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Transcript
Ecology Notes Ecology - is the study of interactions between organisms (biotic factors) and their nonliving environment (abiotic factors) Biotic factors – (living factors) includes plants, animals, fungi, & microorganisms. They may be producers, consumers, or decomposers. Abiotic factors – (non-living factors) include climate, soil, temperature, water, air, sunlight, humidity, pH, and atmospheric gases. Habitat - is the place a plant or animal lives Niche - is its total way of life or the status of an organism within its environment and community Life is organized into levels: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Organism any single living thing Population members of the same species living in one place Community- all the populations living in an area Ecosystem- communities living in a similar habitat Biomes- ecosystems covering wide areas with similar climates and organisms Biosphere- all the living and nonliving things on earth Producers (Autotrophs) - make their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Includes plants, algal protist and some bacteria. Consumers (Heterotrophs) – Must ingest or absorb nutrients, can’t make their own food. May be Herbivores -feeds only on plants, producers or autotrophs Primary Consumer – feeds on plants, producers or autotrophs Carnivores - feeds only on animals Secondary Consumer – feeds on primary consumers Tertiary Consumer – feeds on secondary consumers Omnivores - feeds on plants and animals Decomposers - Break down dead plants and animals (detritus), recycle nutrients, includes fungi and bacteria Scavengers – Organisms that feed on other dead organisms, Sunlight - is the ultimate energy for life on earth, but only producers can get their energy directly from the sun. Trophic levels - are feeding levels of producers and consumers in an ecosystem. 1st. trophic level - producers that get energy directly from sunlight. 2nd trophic level - includes herbivores that feed directly on plants 3rd trophic level – includes carnivores that feed directly on primary consumers Higher trophic levels- other carnivores that feed on each other Food chains and food webs Food Chains - show who eats whom in an ecosystem. Food Webs - are made of several food chains. They are a more realistic view of an ecosystem. Food Chains and Webs always begins with the producer absorbing energy from the sun. Producers store energy in the chemical bonds of the food they make Stored energy is passed to consumers when they eat producers or other consumers Some energy is lost at each trophic level as heat when consumers “burn” food during cellular respiration 10% of energy is passed on from organism to organism during consumption, 90% is lost. Example; Producer → Primary Consumer → Secondary Consumer 1000kcal 100kcal 10kcal Both energy and nutrients must move through an ecosystem Three main elements that must move through an ecosystem: Water Carbon Nitrogen Water or Hydrologic Cycle: Cells are 70 to 90 % water Water is needed for metabolic process Water is most important for terrestrial organisms because of drying out Steps in the water Cycle: Evaporation (water loss from lakes, rivers, oceans...) Transpiration (water loss from plant leaves) Condensation (Water vapors form clouds) Precipitation (Water returns to the earth as sleet, rain, snow….) Surface run-off (returns water to bodies of water or ground water) Carbon Cycle: Consists of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, & decomposition Begins with producers taking carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis Carbon Cycle Steps: Plant leaves take carbon dioxide from air Plants store carbon as carbohydrates or starches (photosynthesis) plants and animals release carbon dioxide back into the environment (cellular respiration) Decomposers return carbon back to environment (decomposition) Nitrogen: Needed by all organisms Used to make proteins & nucleic acids (DNA & RNA) Air made up of 80% nitrogen Only Cyanobacteria & Rhizobium bacteria can use nitrogen directly from the air (nitrogen fixation) Bacteria found in the soil & on the roots of legumes (beans, peas ...) Steps in the Nitrogen Cycle: Cyanobacteria & Rhizobium take nitrogen from air (nitrogen fixation) Converts nitrogen gas to ammonia Nitrifying bacteria is soil change ammonia to nitrates plants can absorb and use nitrates to make proteins Consumers eat plants and get proteins containing nitrogen Decomposers break down dead organisms and return nitrogen to the air (ammonification) Anaerobic bacteria in soil release nitrogen from nitrates into the air (denitrification) Three main types of ecosystems: Terrestrial (land) Freshwater (rivers, ponds, lakes ...) Marine (oceans & seas) Terrestrial ecosystems are divided into 7 biomes with similar climates & organisms Seven Terrestrial Biomes: Tropical Rain Forest (jungle) Savanna (tropical grasslands) Deserts Grasslands Deciduous Forest Taiga (coniferous forest) Tundra Tundra Cold and dark most of the year Includes the artic Permafrost is the top layer of soil that thaws and in which plants grow No trees, but sedges and grass, mosses, and lichens Many migratory animals Approximately 20 cm annual rainfall Taiga: Coniferous forest Extends across northern Eurasia & North America Contains conifers or evergreens (spruce, cedar, fir, pine ...) Needle like leaves withstand weight of snow Bear, deer, moose, wolves, mountain lions ... Sequoia or redwood (largest conifer) grows here Bristle cone pine oldest living conifer found here Temperate Deciduous Forest: South of taiga in North America, eastern Asia, & Europe High annual rainfall (75-150 cm) Moderate temperatures Well-defined seasons of about equal length Trees loose leaves in winter (deciduous) Show stratification (plant layers): 1. Canopy - broad leaf deciduous trees forming uppermost layer 2. Under story - shrubs 3. Forest Floor - herbaceous plants Songbirds, deer, rabbits, foxes, squirrels, frogs 7 toads, lizards ... Tropical Rain forest: Near equator Warm climate (20 -25 degrees C) Plentiful rainfall (190 cm/year) Contains the greatest diversity of plants & animals Insects, monkeys & apes, snakes, tropical birds, leopards... Animals & plants brightly colored Poor soil for agriculture Grasslands: Mostly grasses with a few trees due to less rainfall Moderate climates Good for agricultural crops Grazing & burrowing animals dominate Also called prairies Savanna: Tropical grasslands Warm climate & rainy season Antelope, zebra, lions, wildebeests, hyenas, elephants... Suffer from floods & drought Deserts: Low annual rainfall Subject to strong winds Days usually hot & nights cold Sahara desert is without vegetation Succulents such as cacti & other water storing plants Most animals nocturnal Lizards, snakes, roadrunners, insects, tarantula, hawks, rodents, coyotes... Aquatic Biomes: May be freshwater or saltwater Wetlands near oceans have brackish water (mixture of fresh & salt waters) Part of the part water or hydrologic cycle Often polluted by man's activities Lakes & Rivers: Freshwater Oligotrophic lakes are nutrient poor (catfish, carp...) Eutrophic lake are nutrient rich (trout, bass...) Deep lakes have layers or strata where different plants & animals live Phototropic organisms in upper layers for light Estuary at mouth of river contains brackish water Ocean Zones: Intertidal zone 1. Along shoreline 2. Wave action 3. Lots of light so many producers 4. Starfish, sand dollars... Neritic Zone 1. Ocean water above continental shelf 2. Coral reef found here 3. Surrounds continents & receives light in upper layers Oceanic Zone 1. Beyond continental shelf 2. Deepest area (up to 7 miles) 3. Bottom doesn't receive light so animals adapted to darkness (many produce their own light, feed on other animals...) 4. Deepest area called abyss 5. Upper area gets light & called the photic zone (lots of seaweed here) 6. Floaters called plankton (microscopic organisms) 7. Swimmers such as fish called nekton 8. Bottom dwellers called benthos