Download Ecology is study of interactions between

Ecology
Rain Forest
damp, dark
raining, dripping, steaming
monkey, jaguar, frog, anaconda
climbing, stalking, slinking
furry scaled
endangered.
What is ecology?
Is this
ecology?
Or this?
Ecology is study of interactions between
• non-living components in the environment…
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
light
water
wind
nutrients in soil
heat
solar radiation
atmosphere, etc.
AND
Biotic factors- all living organisms
inhabiting the Earth
Origin of the word…”ecology”
• Greek origin
• OIKOS = household
• LOGOS = study of…
• Study of the “house/environment” in which
we live.
What Makes Up An Ecosystem?
What Makes Up An Ecosystem?
Geo physics
Shaping
the Land
Mass
Topography influencing habitats
The four main abiotic factors that affect both land
topography and animal survivability.
Weather - rain, cloud cover, sun, wind etc.
Temperature – how warm, hot or cold the climate is.
Soil – what are the components of the soil? Nutrient rich or
poor.
Light – how much light is available for the organism. What
about caves?
There are four main abiotic reservoirs
Water cycle
Carbon cycle
90% of Earth’s O2 production
Nitrogen Cycle
14
Phosphorus Cycle
Abundant phosphorus stimulates plant and algal productivity.
Major component of water pollution.
Reduced levels of dissolved oxygen.
Organization of Life
Biosphere
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Organisms
Organism- any unicellular or
multicellular form exhibiting all of the
characteristics of life, an individual.
•The lowest level of organization
Population-a group of organisms of
one species living in the same place
at the same time that interbreed
and compete with each other for
resources (ex. food, mates, shelter)
Ecosystem- populations in a
community and the abiotic factors
with which they interact (ex.
marine, terrestrial)
Biosphere- life supporting portions
of Earth composed of air, land,
fresh water, and salt water.
•The highest level of organization
Habitat
• The place in which an organism
lives
–provides the kinds of food and shelter,
the temperature, and the amount of
moisture the organism needs to survive
Feeding Relationships
Producer- all
autotrophs (plants),
they trap energy
from the sun
• Bottom of the food
chain
Feeding Relationships
Consumer- all heterotrophs: they
ingest food containing the sun’s
energy
• Herbivores
• Carnivores
• Omnivores
• Decomposers
Feeding Relationships
ConsumerHerbivores
– Eat plants
• Primary
consumers
• Prey animals
Feeding Relationships
Consumer-Carnivores-eat meat
• Predators
– Hunt preyOther animals
for food.
Feeding Relationships
Consumer- Carnivores- eat meat
• Scavengers
– Feed on carrion,
dead animals
Feeding Relationships
ConsumerDecomposers
• Breakdown the
complex compounds
of dead and
decaying plants and
animals into simpler
molecules that can
be absorbed
Food Chain
A food chain is
a simple model
of the feeding
relationship in
an ecosystem.
Trophic Levels
Producer: (autotrophs) anchor of chain;
produce all organic matter for other
organisms
Heterotrophs (consumers)
Primary consumer: directly consume
producers = herbivores
Secondary consumer: consume herbivores
Tertiary & Quaternary consumers: consume
secondary & tertiary consumers, respectively
Terrestrial Food Web
Marine Food Web
RULE OF 10
• Only 10% of energy is transferred from one
trophic level to the next.
• Example:
– It takes 100 kgs of plant materials (producers) to
support 10 kgs of herbivores
– It takes 10 kgs of herbivores to support 1 kg of 1st
level predator
Numbers Pyramid
•
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
When converting energy, the system will
always lose some energy as heat
Biomes of the world
Tropical Rainforest
Desert
Mediterranean Woodland
Mid-latitude Grassland
Mid-latitude
Deciduous Forest
Tundra
Niches
A niche is the way an organism interacts with other living things and with its
physical environment.
Or a plant's or animal's ecological niche is a way of life that is unique to that
species.
How would you describe the niche of the following slide?
Black skimmer
seizes small fish
at water surface
Flamingo feeds on
minute organisms
in mud
Brown pelican
dives for fish,
which it locates
from the air
Louisiana heron
wades into water
to seize small fish
Scaup and other diving
ducks feed on mollusks,
crustaceans, and aquatic
vegetation
Avocet sweeps bill
through mud and
surface water in search
of small crustaceans,
insects, and seeds
Ruddy
turnstone
searches under
shells and
pebbles
for small
invertebrates
Herring gull
is a tireless
scavenger
Dowitcher probes
deeply into mud in
search of snails,
marine worms, and
small crustaceans
Oystercatcher feeds on
clams, mussels, and other
shellfish into which it
pries its narrow beak
Piping plover feeds
on insects and tiny
crustaceans on
sandy beaches
Knot (sandpiper)
picks up worms
and small crustaceans
left by receding tide
Mutualism
Both species benefit from the interaction.
Flowers and their Pollinators
(examples: Bees and
hummingbirds gather nectar and
spread pollen.)
What is the benefit here?
Mutualism
Sloth
Algae Moth
Commensalism
Commensalism is a relationship
between two living organisms where
one benefits and the other is neither
harmed nor helped.
The clownfish lives among the forest of
tentacles of an anemone and is protected
from potential predators.
Introduced Species Competition
Grey squirrels are well
established in England
and Wales with an
estimated population of
2.5 million while red
squirrels have retreated
to the north.
The questions is why.
Grey squirrels weigh twice that of red squirrels and native to the US. Intro.
100yr ago.
Also have a tendency to be more aggressive and have a longer life span.
They forage on the ground where Red squirrels forage in the canopies (more
food available.
Predator - Prey Relationship
Predator/Prey Relationship
PREDICTING POPULATION GROWTH,
Two modes of population growth.
The Exponential curve occurs when there is The Logistic curve shows the effect of a limiting
no limit to population size. This is a J curve factor (in this case the carrying capacity of the
environment).
Human Population
Survival Curves
• Survivorship is the percentage of remaining survivors of
a population over time; usually shown graphically.
•
Type I survivorship curve: most individuals live out
their life span and die of old age (e.g., humans).
•
Type II survivorship curve: individuals die at a
constant rate (e.g., birds, rodents, and perennial plants).
Type III survivorship curve: most individuals die early
in life (e.g., fishes, invertebrates, and plants).
Survivorship curves show how death rates
vary with age
1,000
Type I - high
Number of
survivors
mortality in old age
100
Type II - constant
mortality rates
10
Type III - high infant
1
or juvenile mortality
very
young
Age
very
old
A grass
species
This is your world
This is an example of a J curve
Desertification due to increase in
World temperatures
Ice sheets world wide
melting due to increase
in World temperatures
Bioaccumulation = Biomagnification
The Real Ecology
How our planet is in trouble
A peat forest felled
in Indonesia
Poisoned elephants near
a palm oil plantation.
Shark fins only
Your strawberries
Vultures poisoned near lake
Tagalala in Selous Park
Tanzania November 2009
In Botswana vultures are
targeted by poachers who
want to get rid of them
because they attract the
authorities to their kills.
Farmers also lace meat to
target hyenas and this often
results in vulture kills as well.
World
Deforestation
World
Population
Growth
How big is the problem?
• The world marine catch is nearly 100 million
tones per year.
• 27 million tones of by-catch (almost 1/3 of
total catch) is thrown back dead into the
ocean
Larger shrimps fetch a higher price,
there is an incentive for discarding
smaller fish as shown left.
Types of Species Interactions
•
•
•
•
Neutral – two species do not interact
Mutualism – both benefit
Commensalism – one benefits, other neutral
Parasitism – one benefits, one harmed
but not killed
• Predation – one benefits, other killed
ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
• INDIVIDUAL – individual organisms
• POPULATION – organisms of same species in
same area (biotic factors)
• COMMUNITY – several populations in same
area (biotic factors)
• ECOSYSTEM – community plus abiotic factors
• BIOSPHERE – all ecosystems on earth
ECOLOGY OF INDIVIDUALS
• Homeostasis – delicate balance
• Components
– Physiological Ecology
– Temperature and Water Balance
– Light and Biological Cycles
– Physiological Ecology and Conservation
Food Webs
food web: interconnected food chains; all
trophic interactions in community
Energy Flow Between Trophic Levels
Why such low efficiency?
Three Reasons:
1) Escape behavior/protective
coloration/unavailable material
2) Indigestible material
3) Cellular respiration
• Nonliving
– dead organic
matter
– nutrients in the
soil and water.
• Producers
Tundra
– green plants