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Transcript
Ecology Outline • • • • • Niches Biomes Plant communities Ecological levels Relationships of organisms Ecology is the study of the interactions that affect the abundance and distribution of living organisms. Habitat and niche • Habitat is the organisms “address” • Niche is the organisms “job” within that address Fundamental niche is the total number of positions that an organism can occupy Realized niche is the actual position that an organism actually occupies Biomes are large areas that have a similar climate Biomes can be classified by temperature and precipitation Biomes are made up of plant communities Deserts Oak woodlands High altitude meadows provide habitat diversity within forest biomes Conifer forests can be shaped by fire frequency The coastal interface provides a wealth of diversity Salt marshes are some of the most productive plant communities Plant communities can change along distinct lines The first level of ecology is individuals All of the individuals in a given area constitutes a population A variety of populations follow a logistical curve Human population is expanding exponentially Communities consist of many populations interacting together Food chains are simple ways of looking at the relationships of organisms Food webs show the inter-relatedness of organisms on the same level of the food chain Real-life food webs are much more complicated Herbivory two organisms interacting where one species benefits and the other is harmed Leaf-cutter ants Chiton Some herbivores can have large effects on plant communities and ecosystems Commensalism is the interaction of two organisms where one species benefits and the other is not affected Predation is the interaction of two organisms where one species benefits and the other is harmed Bird that spears fish Voracious intertidal predator In Symbiotic relationships both organisms benefit Parasitic relationships the host suffers and the parasite benefits Competition is when two organisms suffer as a result of an interaction. Some organisms suffer more than others Possible relationships of organisms • Commensal + • Predation + • Symbiotic + • Parasitic + • Competition • Herbivory + 0 + - 22,137 species have gone extinct since 1600 to 1993 This is approximately 100-1000 times the background rate of extinction assessed from the fossil record