Download Ecology - bulldog biology

Ecology
What is ecology?
The study of interactions between
organisms with living and nonliving
components of the environment
The Environment
Levels of organization:
Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organisms
Interconnectedness
All organisms interact with other
organisms and their surroundings,
living and nonliving
Models
Ecologists use models to study ecology
Create models to test hypothesis
Models are used to make predictions
about the environment
Experiment
Observe
Environmental Factors
Bioitc - living components of the
environment
Plants, animals…
Abiotic - nonliving components
Physical and chemical characteristics
Temperature, pH, salinity…
Identify the biotic and abiotic factors
Humans and the Environment
Exploding human population
Over 6 billion people
Habitat destruction
Thinning ozone layer
Climate changes
Ever Changing Environment
Organisms have a
range of tolerance
Tolerance Curve
Able to withstand a
wide range of
environmental
factors
Responses to Change
Acclimation
Conform
Regulate
Escape
Migrate
Dormancy
Niche
The role of a species in its environment
Habitat - address
Niche - profession
Fundamental niche-potential
Realized niche-actual
Specialists-narrow niche
Measuring Populations
A population is all the members of a
species that live in a given area at one
time.
How do we measure a population?
Growth Rate
Affected by
Birth rate
Death rate
Immigration
Emigration
Growth rate = birth rate - death rate
Exponential
Logistic
Accounts for influence of limiting factors
Carrying capacity - K
Cycles
Human Growth
Changes in Population Size
Human Activity
Natural Causes
Invasive and Non-native Species
Communities
Group of populations living close
together that have potential for
interaction
Symbioses
Relationship between different species
living in close association with one
another.
Predator - Prey
Predator - captures, kills, and
consumes other individuals.
Prey - indiviual that is captured, killed,
and consumed by another individual
Natural Selection
Mechanism of evolution
Organisms adapt to improve efficiency
Mimicry - a harmless organism
resembles an organism that maybe
poisonous or distasteful
Plant - Herbivore Interaction
Plants can form secondary compounds
to avoid predation
chemicals that are poisonous, irritating, or
bad-tasting
Parasitism
Species interation with another where
one benefits and one is harmed
Parasite
Ecoparasite
Endoparasite
Host
Competition
Occurs when fundamental niches
overlap.
Niche - role the species plays in its
environment
Compete for Resources
Types of competition
Competitive
exclusion
Resource
partitioning
Invasive
species
Non-native
species
Mutualism and Commensalisms
Mutualism - cooperative relationship
Both species benefit
Commensalisms One species benefits, the other is
unaffected
Richness and Diversity
Species richness – the number of
species in a community
Species diversity – number of species
in a community relative to the
abundance of each species
Patterns of Richness
Changes in Communities
Succession – series of predictable
changes that occur over time
Primary
Secondary
Succession after a volcanic eruption
Energy
Essential to carry out functions such as
growth, movement, maintenance, and
reproduction.
Energy flows through ecosystems
through organisms
Producers - Autotrophs
Capture energy to make their own
organic molecules
Primary productivity - rate at which
producers capture energy
Biomass - the organic material
Consumers - Heterotrophs
Carnivores
Herbivores
Omnivores
Detrivores
Decomposers
Food Chain
Single pathway of feeding relationships
Food Web
Interrelated food chains in an
ecosystem
Energy Flow
Trophic level - position of an organism
in the sequence of energy flow
Energy Transfer
Ecosystem Recycling
Biogeochemical cycles
Water and minerals such as carbon,
nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorous are
recycled and reused
Water Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Oxygen Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
Biomes
Large ecosystems, terrestrial and
aquatic, that contain a number of
smaller but related ecosystems within
Tundra
Cold, and mostly treeless belt across
northern North America, Europe, and
Asia
Permafrost - permanently frozen later of
soil under the surface
Little precipitation, short growing periods
Caribou, musk oxen, snowy owls, artic
foxes, lemmings, and snow shoe hares.
Taiga
Forest dominated by cone bearing
evergreens
Across Northern Europe, Asia, and
America
Snow cover insulates the ground,
protecting tree roots from freezing
Moose, bears, wolves, and lynx.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Characterized by tree that lose their
leaves in the fall
Eastern North America, Europe, parts
of Asia, and Southern Hemisphere
Pronounced seasons, precipitation
White tailed deer, foxes, raccoons, and
squirrels.
Temperate Grasslands
Dominated by grasses, in the interior of
continents, also known as a prairie.
Rich fertile soil
Grazzing mammals, bison, cows,
sheep.
Used as farmland
Deserts
Low levels of rainfall, sparse
vegetation.
Not always hot, can get very cold at
night.
Plants adapted to reduce water loss.
Kit foxes, lizards, and snakes.
Savannas
Tropical or subtropical grasslands with
scattered trees and shrubs. Found in
Africa, South America, and Australia.
Wet and dry seasons.
Lions, Leopards, cheetahs, zebras,
wildebeest, giraffes, and gazelles.
Tropical Rain Forests
Charaterized with tall trees, found near
the equator.
Stable year round growing season with
abundant rainfall.
Very diverse animal and plant life
Sloth, monkeys, snakes, lizards.
Ocean Zones
Intertidal Zone
Neritic Zone
Photic Zone
Aphotic zone
Pelagic Zone
Benthic Zone
Estuaries
Occur where freshwater rivers and
streams flow out into the sea.
Bays, mud flats, salt marshes.
Freshwater Zones
Low levels of dissolved salts
Lakes and Ponds
Eutrophic -rich in organic matter, murky.
Oligotrophic - little organic matter, clear.
Rivers and Streams
Run down a gradient or slope toward its
mouth.