Download ecology - Algonac Community Schools

 The
study of
organisms and
their
interactions
with other
organisms and
their
environment
 Individual
organism
 Population of organisms
 Community: different species
in same space
 ecosystem
 The
study of the number and
distribution of a population of
organisms through space and
time
 Knowledge of the factors
contributing to the population
number is critical
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Water
Light
Air
Minerals
Temperature
Elevation
Space
Insecticides
herbicides
Living food
 Predators
 Parasites
 Competitors
(same species or
other species)
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Water supply
 Nutrient supply
 Mating sites
 Nesting/living spaces
 disease
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Number of offspring
enter barrel
Barrel has certain
amount it can hold
(carrying capacity)
Many factors keep the
population from
reaching carrying
capacity
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 Competition:
struggle for the
same food, territory, mates, etc.
among members of the same
species or different species
 Predation: when one species
relies upon another for food
 Migration: movement of a
population during different times
of the year
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Parasitism- one organism benefits the other
is often harmed.
commensalism - one organsim benefits
from the relationship but the other is not
affected or harmed.
Mutualism- both organisms benefit from the
relationship
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All energy of earth
begins with the SUN
Sunlight reaches earth
in 8.4 minutes
Sunlight comes in
packets of energy called
photons
Light energy is
converted to potential
chemical energy in the
bonds of glucose
(photosynthesis)
Heat energy is also part
of light
Plants use sunlight to
produce glucose as a source
of energy.
When a primary consumer
eats a plant, it only gets
10% of the energy that the
plant had available to it.
This is the 10% law.
12. Food Chain: a group of organisms
through which energy flows
Each level of this pyramid is called a TROPHIC LEVEL
13. Most organisms are involved not in just food chains, but in
FOOD WEBS: complex interactions of organisms through which
energy is passed.
 Carbon
 Nitrogen
 Sulfur
 phosphorus
15.
Carbon
Cycle
16.
17.
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CAUSED BY HUMANS; RELATED TO HUMAN
ACTIVITY
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Why is it important?
◦ Environment changes as species
inhabit it- some become extinct in
an area, some flourish
◦ Natural disaster may change the
environment (earthquake, flood,
fire)
◦ Man may change environment
(clear cut forests, drain swamps,
agriculture)
Mt. St. Helen:
erupted on May 18,
1980- ash blown
from the mountain
top traveled hundreds
of miles, coating and
destroying much
plant and animal life