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10 Science
Ecology Plan
What is ecology?
Ecology is the study of the relationships that organisms develop not only
between other organisms but their environments as well.
Ecology and environmental science are not the same thing (although they are
related). Ecology is a pure science. To understand environmental science
however you must have a basic understanding of ecological principles.
How did space travel alter our view of earth (environmentally speaking)?
How is Earth like (and unlike) a spaceship? Science 10 p.9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtvhzXHPxyY
Section 1-1
Amphibians, while surviving 400 million years when almost all plants and
animals went extinct about 250 mya and surviving when dinosaurs went
extinct 65 mya, are gradually disappearing. Why?
Frogs (and other amphibians) are great "barometers" of the health of
ecosystems. Why?
http://www.youtu be.com/watch?v=tuWo_kWMihs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXqK5QulbJ8
To answer these questions, you must know these terms at the very
least:producer, consumers, herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, food chains,
trophic levels, top carnivores, detritus and decomposers p.10-11
Literacy Goal
Take 5 minutes to read the first two paragraphs on p. 11 in your text.
After you are finished, close your book and summarize in a paragraph or
two the point. A discussion will follow.
Four Factors Reducing Frog Populations
Loss of habitat
Why?
Air and water quality Why?
U.V. radiation
Why?
Climate change
Why?
Practice p.13 #1 - 5
Section 1-2
Classifying "At - Risk" Species
Extinct
- simple
Endangered
- close to extinction in many or all areas of say
Canada
Extirpated
- Extinct in some areas but found in others
Threatened
- likely to become endangered unless factors are
reversed
Vulnerable
- low or declining population at the fringe of its
range
Practice p.15 # 2,4
Section 1-3
- Rates of Extinction;
8000 BC - 1600 AD
1 per 1000 years
1600 AD - 1900 AD
1 per 4 years
21st century estimate
1 per 30 minutes
Causes of Extinction p.17
isolated catastrophes
climate change
pressure from competion
reduced habitat
agriculture and industry
pollution
Biodiversity is the key to a healthy ecosystem. The fall of one species can
collapse an entire food chain. Example p.18 - overhunting sea otters on the
west coast threaten populations. Since sea otters feed on sea urchins, sea
urchin populations thrived. Sea urchins feed on kelp and so the kelp
population decreased. But other fish depend on kelp for food and shelter.
Result was that the overhunting of sea otters caused the decline of the
fishing industry.
Restoring Balance
Why did whooping cranes become endangered? p.18
restoring balance p. 21
Three views on
 Frontier view - sometimes it is necessary to extirpate a species and
once they are extirpated, there should be no effort to reintroduce the
species to that area i.e.wolves
 Stewardship view - As the most intelligent and influential species on
the planet it is our duty to repair whatever damage we have caused to
an ecosystem.
 The Ownership view - regardless of the damage mankind has done to
a species, we have no right to reintroduce a species to an area where it
is extirpated.
Section 1.4
How did European and Native peoples views of wolves differ in the 18th
and 19th centuries?
What groups posed the greatest threat to wolf populations in the 19th
century?
What other organisms were effected by declining wolf populations and in
what way?
Section 1-5 Ecology
Intro with "The pest concept" p. 22
Factors effecting a population fall into two broad categories biotic and
abiotic.
Abiotic factors are non-living factors such as temperature, wind, sunlight &
pollution whereas biotic factors are those caused by living organisms.
Refer to OHT from p. 55 in "Environmental Science" by Chiras for realm of
ecology from atoms to earth.
Questions p. 23 #1 - 6
What is an ecotone? p. 23 An ecotone is a transition area separating two
ecosystems. They contain species from both ecosystems so they contain
greater biodiversity (and are therefore less fragile). A predetor that
otherwise has only a limited number of species to prey upon in his
ecosystem has greater variety in an ecotone.
Read Case Study p.28 Section 1.8 and answer #1 - 5
Section 1-10
Of all the solar energy that strikes the earth, about 30% reflects back in to
space, about 68% heats up stuff and about 0.023% enters the food chain via
photosynthesis.
CO2 + H2O
energy
Food + O2
Albedo - On the topic of reflection, Some materials reflect different
percentages of incoming light. The percentage of light that is reflected is
called "Albedo". Glaciers have a high albedo (say 0.75) and black asphalt
has a low albedo (say 0.025)
Refer to OHT
Questions p. 33 #1- 5
Section 1- 11
terms - trophic level, autotrophs, heterotrophs, primary and secondary
consumers
Food chain examples
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE6wqG4nb3M
Great Questions
1.
Why is there a limit to the number of trophic levels in a food chain
2.
Why are all top carnivores at risk?
3.
Why are top carnivores territorial?
4.
Why do small pickerel taste better than large pickerel?
5.
Why is it that if everyone on the planet were vegetarian, there would
be enough food to feed everyone in the world three times over?
Know these terms: atoms, molecules, cells, tissue, organs, organisms,
populations, communities, ecosystems & Earth.
Questions p. 23 #1-6
Laws of Thermodynamics
1
Energy can be changed from one form into another (from chemical
energy to electricity or from electricity to light for instance) but it
cannot be created or destroyed.
2.
Although energy cannot be destroyed, when an energy transformation
takes place, a percentage of the energy is converted into thermal energy
(heat). Thermal energy always transfers away from a system and so is
lost to the system. In this way, although thermal energy has not been
destroyed, it has "escaped".
The Pyramid Concept
Changes & Human Use of Energy in Ecosystems





Universe is 14 billion years old
Earth is 4.3 billion years old
Dinosaurs lived about 65 million years ago
Humans have been around about 75,000 years
Large Scale Cultural Change #1
Agriculture about 10,000 years ago
 Large Scale Cultural Change #2
Industry within the last 120 years
 Both cultural changes have
Increased human food supply
Improved human health
Increased Human lifespan
And therefore increased Human Population
AND TAXED ENERGY AVAILABLE FOR OTHER ORGANISMS
Question p. 39 1- 14
Section 1-12
Niche - The role that a species plays in an ecosystem including what it feeds
on, when it feeds, where it feeds, any symbiotic relationships and
breeding habits.
Each species (no matter how similiar) has a different niche which reduces
competition.
i.e. -
the owl and the hawk feed primarily on the same prey and yet are
not a great threat to one another because their niches are different.
The Owl which is able to detect motion feeds at night and has short
broad wings allowing it to hunt in thick forests. The hawk has eyes
that allow it to detect differences in colour patterns (camouflage
does not work very well with hawks) and feeds in daylight.
i.e. - various warblers p. 41 (also OHT)
Exotic Species - are those that have come to reside in a given ecosystem just
recently. Sometimes a species is introduced to an
ecosystem naturally i.e. the opossum
When human activity produces exotic species......What happens?
i.e. Wild African Bees introduced by honey producers in south America
The induction of rabbits in Australia in the 50's
Outline all the "pros" and all the "cons" of zebra mussels introduced to the
great lakes in the early 90's
Questions p. 46 # 2,3,6,7 & 9 - 11