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Class Notes Name: _______________________________________ Period:_______________________________________ Date: _______________________________________ Intro to Ecology & Energy Flow Questions/Main Idea: What is Ecology? Notes: It is the study of interactions between organisms and their surrounding environment What is the biosphere? the portion of the planet in which all of life exists including land, air, & water. These interactions within the biosphere create a web of relationships between organisms & the environment This causes the biosphere to always be changing Into what levels is the Species – a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce biosphere organized? fertile offspring Populations – groups of organisms that belong to the same species & live in the same area Communities – groups of different populations that live in the same area Ecosystems – groups of communities living together interacting with the physical environment Biomes – group of ecosystems that have the same climate & similar dominant communities What are the methods used The scientific method is the approach for ecological inquiry. to study ecology? Observing Experimenting (testing hypotheses) Modeling What are autotrophs? Some organisms are capable of harnessing that energy from the sun which is the only source of energy. Only plants, some algae, and some bacteria can convert sunlight or chemicals into food. These are autotrophs or producers. These producers are essential to the flow of energy through the biosphere. Photosynthesis vs Chemosynthesis Photosynthesis Chemosynthesis Species Population Community Ecosystem Biome Biosphere •Sunlight is source of energy •Oxygen is a product • Carbon dioxide & water are reactants •Produce energy-rich carbohydrates •Chemical bonds from inorganic compounds is source of energy. •Sulfur compounds are a product What are heterotrophs? How does the energy flow through an ecosystem? What are food webs? What are trophic levels? What is an energy pyramid? What is a biomass pyramid? Summary: Heterotrophs or Consumers are organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply. They are classified by what they eat: Herbivores – Only eat plant material. This means leaves, flowers, fruits or even wood. Carnivores - Eat meat, other animals. Omnivores – Eat both plants and meat. Detritivores – Are animals that consume decomposing organic material, and in doing so contribute to decomposition and the recycling of nutrients. Decomposers - Are organisms that consume dead plants and animals, and, in doing so, carry out the natural process of decomposition. It flows in one direction. Energy stored by producers is passed along a food chain. Sun/inorganic compounds → autotrophs → various heterotrophs Ex: Sun → algae → mosquito larvae→ dragonfly larvae→ frog In ecosystems, feeding relationships are more complex than what can be shown in a food chain. When the feeding relationships among various organisms in an ecosystem form a network of interactions, this is called a food web. Each step in a food chain or food web is a trophic level. Producers make the first trophic level. Consumers make up the second, third, or higher trophic levels. A primary consumer eats the 1st trophic level. A secondary consumer eats the 2nd trophic level. A tertiary consumer eats the 3rd trophic level. A quaternary consumer eats the 4th trophic level. It is a pyramid that represents the relative amount of energy available within each trophic level of a food chain. Only part of the energy stored in an organism is transferred to the next trophic level. Only about 10% of energy available within a trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next level. The more levels that exist between producers and top-level consumers in an ecosystem, the less energy that remains from the original amount. Ex: 6000 Kcal → 600 Kcal → 60 Kcal → 6 Kcal producer → 1st consumer →2nd consumer → 3rd consumer Represents the total amount of living tissue available within each trophic level of a food chain. It is the potential food available for each trophic level. Typically, the greatest biomass is at the bottom of the pyramid, expressed in grams of organic matter per unit area.