
They include air,
water, rocks, soil,
minerals,
temperature
& light.
Organism:
Organisms that can
breed together
and produce fertile
offspring.
Population:
A group of the
same species that
live in a specific
area.
Community:
The
interaction of
different
populations
that live in a
particular area.
Habitat-
An organism’s
specific food,
water, shelter
and space
requirements
needed for an
organism to
survive.
Ecosystem
The interaction of a
community of
organisms with the
abiotic factors in a
specific area. The
size of an
ecosystem varies
depending on the
region being
studied.
Aquatic Ecosystem-Water Based
Terrestrial Ecosystem-Land Based
Biosphere
Life supporting
portions of the
Earth made up
of air, land,
fresh water,
and salt water.
Level of Organization
Definition
1. Organism
One of a species
2. Population
All the members of one species in
an area
3. Community
All the members of the different
interacting species in an area
4. Habitat
An organism’s specific food, water,
shelter and space requirements
needed for an organism to
survive.
5. Ecosystem
All the members of a community
plus the abiotic factors influencing
them.
6. Biosphere
Life supporting portions of Earth
composed of air, land, fresh water,
and salt water.
Biodiversity
Decomposers
Not
everything in
the environment
gets eaten. Many
plants and
animals die long
before they
become anyone
else’s lunch.
Trees
shed their old
leaves and animals
leave droppings
containing the
indigestible parts
of their food – such
as plant fibers or
bones.
 The
dead organisms are
still vital to life, because
they contains chemicals
that are the basic
building blocks of all
living things.
 These chemicals get
recycled into the
environment with the help
of organisms called
decomposers.
Decomposers
consume and
break down
dead organisms.
Valuable
nutrients to be
recycled into the
ecosystems.
Decomposers
can
live on any soil with
an organic
component, and
even live in marine
ecosystems where
they are sometimes
called bottom
feeders.
 Earthworms
digest rotting
plant and animal matter as
they ingest soil. The waste
that comes out of their
bodies at the other end
contains the important
minerals, all ready for
plants to take up again.
 Scavengers
are decomposing
organisms that feed on larger
detritus or dead organisms.
 Examples are
• Vultures
• Insects
• Crabs
Scavenger:
Mosquito feeding
on a leaf
Scavenger:
Eagles feeding
on detritus

Many decomposer
species such as
bacteria, fungi and
protists are unable to
ingest large lumps of
matter; instead they
live by absorbing and
metabolizing
nutrients on a
molecular scale.
Bacteria
are tiny,
microscopic organisms.
Some kinds live on other
living things – for
instance, there are
millions inside your gut
helping you to digest
your food. Others live on
dead things, and help
break them down into
the minerals in the soil.
Fungi
release
chemicals to break
down dead plants or
animals into simple
substances.
They absorb some of
these substances for
growth, but others are
released back into the
environment.
Fungi
Biodiversity
Ecological Systems
Food
Chain:
• Used to show how matter and
energy is transferred from
producers, consumers.
 Food
Web:
• A diagram that
more completely
shows the
transfer of matter
and energy within
an ecosystem. It
shows how many
organisms are
connected.
Flow
of Energy:
• The arrows in a food chain or food web
indicate the flow of energy from one
organism to the next.
 Food
Web
 Ecologists
study how
energy moves
through an
ecosystem by
assigning organisms
in that ecosystem to
a specific level.
 Biotic Pyramid:
• A graphic organizer
based on the
organism’s source of
energy.
1st trophic level:
• Producers
(plants and plankton)
 2nd trophic level:
• Primary Consumers
(herbivores)
 3rd trophic level:
• Secondary Consumers
(carnivores/omnivores)
 4th trophic level:
• Tertiary Consumers
(higher level consumers)

Decomposers
can be assigned
to either end of
the energy
pyramid.
Decomposers
break down
producers and
consumers at all
trophic levels.
Whenever one
organism eats
another,
chemical
energy in the
form of matter
is transferred
to a higher
trophic level.
A
large portion of
the energy
cannot be used
by the consumer
so the majority is
“lost” at each
level.
 When it is “lost”
it is transformed
into heat or
given off as
waste.
 Because
energy is lost, each level cannot support
as many organisms as the level before it.