Download The Needs of Living Things

Unit 1
Interactions and Ecosystems
What is an Ecosystem?
• the interaction between living
and non-living things in a
particular environment
• or the interactions between the
biotic and abiotic


ecosystems are often too large and
connected to observe, so scientists study
aspects of ecosystems
Come up with as many parts to the
ecosystem in the following pictures
Desert
Ecosystem
Salt Water
Fish Tank
Boreal-Forest
Ecosystem
How do we deal with the
complexity of ecosystems?
 We







study chunks at a time
Food chains, webs
Niches
Quadrant studies
Symbiotic relationships
Pollution
Individual organisms
Etc.
Latin Lesson
 What
does bio mean?
 Life
 When
you put an “a” in front of word
what does it do the word?
 Makes it a negative
 So what does biotic mean?
 Living
 What does abiotic mean?
 Non-living
What is Ecology?
 Ecology
is the study of the
relationship between living
organisms and their
environment
What is an ecologist?
A
person who studies ecology, studying
the relationship between the abiotic and
biotic
Ecology Examples
 The
swift fox is an animal native to Alberta
that has almost gone extinct, ecologists
study the swift fox to answer questions like:




what do they eat?
where do they live?
how do they raise their young?
why would they ask these questions?
How do you know
something is alive?
On Earth all living things are made
up of:
CELLS
Cells
are a special CHEMICAL
makeup of mainly:
Carbon
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Oxygen
All living things have needs
A
habitat – a place to live
 Food – plants make food, animals eat
it
 Water – all living things need water
 Gas exchange – all living things need
to breathe
 Reproduce – continue the species
Roles of Organisms
•biotic:
•living part of an ecosystem
•abiotic:
•non-living part of an ecosystem
•niche:
•the role of an organism
•organisms can have several niches
2 Main Roles of Organisms
 producers


make food energy for themselves
also called autotrophs
 consumers


anything that doesn’t make its
own food
also called heterotrophs
Consumers
 Can
be divided into 3 groups, herbivores,
carnivores, and omnivores:



1) herbivores – eat producers
2) carnivores – eat other consumers
3) omnivores – eat both producers
and consumers
Carnivores
 Predators
– kill and
eat other animals
 Prey – animal being
eaten by a predator
Name the Niche Game
 Consumer
 Herbivore
 Producer
Phytoplankton
 Consumer
 Omnivore
 Producer
 Predator
- bird
 Prey - fish
Can you define species?
A
group of living organisms consisting of
similar individuals capable of exchanging
genes or interbreeding.
 This means any 2 individuals are of the same
species if they can have babies together.
What is an adaptation?
 It
is inherited – that
means you are born
with it
 An adaptation must
also help the
organism survive in
it’s habitat
 There are 2 types of
adaptations,
behavioral and
structural
Behavioral adaptations
A
specific way of acting that
an organism was born knowing
how to do that helps it survive
ex.
Migration, howling, strutting
for mates
Structural Adaptations
Body
parts organisms are
born with that help them
survive
 ex.
Hands, teeth, hollow bones
Can 2 different species evolve the
same adaptation?
 Yes
 eyes
evolved
separately in fish and
squid, yet are similar
in function and
appearance
Can the same species have
different adaptations?
 yes
 ex.
Galapagos finches
 They all have different
beak shapes because
they live on different
islands and eat different
size of nuts
Name the adaptation Game
Pictures will follow and you must tell me the
adaptation and if it is structural or behavioral
• Hand
• Structural
• Gills
• Structural
• Hollow
bones
• Structural
• Migration or
Flying V
• Behavioral
• Wings for flying
or long beak for
eating clams
buried in sand
• Structural
• Trick
question, the
raccoon has
learnt to get
food out of
the garbage,
so this is not
an adaptation
Learning Versus Adapting
 Learnt
behaviors are not adaptations because
they are not inherited from parents
 ex. seagulls fly south for the winter is an
adaptation because it is an inherited “instinct”
 ex. seagulls follow garbage trucks because it
takes them to food is learnt behavior because
they were not born knowing to follow big green
trucks and thus it is not an adaptation
Classifying Relationships Between
Organisms
 There
are numerous ways organisms
interact together, we will only examine 2:
 Symbiosis
 Predator-Prey
SYMBIOSIS
2
species that
live together
and interact
The relationship
lasts over an
extended time
period
There are 3 types of symbiotic
relationships
1.
2.
3.
Parasitism
Mutualism
Commensalism
PARASITISM
2
species that
live together
One species is
harmed
One species
benefits
The Spotted Flycatchers eggs were
removed from the nest by a Cuckoo
bird and replaced with Cuckoo bird
eggs
TYPES:
ENDOPARASITES
LIVE
IN THEIR
HOST
TAPEWORMS,
BACTERIA,
FUNGI
ECTOPARASITES
LIVE
ON THEIR
HOST
FLEAS, TICS,
LICE
MUTUALISM
2
species that
live together
BOTH species
benefits
Cleaner Shrimp eat parasites off
of the skin of the Eel
COMMENSALISM
• 2 species live
together
• 1 benefits
•
the other
doesn’t seem to
be harmed or
benefit.
This Orchid will grow
on the branches of
trees in the jungle
Name that relationship game
Name That Relationship
 Commensalism
 Commensalism
 Mutualism
 parasitism
 Mutualism
 Parasitism
 commensalism
 Trick
questions, it is
not a symbiotic
relationship… owls
and mice don’t live
together
 Look
at figure 1.11 on page 18 of the
textbook

This is a before and after pictures for a
region of Alberta






What differences exist in the 2 photos?
Why do those differences exist?
What events caused those changes?
What needs where humans trying to meet?
How did these changes affect organisms in
this ecosystem?
What further changes might we expect?
Impacts on Ecosystems
 Animals
have an impact on the
ecosystem they live in
 It can be large or small


ex. common house fly
ex. beaver dam
How can we determine how
organisms impact ecosystems?
 Chart
it, graph it, visualize it
Food Chains
 Food
chains – model that shows how energy
stored in food passes from organism to
another organism
 Energy for a food chain always starts with
the sun
 Arrows in a food chain show the direction
that energy is flowing from the sun and then
from organism to organism
Food Chain
Food Web
 network
of feeding relationships among
organisms
 Show interactions between producers,
herbivores, carnivores and omnivores
and how they exchange food energy
 arrow in = consumer
 arrow away = being consumed
Being consumed
Consumer
Food Web Typical of Alberta
What happens if we remove
an animal from the food web?
Problem with Food
Webs/Chains?
 Do
we know how many producers or
consumers are in the food web/chain?
 Can you tell if the ecosystem is healthy?
 Food chains and webs lack number data
to go between the different levels
(producer  consumer  carnivore)
Pyramid of Numbers
 Pyramid
of Numbers – contain the number
of individual organisms at each level of
the food chain


numbers decrease as you go higher in the
food chain…thus it’s a pyramid
The total number of individuals at a level or
for an ecosystem is called biomass
Pyramid of Numbers
What does the grass
represent?
Why are their more
zooplankton then
fish?
What type of
relationships are
being demonstrated?
 Each
food level of a pyramid
is known as a trophic level

first level:
 producer

second level:
 herbivore

third level:
 Primary
carnivores (eat
herbivores)

fourth level:
 Secondary
carnivores (eat
carnivores)
 omnivores fit in level 3 and 4
Pyramid of numbers


Organisms in each level of
the pyramid are often
measured in biomass
What is biomass?




total mass of all the
organisms for a particular
portion of an ecosystem
What is the biomass of the
producers?
What is the biomass of the
primary carnivores?
What is the biomass of the
entire ecosystem?
5
70
2000
100 000
What happens to living things
when they die?
 They
on
are decomposed and scavenged
Clean Up Squad
 Scavengers
and
decomposers are
responsible for breaking
down garbage and
dead materials into
nutrients
Scavengers
 Scavengers
– feed on dead or decaying
plant or animal matter

break carcasses or debris into smaller
portions
Decomposers
 do
not actually eat dead material
 grow on or in dead material and absorb
nutrients into their own cells
 This helps to recycle nutrients back into
the ecosystem
 mainly composed of bacteria and fungi
Decomposers
Can any one think of an
example where humans
control decomposition?
 composters
 refrigerators
 nitriles
Owl Pellet lab
 You
Tube Video
Owl Pellet Lab
A
pellet is a regurgitated mass of bone,
teeth, hair, feathers, scales, and insect
skeletons by a bird
 The proteolytic enzymes and acids in a
birds stomach are weak so they can only
dissolve muscle, fur, feathers
 The birds can not dissolve the bones,
leaving them intact
Why research up chuk?
 Because
the birds intestine can not let
large chunks pass through it, the bird is
forced to regurgitate all large chunks
 Why would a scientist want to examine
bird feces??????
To find out what it eats!
 Why
do we want to know what an owl
eats?
To make a food web?
 If
we determine what an animal
eats we can partially determine it’s
role in the ecosystem
 What information does an animals
place in a food web tell us and why
is it important?
Owl Pellet
 We
are going to study pellets of the bird
Tyto alba, or commonly known as the
barn owl
 The barn owl will feed in the evening then
regurgitate a pellet 18-20 hours later
 If the owl roost is in a building with a
protected floor, the pellets will
accumulate on the floor
Owl Pellet Ecosystem
 owl


pellets are ecosystems in themselves
they provide shelter for moths, beetles,
caterpillars and fungus, all feeding on the
undigested fur and feathers
tiny black dots (size of a “.”) are droppings
from caterpillars
Owl Pellet Dissection Goals
 Dissect
on complete pellet of Tyto alba
(barn owl)
 Identify the mammalian skulls found in the
pellet
 Identify individual bones of mammals and
reconstruct the skeleton of an animal
 Describe the prey population of T. alba
 Construct a food web and Pyramid of
numbers for T. alba
 Working
in groups of 3 students per pellet!
Topic 5
Cycles in the Environment
Carbon cycle
Carbon dioxide (CO2)

producers turn CO2 into sugar
(photosynthesis)

consumers turn sugars into carbon
dioxide (respiration)

burning fossil fuels also creates carbon
dioxide

forest fires and decomposition also
creates carbon dioxide
Carbon cycle
Water Cycle
 How
water is cycled in an ecosystem
 Water Cycle
Run – off is water that runs off into
lakes, rivers and streams
Groundwater
is in the soil
What is
pollution?
Pollution in the environment
 Pollution
occurs when substances are
added to the environment at such a fast
rate they can not be broken down
 These substances are called pollutants
Bioaccumulation
 many
pollutants get stored in organisms
 so as they can move up the food web
 they tend to accumulate in higher trophic
level organisms
 accumulation can lead to disease and
possible death
Bioaccumulation
this shows the accumulation
of mercury in an aquatic
environment
Read page 61-63
 What
is an introduced species?
 Why are introduced species problems?
 Write down 1 example of an introduced
species and tell me who, what, and
where?
Introduced Species
 organism
introduced to a habitat or
ecosystem that it is not normally found in
 Why
would this be a problem?
 Often
they have no predators or are
better suited for the introduced habitat
 Previously the new habitat was
geographically out of reach for them
 When this happens they outcompete the
normal organisms for resources
 why does this matter?

When they outcompete the normal organisms
they prevent them from reproducing and can
eventually cause the extinction of organisms
or of the ecosystem

Read pages 61-63 and write down 2
examples of introduced species

one example should show the benefit of
introducing a species
PEST CONTROL
What’s Biological control?
Use
of natural
enemies to control
insect pests.
Ladybugs = aphids
STERILE MALES
Radiation
or
chemicals to sterilize
but not harm
Pesticides
 Chemicals
that are designed to kill pests
 Often though they can kill non-target
species



Ex. Peregrine Falcons and the use of DDT
Bioaccumulation of pesticides
Pesticide resistant super pests
Acid Rain
 Occurs
when sulfur and nitrogen exist in
large amounts in the air
 when they mix with air vapor (water as a
gas) they become acids and fall with rain
What’s an Acid?
 Has
a pH less than 7
 acid’s
are corrosive and dangerous
So what’s pH?
 basically
means potential of hydrogen
pH
1
Sample 1
Edmonton
pH
3
Sample 2
Stony Plain
pH
5
pH
7
Sample 3
Spruce Grove
pH
9
Sample 4
Sherwood Park
pH
11
Sample 5
Tap Water
Topic 6 Succession
Topic 6 SUCCESSION IN AN
ECOSYSTEM
 The
gradual process
by which a species
replaces other
species
 Long, slow process
 2 types of succession
PRIMARY SUCCESSION
gradual
growth of
organisms in an area that
was previously bare
As the organisms grow they
change the environment to
suit their own needs and
the needs of other animals
Types of Primary Succession
XERARCH
Vegetation
growth on
bare rock,
sand dunes,
lava flows, dry
lakes.
HYDRARCH
Reduction
of
water level of
the ecosystem
(drought,
drainage)
Is the picture on page 59
primary or secondary
succession? why?
Primary Succession on Greenland

The only thing that can grow on Greenland right
now is moss


it will slowly break down the rocks it grows on into soil
Once there is soil other plant species can begin to
grow there
SECONDARY
SUCESSION
The
regeneration
of an area or a
species in an
area after a
major
disturbance
ex. Burned forest
Pioneering Species
 Species
adapted to
thrive in conditions of
a disturbed
ecosystem
 ex. Jackpine and
lodgepole pine cones
Climax Community
 Ecosystem
in which succession is
complete
 organisms no longer replace each other


all ecosystems in the same region tend to
climax with the same species
What would a climax ecosystem look like in
the rocky mountains?

Over time conditions change




1st a fire wipes out the trees so fast growing full sun loving
plants are the first to establish
They get eventually blocked out by slower growing full sun
shrubs
Slower growing full light loving, but taller growing trees then
take the place of the full sun plants
Once trees are established only low light loving species can
grow below
Succession Worksheet
 Based



on the worksheet
Was it primary or secondary succession?
What was the climax community?
Name a pioneering species?
Primary or secondary?
Primary or Secondary Succession?
Primary or Secondary
Succession?
Primary or Secondary?
Primary or Secondary
Answer questions 1-4 on page 67
 Now
that we understand succession are
their any applications of this knowledge?





maintaining ecosystems
pest control
maintenance
farming, keeping your land clear
recreating forests after clear cutting
Human Activity Effecting the
Environment
 How
can humans affect the
environment?
 Urban

areas
Read about the brown-headed cowbird
on page 60 of the tb
 Farm
land
 Pollution
 Controlling Fire
Some animals survive better in
Cities
 Name






a few:
sea gulls
rabbits
coyote
raccoons
squirrels
rats
Sometimes humans alter
aspects of an ecosystem
 How?



over hunting
pesticides herbicides
pollution
SPECIES IN DANGER
 Use
the internet to
define terms that
scientists use to
categorize species
in danger
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
A
way to
check the
conditions of
an ecosystem
by comparing
the results of
studies over a
long time
What do we monitor in an
ecosystem?
 Geography
 Environment
– climate, temperature,
weather
 Chemical – quality of the air, soil and
water
 Biological – changes in organisms (types
and quantities)
When would we want to
monitor?
 Before




and after disturbances
volcano
earthquake
fire
land clearing
Indicator Species
plants
or animals sensitive to
changes in an environment
These species change quickly
and obviously when the
ecosystem is being affected
Ex. Amphibians
Why are Frogs good Indicator
Species?
Very
sensitive to changes
Old species (older than dinosaurs)
eat a lot of insects
cold-blooded (affected by temp
changes)
skin is very permeable (let a lot of
stuff through, so they are effected
by disease and chemicals easily)
Long Term Studies
 Amphibian
numbers can vary from year
to year due to natural changes, so we
have to study them over many years to
see if the changes are caused by things
that are unnatural to an ecosystem
 sometimes it is too hard to see if things are
changing in short term studies
BASELINE DATA
Data
gathered
about a
habitat which
serves as a
starting point
for
comparisons to
be made.
PERMANENT PLOTS
Lasting or
enduring site that
a scientist returns
to, in order to
measure the
environmental
change
Answer the even
questions on page 79
Human Impact on Ecosystems
What’s a Need, What’s a
Want
 Write
 with
down 10 things you use in daily life
your partner decide if those items are
needs or wants
Wants that lead to problems
 Everyone
wanted to have insect free lives
 Crops would grow better without insects
eating them
 people would not be bothered by insects
in the city
 so from 1940’s to the 1960’s we sprayed
DDT everywhere to kill off insects
 sounds like a good idea eh?
DDT
 Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
 Poison
 17
years to break down
 used from 1940s to 1970s
 used as a insecticide
 moved through the food chain
 reproductive problems in large predatory birds,
almost caused the extinction of Peregrine falcons
 Oh,
also a carcinogen!
Wetlands
 Better
known as bogs, marshes, or fens
 Wet for all or most of the time
 High concentration of wildlife
 They are often thought of as useless by
building developers, Although this is
changing.
 When filled in, the flow of water will
change causing floods in some areas
and drought in others, habitat is lost!
 Wetlands
are the most
endangered habitats in Canada
 development can lead to any of
the following:
 Endangered
- threatened
 Extirpated - gone from the
location
 Extinct - gone from the planet
Wet-Land Wonders Lab
 Wet-lands
are area’s where the soil is
moist the majority of the time
 Scientist’s will build models of wetlands to
determine how changing small aspects of
the ecosystem effect the whole
Wetland Wonders Lab (pg 26)
Problem:
 Can you predict what will happen if we add a
road through a wetland?
Materials:
 Sponges = wetland
 clay = the road
 water = water
 graduated cylinder
 Procedure:



Cut a series of holes in the end of a pan
Raise the pan on an angle by placing a
book under one end and having it drain
into a pan without holes in it
pout 250 mL of water into the pan and
record the time it takes and the amount of
water that drains into the other pan

place a number of sponges in the pan with
wholes to represent your wetland, then pour
250 mL of water into the top of the pan
 record
the time it takes and the amount
of water that drains into the second pan
 Ring our your sponges after recording
your results
 Now
place a clay road in the middle of
your pan with the sponges
 add 250 mL of water to the top of the pan
and record the time and the amount of
water collected in the second pan
 Variables:



M.V.
R.V.
Controls
 Data


chart
graph
Topic 3: Environmental Choices
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
 We not only depend on nature,
we are part of nature.
 There is concern about the
dwindling resources on the Earth
 We need to live in a sustainable
manner
 Sustainability


resources used = resources renewed
wastes produced= wastes absorbed
 Ecological

Footprint
calculation of:
total
area of land and water
needed to supply all the
materials and energy you use
calculate yours!
Ecological Footprint
 Most
Canadians are using more and creating
more waste than is sustainable.
 Reduce your ecological footprint by:


be aware of the natural resources you consume
in a day
reduce the energy, number of products you use
and garbage you make
"The Earth does not belong to Man. Man belongs to the Earth.
Man does not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand it it.
Whatever he does to the web,he does to himself."
Chief Seattle
 "Modern
society will find no solution to the
ecological problem
unless it takes a serious look at its
lifestyle."
 Pope John Paul II
 "Hurt
not the earth, neither the sea, nor the
trees".
 Revelation 7:3
Study Tip
 All
of the notes or points in each topic of
this unit relate to each other
 In order to understand how everything is
connected in this unit I recommend
building mind maps to understand how
each of the concepts relate to each
other
 let’s start with topic 1
Questions For studying
 Page
84-87
 2, 4, 5-7, 9, 16, 21, 25-28, 31, 36