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PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY WHAT IS ECOLOGY? Scientific study of the interactions among organisms and their environments. ASPECTS OF ECOLOGICAL STUDY Biosphere: part of the Earth that supports life. Environment: non living and living surroundings. Abiotic factors: non living factors, light, soil. Biotic factors: living organisms interactions. Look at the picture. How do other living organisms affect the gold fish? LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION IN ECOLOGY ORGANISM POPULATION COMMUNITY ECOSYSTEM BIOSPHERE ORGANISM Complete individual, living being. POPULATION -A group of one species of organisms that live together in the same place at the same time -Interbreed. -Share and compete for resources. COMMUNITY -A group of interbreeding populations in the same area at the same time. -Changes in one population affects another. ECOSYSTEM -Composed of the interactions between organisms, and their surrounding abiotic factors. -Types: terrestrial, freshwater and saltwater. BIOSPHERE -All portions of Earth where life exists. -Relationship between all of the ecosystems. ORGANISMS IN ECOSYSTEMS -HABITAT: Where the organism lives. -NICHE: The role and position the species has in the environment. Predator prey relationship Symbiosis Living together of different species may aid survival. LIVING RELATIONSHIPS Commensalism (+/0) - One is benefited and the other is neither harmed nor benefited. Mutualism (+/+) – both are benefited. Parasitism (+/-) – One is benefited and the other is harmed. Feeding relationships Autotroph – Heterotroph – Makes its own Food Must eat other organisms Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore Scavenger Decomposer CYCLES IN NATURE -Energy in an ecosystem is replenished by the sun. -Matter in an ecosystem has to be recycled. -Atoms making up organisms today are the same as those present when life on Earth began. Water Cycle The Water Cycle ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Precipitation Evaporation Condensation Transpiration Runoff Groundwater Liquid to vapor … ◦ Evaporation: This is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. ◦ Transpiration: This is kind of like plant sweat. Transpiration is the process by which plants lose water out of their leaves. ◦ Respiration: When animals breathe out they release CO2 and water vapor. Water turning from vapor back to liquid … ◦ Condensation: This is when the water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. ◦ Precipitation: Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow. Collection of water on the ground … ◦ Infiltration: when water soaks into the soil. Once in the ground the water can be evaporated, absorbed by plants or continue down to the water table (kind of like an underground river). ◦ Run off: water that doesn’t get absorbed into the soil, or did not evaporate, and therefore made its way from the ground surface into places that water collect. Runoff causes erosion, and also carry chemicals and substances on the ground surface along to the rivers where the water ends up. It can cause water pollution too. ◦ Only about 35% of precipitation ends up in the sea or ocean. The other 65% is absorbed into the soil. Some of it too is evaporated. Water Cycle Carbon Cycle •Respiration (yellow lines): A byproduct of cell respiration. You breath out carbon dioxide every time you exhale. Plants also release carbon dioxide •Combustion (red line): This is when organic materials are burned. It can happen naturally in forest fires but the vast majority of it is due to humans burning fossil fuels in our factories and cars. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by producers (also known as autotrophs these are organisms that make their own food e.g. plants) •Photosynthesis (Blue line): This is when producers (like plants) take in carbon dioxide to make sugar (carbohydrates). •Herbivores and omnivores eat the plants and take in the carbon that the plants used to make sugar. Most of the carbon is then exhaled (as mentioned in step 1) but some of it is also released as solid waste and the rest is released when the animal (or plant) dies. The dead organisms (dead animals and plants) are decomposed or turned into fossil fuels. •Decomposed: Dead organisms are broken down by decomposers (fungi and bacteria). The carbon that was in their bodies is then returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. •Creation of Fossil Fuels: In some circumstances the process of decomposition is prevented. The remains of the plants and animals may then be compressed and heated transforming it into fossil fuels (oil, coal, or natural gas) that can be used in the future for combustion. The Carbon Cycle Atmosphere Photosynthesis Respiration Wastes Soil Fuel Pollution Nitrogen cycle The Nitrogen Cycle Amino acids and proteins Atmosphere Lightning Bacteria Waste Runoff Nitrogen Fixing Nodules -The bacteria converts the nitrogen that can’t be used by the plants into a useable form. What kind of symbiotic relationship would this be? Nitrogen cycle NUTRITION AND ENERGY FLOW HOW ORGANISMS OBTAIN ENERGY -Producers: AUTOTROPHS make their own food -Consumers: HETEROTROPHS take their food in ready made ◦ Carnivores: meat, hawk ◦ Herbivores: plants, rabbit ◦ Omnivores: meat and plants, bear ◦ Scavengers: carrion and refuse, buzzard -Decomposers: breakdown and release nutrients from dead organisms, bacteria and fungi. MATTER AND ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEMS Food chain: Model used to show how matter and energy flows through an ecosystem. Autotrophs Heterotrophs Decomposers ◦ Usually 3-5 links. ◦ 10% of available energy reaches next link. Because energy is used/lost as heat at each link. Practice building food chains Click on the link below (or access build food chain activity from the wiki ecology page) and build all the food chains. FEEDING LEVELS -Trophic level: A feeding step in a food chain. (Animal may occupy more than one trophic level in an ecosystem.) 1st trophic level = green plant = producer 2nd trophic level = herbivore = primary consumer/1st order 3rd trophic level = carnivore = secondary consumer/2nd order 4th trophic level = carnivore = tertiary consumer/3rd order 5th trophic level = carnivore = quaternary consumer/4th order What is wrong with this diagram? Food Web -Model showing all possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community. -Network of interlinked food chains. WRITE 2 FOOD CHAINS IN THIS FOOD WEB ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS • Shows how energy flows through an ecosystem. • Initial energy source is the sun. • Autotrophs/1st trophic level at base of all pyramids. • Three types Pyramid of Numbers -Based on population size at each trophic level. -Populations decrease at each successive trophic level but inversion is possible. Pyramid of Energy -Based on the amount of energy available at each trophic level. -Only 10% of the energy is past to the next level. Decreases at each level by 90% , this energy is used or lost as heat. Pyramid of Biomass -Shows mass of living material at each trophic level. -Decreases at each trophic level