Download Ecology intro and Energy flow

Class Notes
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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.