Download Ecology - My CCSD

Ecology
Observing nature
Ecology
 The scientific study of interactions among
organisms and their environments
 Includes descriptive and quantitative data
to learn about relationships
Ecology
 Biosphere – portion of Earth that
supports life
 From high in atmosphere to bottom of
oceans
Ecology
 Ecology includes non-living parts of
environment = abiotic factors
 Temperature,
moisture,
air currents,
light, soil
Ecology
 Living organisms in an environment are
the biotic factors
 Living things affect others
Ecology
 Levels of organization
 To understand relationships you have to
look at more than one individual
 Population
 Community
 Ecosystem
Levels of Organization
 Population is a group of organisms of
one species that interbreed and live in
the same place at the same time
Individual frogs might
compete for the
same food source
Levels of Organization
 Community is a collection of interacting
populations
 A change in one population may cause
change in another population
more frogs = fewer flies
Levels of Organization
 While population and communities
interact, they both interact with their
environment
 An ecosystem is made up of interactions
among the populations in a community
and the physical surroundings,
or abiotic factors
Levels of Organization
 Ecosystems
 Terrestrial = on land, forest, meadow, desert
 Aquatic = in water, 75% of Earth
 Freshwater = pond, lake, stream
 Saltwater = ocean
Ecology
Organisms in Ecosystems
Organisms in Ecosystems
 Habitat is the place where an organism
lives out its life.
 Prairie dog burrows in a grassland
 Birds in trees of a beech-maple forest
Organisms in Ecosystems
 Niche is the role a species has in its
environment
 Several species may live in the same
place, but use different
resources = their
specialized niche
Organisms in Ecosystems
 Some species improve changes of
survival by forming relationships with
other species
 Some relationships benefit one, harm
other, like predator/prey relationship
 Symbiosis = living together, close
relationship between species
Organisms in Ecosystems
 There are several kinds of symbiosis
 Commensalism
 Mutualism
 Parasitism
Organisms in Ecosystems
 Commensalism = a symbiotic relationship
in which one species benefits and the
other is neither harmed not benefited
 Clownfish lives
amongst stinging
anemone for
protection
Organisms in Ecosystems
 Mutualism = a symbiotic relationship in
which both species benefit
 Ants get nectar from acacia trees and attack
any animal that tries to eat from tree. This
protection allows trees to live longer.
Organisms in Ecosystems
 Parasitism = a symbiotic relationship in
which one organism benefits at expense
of other organism.
 Tick, flea, mosquito