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Transcript
TEACHER COPY – PLEASE RETURN TO TEACHER Change and the Environment S8.B.3.2 Ecological Relationships • Competition – Occurs when organisms sharing an ecosystem compete with each other for resources such as food, water, sunlight and living spaces Relationships • Predator-Prey – Predators – organisms that kill and eat other organisms – Prey – Organisms that are killed and eaten • This relationship is important in maintaining balance in an ecosystem for: – Food – Mates – Habitat Types of Relationships • Symbiosis – A relationship between two organisms in which at least one benefits • Three types of symbiosis – Mutualism – Commensalism – Parasitism • Mutualism • A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit for the interaction – Examples: • Lichen – Algae and fungus live together – The algae provides food and the fungus provides a place to live and protection • • Commensalism A relationship where one organism benefits and the other neither benefits or is harmed – Example: • Orchids living on the branches of high trees – The orchid is able to get more sunlight, the tree is unaffected • • • • Parasitism A relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed Parasite – an organism that lives on or in another organism (usually for food) Host – The organism affected by the parasite – Example: • Tick on a dog Carrying Capacity • Carrying capacity – the number of individuals an ecosystem can continue to support • A ecosystem will grow until the carrying capacity is reached • Growth stops when limiting factors are reached – Food, water, climate, shelter, space, disease and predators Succession • • Ecological Succession is a process in which the communities of an ecosystem change over time. There are two types of succession: primary and secondary. Both types of succession follow a similar pattern. Let’s focus on primary succession. A. Primary succession occurs in places where an ecosystem has never existed before. This could be a newly formed volcanic island or land exposed from a receding glacier. B. As the exposed rock is weathered, the first species appear. These species are called pioneer species. They are small, grow quickly, and need minimal resources to survive. Often are mosses and lichens. C. The pioneer species breakdown the rock to form soil. This allows other species to grow among the mosses and lichens. Eventually the other species out compete with the pioneer species and change the community. D. At each stage, competition among the species causes a change in the dominant community. In the later stages, larger, slower growing species displace the smaller, faster growing species. • As the ecosystem ages, the community becomes more diverse. The process of succession will continue until the ecosystem reaches a climax community. – • • A climax community is the last stage of succession. If left undisturbed, the ecosystem will stay at the climax community. – The Oak-Hickory forests of PA is a climax community. Disturbances in the ecosystem, such as fire, flood or human activity, can slow the process of succession down. If the disturbance is catastrophic, like a tornado or volcanic eruptions, the process may have to start over from the beginning. Which leads us to…. • Secondary succession is the process that begins in an ecosystem that has been disturbed or destroyed. – Typically occurs on abandoned farmlands, burned or cut forests, etc… I. Secondary succession has similar stages compared with primary succession. Remember that secondary is regenerating an existing ecosystem. Primary is forming a new ecosystem where none existed before.