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The study of the interactions between organisms and the living and nonliving components of their environment. Table of Contents: Ecology Levels of Organization Organism Ecology (vocabulary) Ecosystems and Energy Ecosystem Recycling Populations Succession Invasive Species Modern Issues slides 3-7 slides 8-9 slides 10-17 slides 18-20 slides 21-30 slides 31-36 slides 37-41 slides 42-57 Levels of Organization _______________ – The thin layer of the earth that supports life (as thin as the skin of an apple!) Levels of Organization Biomes – Any of the worlds major ecosystems, classified by predominant ___________ and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment. – Terrestrial Biomes include ___________, Savanna, Desert, Chaparral, Temperate Grassland, Temperate Broadleaf Forest, Coniferous Forest, Tundra, High Mountains, Polar Ice – Aquatic Biomes include ___________, Wetlands, Streams and Rivers, Estuaries, intertidal zones, oceanic pelagic zones, coral reefs, marine benthic zones Levels of Organization Ecosystem – Includes all of the living (_____) and non living (_______) components within a particular place. Biotic Components of a Pond – includes fish, turtles, plants, algae, insects, bacteria. – These interact with each other. Abiotic Components of a Pond – water temperature, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, nitrogen levels, sun light, pH level. – These are necessary for the living organisms to survive. Levels of Organization _____________ – Includes all of the interacting organisms within an area. _____________ – Includes all of the members of a species that live in one place at a time. _____________ – The individual in a population. – Represents the simplest level of organization. – Most studies focus on the individual organism and how it has adapted to overcome the challenges in its environment. Levels of Organization Organism Ecology Biotic Factors - living factors that affect an organism. Abiotic Factors - non living factors that affect an organism. _____________ - where an organism lives Environmental Fluctuations – As the environment changes, an organism must be able to tolerate those changes otherwise it will stress and exhibit reduced performance or simply die. Organism Ecology ____________ – Way of life or the role of an organism in its environment. Bacteria recycle nutrients Predators keep prey populations under control Plants use CO2 and produce O2 also provide food for grazers. Ecosystems and Energy What’s the 10% Rule? Energy Transfer A common characteristic of all living organisms is they require __________ to carry out metabolic activities. ________________ – Usually photosynthetic plants (autotrophs) – Can also be chemosynthetic (certain bacteria) Energy Transfer Measuring Productivity – _________ Primary Productivity Rate at which producers capture energy Energy is used to make sugar which is used for repairs, for growth or cellular respiration – _________ Organic matter in the ecosystem – _________ Primary Productivity Rate at which biomass accumulates in an ecosystem – NPP is highest in biomes like tropical rain forests and estuaries Energy Transfer Consumers are Heterotrophs – Herbivores - consume producers ________________________ – Carnivores - eat consumers ______________________________________ – Omnivores - eat both producers and consumers ______________________ – Detritivores - feed on dead matter ______________________ – Decomposers - decay complex molecules of dead tissue and wastes into simpler molecules ________________________ Energy Transfer Energy Flow Energy in an ecosystem moves from one organism into another ____________ Level – The organisms position in the sequence of energy transfers ____________ Chain – A single pathway of feeding relationships in an ecosystem that shows energy transfer ____________ Web – a series of interrelated food chains in an ecosystem Food Chain Food Web Ecosystem Recycling The Water Cycle Ecosystem Recycling The Carbon Cycle Ecosystem Recycling Ecology Populations: Growth, Carrying Capacity, Variables Population Growth If resources, such as _______, water and habitats, were unlimited, then a population of organisms would grow in an exponential fashion. Imagine if this growth curve represented mosquitoes, elephants or people. The earth would be_________ and all resources would be rapidly depleted! Population Growth Fortunately, in nature resources are ___________. Limited resources slow growth and if you graph numbers of organisms over time, the graph takes the shape below. Population: Carrying Capacity Notice the top of the smooth graph is labeled “______________ ____________”. This is the number of organisms that a habitat can sustain with the available resources. If the number of organisms exceeds the carrying capacity, the population can _______. Population Curve Notice the ________ on this graph. When resources have been overused or depleted, the organisms begin to ____________ out. Population: Carrying Capacity What happened to the reindeer on Matthew Island? Population Size: Variables What other factors affect the size of a population? – _______________ Rates – _______________ Rates – __________________-the movement of individuals from other areas. – __________________-the movement of individuals out of a population. Population Size: Variables If the arrows represent actual rates, what would happen to the size of the population circle if the death rate arrow was cut in half or the immigration arrow was doubled? __________ Population Size: Variables If the death rate arrow were cut in half or the immigration arrow was doubled, the population circle would increase in size. Population Population: Variables In the _______ _________, birth rates, death rates and emigration rate are low but our immigration rate is climbing. How is that affecting our population size? Ecology Succession Ecological Succession Changes in the number and type of organisms in a community are most apparent after some type of disturbance to the ___________. The disturbed area may be colonized by a variety of new organisms, which are gradually replaced by other organisms until a stable group of species persists within the area. This process is called ____________ __________. Ecological Succession cont. One type of ecological succession is called Primary Succession. In primary succession, a new piece of new real estate, such as a volcanic island where soil and organisms are lacking, is invaded by lichens and mosses which are usually blown in as spores. As _______ develops, these organisms are overgrown by grasses, shrubs and trees that are blown in or brought in by animals. Eventually, the area is colonized by __________ that become the main form of vegetation. This process can take hundreds to thousands of ________. To the right, the foreground is bare rock covered with lichens and mosses. The middle ground contains a small amount of soil with plants. The background is a stable forest. Below is an example of rock covered with lichens. Ecological Succession ___________ succession occurs when an existing community is cleared by some disturbance such as fires, glaciation, deforestation, etc. Under these circumstances the sequence of colonization can vary but generally ________ and other opportunistic plants first invade followed by grasses or shrubs. These can then be replaced by trees species. Secondary succession occurs in areas where plants were already established but were disturbed. This sequence represents a once planted field in North Carolina. Ecology Invasive Species (Non-Native) Invasive Species After habitat loss and degradation, mostly due to human activity, the biggest cause of early organism extinction is the introduction of harmful ________________ species into an ecosystem. Invasive species have been intentionally and accidentally introduced in the U.S. for years. Intentionally introduced species include – wheat, rice, corn, __________, ____________. Accidentally introduced species include an estimated ______ organisms in the U.S. alone Invasive Species cont. Accidentally introduced species include – Brown tree snakes, Japanese beetles, African honeybees, zebra mussels, Formosan Termites, Burmese pythons, Gypsy moths, etc. Species like these cost the U.S. public approximately $261,000 per __________ in damage and control. Invasive Species These invasive species cause so much damage because they have no ____________ predators, competitors, parasites or pathogens when introduced into a new environment. Nonnative species can reduce or wipe-out populations of many native species, trigger ecological disruption, cause human health problems and lead to ________________ loss. Invasive Species Kudzu Vine Burmese Python Formosan Termite Gypsy Moth Catepillar Ecology Modern Issues (Optional Information) Ecology Human Population Explosion From 2 Billion in 1930 to _____ Billion in 1996 Projected to reach over 7.8 Billion in _______ World Population Projections Ecology Mass Extinctions – The last extinction occurred _____ mya probably due to an asteroid impact. – Currently organisms are going extinct at a rate unseen since the dinosaurs last died out. – By 2100, it is expected that one fifth of the current organisms will be _________. – Why? Habitat destruction, over hunting, the introduction of predators and disease. Mass Extinction 1 The following mass extinctions were due to natural causes. – First major extinction (c. 440 mya): Climate change (relatively severe and sudden global cooling) seems to have been at work at the first of thesethe end-Ordovician mass extinction that caused such pronounced change in marine life (little or no life existed on land at that time). 25% of families lost (a family may consist of a few to thousands of species). Mass Extinctions 2-3 Second major extinction (c. 370 mya): The next such event, near the end of the Devonian Period, may or may not have been the result of global climate change. 19% of families lost. Third major Extinction (c. 245 mya): Scenarios explaining what happened at the greatest mass extinction event of them all (so far, at least!) at the end of the Permian Period have been complex amalgams of climate change perhaps rooted in plate tectonics movements. Very recently, however, evidence suggests that a bolide impact similar to the end-Cretaceous event may have been the cause. 54% of families lost. Mass Extinction 4 Fourth major extinction (c. 210 mya): The event at the end of the Triassic Period, shortly after dinosaurs and mammals had first evolved, also remains difficult to pin down in terms of precise causes. 23% of families lost. Mass Extinction 5 Fifth major extinction (c. 65 mya): – Most famous, perhaps, was the most recent of these events at the end-Cretaceous. It wiped out the remaining terrestrial dinosaurs and marine ammonites, as well as many other species across the phylogenetic spectrum, in all habitats sampled from the fossil record. Consensus has emerged in the past decade that this event was caused by one (possibly multiple) collisions between Earth and an extraterrestrial bolide (probably a comet). 17% of families lost. Last Extinction Event The Sixth Mass Extinction How is the Sixth Extinction different from previous events? – The current mass extinction is _________________________ (caused by humans). Humans are the direct cause of ecosystem stress and species destruction in the modern world through such activities as: – Habitat ________________ – Overexploitation of species – ________________ – The introduction of _____________ species Ecology Thinning _________ Layer – This layer is responsible for protecting life from UV radiation from the sun. – CFC’s in the earth’s upper atmosphere cause ozone (O3) to break down into oxygen (O2). – This effect is magnified at the earth’s ___________. – A _____ treaty banned CFC’s (Chloroflourocarbons) from use, but long-term persistence of CFC’s in the atmosphere continues to degrade ozone. – Recent evidence suggests ozone degradation is Total Ozone Ozone Hole Ecology Modern Issues – Global Warming Carbon Dioxide (CO2) produce by ___________ has increase the atmospheric CO2 steadily since the late 1800’s. Ecology Global Warming – The increase in “greenhouse gases” (CO2, O3, CH4) is slowly increasing the average temperature of the earth. – This is resulting in rising ______ level, melting _____ caps, changes in _______ patterns and changes in oceanic current flows. Environmental knowledge is essential in trying to stop and reverse destructive human practices.