Download Ecosystem Dynamics

Ecological
Relationships
Slide # 2
Important Vocabulary
1.Biotic Factors: living things
2.Abiotic Factors: nonliving, physical things such as:
a.Temperature, sunlight, precipitation, soil
3.Habitat- The place in which an organism lives.
4.Niche: An organism’s role in the ecosystem
Abiotic
Factors
Biotic
Factors
COMMUNITY
ECOSYSTEM
Slide # 3
Five Species of Warblers and Their Niches
1.No two species can share the exact same niche in a
habitat.
2.Shaded areas show where each species feeds (one
factor that defines a niche).
Go to
Section:
Slide # 4
Descriptions of a Niche Include:
1. Its place in the food web
2. Conditions Needed for Survival
Top
a. Temperature Range it has adapted to
Carnivore
b. Dependance on water
3. When and how it reproduces
The red legged frog
mates from January
to March but the
yellow legged frog
mates from late
March to May
Red Legged frog
Yellow Legged frog
Slide # 5
Community Interactions: Competition
1.Competition: occurs when
organisms of the same or
different species try to use
the same resource at the
same time and place
2.Resource: any necessity
for life
a.EX: water, nutrients,
light, food, or living
space
Uniform spacing: less competition
Clumped: more competition
Slide # 6
Competition can help define the niche.
Barnacle Species A
Barnacle
Species B
Slide # 7
Symbiosis
Symbiosis: close relationship between 2 organisms, in which
at least one of the organisms involved benefits.
Symbiosis: Parasitism 
Parasitism: One organism benefits,
 and the other is harmed (host). 
Slide # 8
Filled with blood
Ticks feed on the blood of the host in which they live.
The closer together organisms live, the easier these
parasites can spread through the population.
Slide # 9
Symbiosis: Commensalism 
Commensalism: One organism
benefits,  and the other is neither
helped nor harmed. 
Barnacles live & grow on the bodies of ocean organisms like
whales. However, they do not help or cause any harm to them.
Slide # 10
Symbiosis: Mutualism 
Mutualism: Both organisms benefit 
from the relationship.
This bird eats insects found on
the zebras’ body. The bird is
high above the ground and has
food, the zebra is removed of
pests.
Bees receive food (nectar),
while the flower’s pollen is
spread for reproduction.
Slide # 11
Aphids feed on
sugary sap from
the plant.
-Parasitism
Aphids are
herded and
protected by the
ants because the
ants feed on
sugary
excretions the
aphids produce.
-Mutualism
Slide # 12
Predator-Prey Relationships
1. Predation: interaction in
which one organism
captures and feeds on
another organism
2. Predator: organism that
does the killing and eating
3. Prey: organism that is
eaten (food)
Who is the predator?
Lynx
Who is the prey?
Hare
Ecological Succession
1. Occurs when an area becomes devoid of
vegetation because of a disturbance.
2. Pioneer species: the first to grow in an area.
Which species is the
pioneer species?
Annual grasses
Which community has
the greatest biodiversity
and why?
Hardwood forest; has
the most niches
Primary verses Secondary Succession
Primary succession the initial
colonization of land that has never
been colonized before. This might
include areas after a volcanic
eruption or after a glacier recedes.
In either case, there is no starting
soil.
Secondary succession is the
re-colonization of areas after a
disturbance such as a fire or
abandoned farm land or even when
a large tree falls (such as in the
tropical rainforest). Soil is already in
place in the area.