Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Ecological fitting wikipedia , lookup
Introduced species wikipedia , lookup
Biodiversity action plan wikipedia , lookup
Habitat conservation wikipedia , lookup
Island restoration wikipedia , lookup
Renewable resource wikipedia , lookup
Lake ecosystem wikipedia , lookup
Biology Review Ecology 5.1 & G.1 Kelsey Doucette First, the easy stuff….. Define it!! • Species- a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile . offspring • • • • • • Habitat- the environment in which a species normally lives or the location of a living organism. Population- a group of organisms of the same species which live in the same area at the same time. Community- a group of populations living and interacting with each other in an area. Ecosystem- a community and its abiotic environment. Autotroph- an organism capable of making their own organic molecules as a food source. Heterotroph- an organism that cannot make their own food from inorganic matter • • • • Consumer- an organism that feeds on trophic levels below them. Detritivores- organisms that eat non-living organic matter. Saprotrophs- organisms that live in or on non-living organic matter, secreting digestive enzymes into it and absorbing the products of its digestion. Trophic Level- an organism’s position in a food chain. Dung beetles are detritivores. Fungi are saprotrophs. Food Chain vs. Food Web A food chain looks something like this.. algae mosquito larvae dragonfly larvae fish raccoon whereas a food web looks like this.. So…which trophic level?? So, to tie up the loose ends.. • Light is the initial energy source for almost all communities. • The energy in a food chain travels from the lower trophic level to the higher trophic level. • Once light energy has been absorbed by producers, the chemical energy obtained by photosynthesis is available to the next trophic level. Energy is transferred from one organism to the next when carbohydrates, lipids or proteins are digested. The chemical energy obtained is then used for cellular respiration. • Energy transformations are never 100% efficient....but why??? There are many reasons why not all of the energy present in an organism can be used by the organism in the next trophic level: -Not all of the organism is swallowed as a food source. -Not all the food swallowed can be absorbed (bones and hair). -Some organisms die before being eaten. -Heat loss is immense due to cellular respiration. • This is why in pyramids of energy, each level is always smaller than the one before. • In an ecosystem most energy is lost as heat and the term ‘lost’ means that organisms cannot recycle heat energy. • However, decomposers in an ecosystem recycle nutrients. The organisms that carry out the recycling of these nutrients are saprotrophic bacteria and fungi. And now, the Option G stuff… • Factors that affect the distribution of plant species: -Temperature: adaptations such as leaves that curl to resist heat. -Water: adaptations such as long roots to find water. -Light: adaptations such as larger leaves in shady areas or smaller leaves in high sun areas. -Soil pH: plants are either acid-loving, basic-loving or neutral-loving. -Salinity: plants either withstand salt or not. -Mineral Nutrients: mature dunes inland have thick layers of nutrients while foredunes only contain a small amount of nutrients. • Factors that affect the distribution of animal species: -Temperature: adaptations to high heat such as burrowing in cool sand. -Water: some animals depend on wetlands for their eggs and as a food source. -Breeding Sites: certain habitats that are protected from the sun and the wind are necessary for certain animals to breed. -Food Supply: many animals are adapted to feed on specific food and must live where that food supply is available. -Territory- animals must separate their territories so that they do not overlap and affect each other. Now, how to compare populations?? • In order to compare two populations, you must use a method of random sampling. • One way to do so is with the quadrat method. Can anyone explain? • Another way to do so is with the transect method. How about explaining this one? (Remember this deals with abiotic variables) An organism’s role in the play of life… The Niche concept!! • This says that every organism has a particular role in that ecosystem. • The area inhabited by any particular organism is its spatial habitat. • The feeding activities of an organism affect the ecosystem by keeping other populations in check. • The interactions of an organism with other species living in its ecosystem include competition, herbivory, predation, parsitism and mutualism. • When a primary consumer feeds on a producer is known as herbivory. • When a consumer eats another consumer is known as predation. • When two species rely on the same limited resource is known as competition. • When two species living together benefit from the relationship is known as mutualism. • When an organism lives in or on a host is known as parasitism. Name that interaction! 1. Clownfish and sea anemones. 2. Rabbits eating marram grass. 3. Coyotes and red foxes both being predators to small rodents and birds. 4. Leeches on humans. 5. The blue heron eating frogs. 6. Monarch butterfly larvae eat leaves of the milkweed plant. 7. Fungi and algae. 8. The Canadian lynx eating arctic hares. 9. The natterjack toad and the common toad live in the same habitat. 10. Plasmodium on humans. G.F. Gause said whhhatt?? • No two species in a community can occupy the same niche according to the principle of competitive exclusion. • G.F. Gause’s experiment with two species of Paramecium exemplified this principle. It showed that when the two species, who are closely related, were cultured together one species out competed the other. So what do you call a niche with and without competition? • Fundamental: the potential mode of existence, given the adaptations of the species. • Realized: the actual mode of existence, which results from its adaptations and competition with other species. So how do you measure mass of living plants and animals in an ecosystem? • The total mass of organic matter is the biomass of an ecosystem. • The method to do so is….? You tell me!