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Transcript
Ecology Everything Is Connected To Everything Else What is Ecology? • Ecology is the study of the relationships and interactions of living things with one another and with their environment. What is the Environment? • The environment includes all living and nonliving things that surround an organism. Biotic vs Abiotic • Biotic includes all living things in the environment. – Examples: plants, animals, insects, protists, fungi, bacteria, etc. • Abiotic includes all nonliving things in the environment. – Examples: light, temperature, wind, rocks, soil. Is Water Biotic or Abiotic? • Water itself is abiotic. – Water contains many life forms – Water is the one thing required by all living things. What is an Ecosystem? • Scientists divide the world into separate ecosystems. – Example: a forest ecosystem • An ecosystem is an area in which living things and nonliving things interact, exchanging energy and materials. What is a Community? • A community is the living part of any ecosystem - all the different organisms that live together in that area. All the living things in an area form a community What is a Population? • Each kind of living thing makes up a population in the community. • A population is a group of organisms of the same species living together in the same area. Sea anemone population Gopher mounds What is a Habitat? • A habitat is the specific place in which an organism lives. – A habitat provides food, shelter, and the other resources an organism needs to survive. – Different organisms live in different habitats because they have different needs. Ant population in its habitat Egret population in its habitat with its community Limiting factors Energy Roles in the Environment • Organisms can be producers, consumers or decomposers. – These roles indicate how an organism gets its energy and how it interacts with other living things in the community. What is a Producer? • A producer is the source of all the food in an ecosystem. – Producers are able to take a source of energy, (such as sunlight), to turn raw materials, (such as water and carbon dioxide), into energy. – Examples are green plants and certain microorganisms. What is a Consumer? • A consumer is an organism that feeds directly or indirectly on producers. – There are many kinds of consumers: • Herbivores • Carnivores • Omnivores • Scavengers Herbivores • Herbivores are consumers that feed on plants. – Examples are grasshoppers and rabbits Herbivores Herbivores Carnivores • Carnivores are consumers that feed on other animals. – Examples are spiders, snakes, wolves. Carnivores Carnivorous Plants Omnivores • Omnivores are consumers that feed on both plants and other animals. – Examples are humans, crows, bears. Omnivores Scavengers • Scavengers are animals that feed on the bodies of dead animals. • Examples are vultures, jackals, hyenas. More Scavengers What is a Decomposer? • Decomposers are organisms that break down dead organisms into simpler substances. • Examples are mold, mushrooms, bacteria. Food Chains and Food Webs • The food and energy links among producers and consumers in an ecosystem are represented by food chains and food webs. Food Chain • A food chain represents a series of events in which food and energy are transferred from one organism in an ecosystem to another. – The first link in a food chain is always a producer. – The second link is a herbivore. – The third link, and all the links after that, are almost always carnivores. – The “end” of a food chain is always connected to the “beginning” by decomposers. Food Web • Since there are many organisms in an ecosystem, and few that eat only one kind of food, there must be more than one food chain in an ecosystem. • A food web consists of many overlapping food chains. – Food webs give the whole picture of the food and energy relationships in an ecosystem. What is a Niche? • Every organism has a niche in life. • A niche is the role an organism has in an ecosystem. – Niche is “what the organism does” – An organisms niche includes: the place it lives; the food it eats; the organisms that feed on it, interact with it; the amount of light, humidity and other physical conditions it needs to survive. Interaction Among Living Things • Ecosystems involve many interactions between organisms. • Each organism in a community has its own unique role to play. This role, or niche, is more than just the organisms place in the food web. Competition is Interaction Competition vs Interaction • Because the resources (food, water, shelter, light etc.) of an ecosystem are limited, it can not satisfy the needs of all the organisms living in it. • Competition is the interaction, or struggle, of organisms against each other to get the things they need to survive. Plant Competition Animal Competition Predation is Interaction • Predators are living things that catch, kill, and eat other living things. – Examples: cats, hawks, snakes. • Prey are the organisms that are eaten by predators. – Examples: mice, • Predation plays an important role in shaping the structure of a community. Some Predators Symbiosis is Interaction • Symbiosis is the close relationship between two organisms in which at least one organism benefits. • In symbiosis one organism lives near, on, or even inside, another organism. Cycles in Nature Time • Cycles in nature often occur in a regular rhythm, or time pattern. What is Rhythm? • A rhythm is any pattern that occurs over and over again. • Many biological rhythms are often in harmony with natural cycles. – Daily rhythms – Lunar rhythms – Annual rhythms Daily Rhythms • Diurnal organisms are those that are active during the day. • Nocturnal organisms are those that are active during the night. Lunar Rhythms • Lunar rhythms are rhythms that are controlled by the moon, such as the rise and fall of the tides. What are Biological Clocks? • Biological clocks are internal timers that may be responsible for keeping track of many different cycles of time. Why Have Biological Clocks? • Biological clocks help organisms survive. • Biological clocks help living things stay in step with rhythmic cycles of change in their environment. – When the time is right, biological clocks tell organisms to change their appearance, behavior, or body functions in some way. Cycles in Nature – Annual Rhythms • Many natural rhythms are closely associated with the seasons of the year. • Annual rhythms are events that occur once a year. – There are many examples of annual rhythms such as migration, hibernation and estivation. Cycles in Nature - Migration • Migrations are annual rhythms in which organisms travel from the place where they breed to the place where they feed. Why Migrate? – Organisms migrate to find more beneficial environments as seasonal changes make their old environment less habitable. – Examples: Geese, turtles, whales, salmon Migration Patterns Cycles in Nature - Hibernation • Some organisms avoid unfavorable seasonal changes by “sleeping” through the bad periods of the year. • During this “sleep” the body functions of the animal slows down. • This enables animals to wait out the bad periods of the year in a sheltered hiding place. What is Hibernation? • Hibernation is the winter resting, “sleeping”, state for organisms avoiding the cold, harsh winter months. – Examples: bears, toads. Hibernating Boar What is Estivation • Estivation is the summer resting, “sleeping” state for organisms avoiding the hot, dry, harsh summer months. – Example: African lungfish buries itself in the mud at the bottom of the lake before it dries out. These fish can survive for years in their shell of dried mud. Estivation Cycles of Matter • Matter can not be created or destroyed. • Matter, in the form of chemicals, flows in cycles from the nonliving part of the environment to living things and back again. 4 Important Matter Cycles • Hydrologic (Water) Cycle • Carbon Cycle • Oxygen Cycle • Nitrogen Cycle The Water Cycle Water Cycle Terms • Radiation is the suns energy (heating water). • Evaporation is water (liquid) changing to water vapor (gas). Evaporation requires energy. • Condensation is water vapor (gas) changing to water (liquid). Condensation releases energy. • Precipitation is any form of water falling from the sky. • Infiltration/Percolation is water filtering into the ground. • Runoff is water that flows on top of the ground. • Perspiration is water that comes out of animals in the form of sweat. Respiration is from breathing. • Transpiration is water that comes out of plants. The Oxygen and Carbon Cycles • Carbon dioxide is used by producers such as green plants. • Oxygen is released by producers such as green plants. • Oxygen is used by air-breathing organisms. • Carbon dioxide is released by airbreathing organisms. Two Carbon Cycles The Nitrogen Cycle • All living things need nitrogen but most organisms can not get enough from the air. • Nitrogen fixation by bacteria use free nitrogen in the air to make nitrogen compounds called nitrates. • Plants use the nitrates to make compounds called proteins. • Other organisms that can not use nitrates directly use the proteins containing nitrogen. • Decomposers, such as bacteria, break down the complex nitrogen compounds in dead organisms and animal waste, returning simple nitrogen to the soil. • Nitrogen can go back and forth between plants and soil many times. • Eventually bacteria break down the nitrogen compounds into free nitrogen which is released into the air. Nitrogen Cycle Wildlife Conservation • Extinction is the process by which a species passes out of existence. • Organisms that are so rare that they are in danger of becoming extinct are said to be endangered. – About 4500 kinds of animals and 20,000 kinds of plants are endangered. Extinct Species Passenger Pidgeon Triceratops Do do Bird Endangered Species Threats to Wildlife • • • • • • • Intentional Killing Deforestation Desertification Wetlands destruction Pollution Changing communities – exotic species Accidental killing Intentional Killing Poaching Desertification Wetlands Destruction Pollution Pollution Exotic/Invasive Species Accidental Killing