Download Ecological Interactions and Succession

ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS AND
SUCCESSION
ECOSYSTEMS
In an ecosystem we have organisms interacting with one another.
 In what ways do organisms interact with one another?
INTERACTIONS
Competition: Species/organisms who compete for the
same food/resource.
Predation
Predator
Prey
Symbyosis
Mutualism: benefits both species
Commensalism: benefits one but the other isnt affected
Parasitism: benefits one, harms the other.
http://education.nationalgeographic.org/activity/ecological-relationships/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSmL2F1t81Q
WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS?
Mutualism. Both are benefiting from one another.
WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS?
Commensalism. One is benefiting while the other is unaffected.
WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS?
Competition. They are going after the same food source.
WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS?
Parasitism. One is benefiting while the other is being harmed.
WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS?
Predation. One organism is being consumed by another.
POPULATION GROWTH AND DECLINE
Predator-Prey interactions affect the population size, EX. Wolves
and Moose
Wolf Population
LIMITING FACTORS
Is a factor or condition that limits the growth of a
population in an ecosystem.
Lack of nutrients in the soil
Too much or to little rain
Too many predators
Too few prey
All of these can cause an ecosystem to become unstable
and bring change.
CARRYING CAPACITY
When a population reaches a state where it can
no longer grow, the population has reached its
carrying capacity.
Ex: Wolves and Moose
Even without predators there is a limit to the
number of Moose that can live in an area due to
the amount of food and space.
SUCCESSION
SUCCESSION
Ever seen an old abandoned house where nature
is “taking it back”.
This is known as succession, a gradual change in
an ecosystem in which one biological community is
replaced by another. The humans have been
replaced by the plants and animals that now dwell
in it.
PRIMARY SUCCESSION
Where no soil or organisms exist
Example: rocks after volcano erupts or glaciers
Pioneer Species – the very first organisms that inhabit an
area
How do they get there?
wind, water, other organisms carry them
What are they?
Lichens and moss
SECONDARY SUCCESSION
A series of changes in an area where the ecosystem has been
disturbed, but the soil and organisms still exist
Example – tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, logging, and farming
Faster rate of succession
SUCCESSION DIAGRAM
SUCCESSION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZKIHe2LDP8