Transcript Ecology and Biomes Section

Biosphere
WHAT IS ECOLOGY?
Ecology- the scientific study of
interactions between organisms
and their environments, focusing
on energy transfer
Ecology is a science of relationships
Daily Dose: Biomes
DD Questions
1. Define a biome in your own words.
2. List some factors that affect biomes around the
world.
3. Put your list into two inclusive categories.
Inclusive categories - word can NOT be put into both
list, words only works in one list.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ENVIRONMENT?
The environment is made up of
two factors:
 Biotic factors- all living
organisms inhabiting the
Earth
 Abiotic factors- nonliving
parts of the environment
(i.e. temperature, soil,
light, moisture, air
currents)
Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Organism - any unicellular or
multicellular form exhibiting all of the
characteristics of life, an individual.
•The lowest level of organization
POPULATION
 a group of organisms of
one species living in the
same place at the same
time that interbreed
Produce fertile offspring
Compete with each other
for resources (food,
mates, shelter, etc.)
Community - several interacting
populations that inhabit a common
environment and are interdependent.
Ecosystem - populations in a
community and the abiotic factors
with which they interact (ex.
marine, terrestrial)
Biosphere - life supporting portions
of Earth composed of air, land,
fresh water, and salt water.
•The highest level of organization
Habitat vs. Niche
Niche - the role a species plays in
a community; its total way of life
Habitat- the place in which an
organism lives out its life
Feeding Relationships
 There are 3 main types of feeding
relationships
Producer - Consumer
2. Predator - Prey
3. Parasite - Host
1.
Feeding Relationships
Producer- all
autotrophs (plants),
they trap energy
from the sun –
photosynthesis
 Bottom of the food
chain
Photosynthesis
Feeding Relationships
Consumer- all heterotrophs: they
ingest food containing the sun’s
energy
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Decomposers
Feeding Relationships
CONSUMERS
1.Primary consumers
 Eat plants
 Herbivores
 Secondary, tertiary …
consumers
 Prey animals
 Carnivores
Feeding Relationships
Consumer-Carnivores-eat meat
 Predators
 Hunt prey
animals for food.
Feeding Relationships
Consumer- Carnivores- eat meat
 Scavengers
 Feed on carrion,
dead animals
Feeding Relationships
Consumer- Omnivores
and animals
-eat both plants
Symbiotic Relationships
Parasitism- one species benefits
(parasite) and the other is harmed
(host)
 Parasite-Host relationship
Trophic Levels
 Each link in a food chain is known
as a trophic level.
 Trophic levels represent a feeding
step in the transfer of energy
and matter in an ecosystem.
Trophic Levels
Food chain- simple model that
shows how matter and energy
move through an ecosystem
Trophic Levels
Food web- shows all possible
feeding relationships in a
community at each trophic level
 Represents a network of
interconnected food chains
Food chain
(just 1 path of energy)
Food web
(all possible energy paths)
Biodiversity
Daily Dose
Question 1
1. How many reptile species are located in North
Carolina?
a.
b.
c.
d.
7
32
121
5,000
Biodiversity DD
Questions:
2. In your own words define biodiversity.
3. Why is biodiversity so important in a biome?
4. Create a list of how animals are becoming extinct.
What is biodiversity?
 Biodiversity – variety of living things in an area
 Three levels
1. Genetic diversity
2. Species diversity
3. Ecosystems diversity
 When you hear “biodiversity of Earth” it means
species diversity
Biodiversity of Earth
 Species diversity – Last estimate there are 8.7
million species many still yet to be discovered
 Can affect the stability of ecosystems
 If one species is lost it affects the entire ecosystem is
effected
 Humans need biodiversity for medical, industrial,
and agricultural proposes
Foxglove
Digitalis for
heart failure
Pacific yew
Ovarian Cancer
Areas of Critical
Biodiversity
Biodiversity “hotspots”
1.
2.
High numbers of endemic species – means many
organisms that live there are not found anywhere else in
the world
Threatened by human activities
Tropical rainforests
Coral reefs and coastal ecosystems
Islands
Global Biodiversity
Hotspots
U.S. Biodiversity Hotspots
2
4
3
5
Top Six Hot Spots
6
1 Hawaii
2 San Francisco Bay area
3 Southern Appalachians
4 Death Valley
5 Southern California
6 Florida Panhandle
Concentration of rare species
1
Low
Moderate
High
IF YOU
C
C
RUN !!!!!!!
How do humans cause
extinction?
HIPPCO
1.
Habitat destruction – may be complete destruction
or habitat fragmentation
Habitat destruction is the number one threat to
biodiversity
How do humans cause
extinction?
HIPPCO
2.
Introduction of invasive species
Example: Mites, called Verroa destructor, introduced
from Asia have seriously reduced the wild
honeybee population in the U.S.
Spread of fire ants
1918
2000
Kudzu
 Fast-growing climbing
vine from Asia
 Introduced to control
erosion
European Starling
 Released into New York
City in the late 1800’s by
a man who wanted to
introduce to the U.S. all of
the birds mentioned in
Shakespeare
 Now widespread across
North America
 Outcompetes many
native birds, such as
bluebirds, for nest holes
How do humans cause
extinction?
HIPPCO
3. Population growth – root of the problem?
Food for thought: What native species could live in these conditions?
How do humans cause
extinction?
HIPPCO
4. Pollution
Example: Use of DDT
almost caused the
extinction of the
Bald Eagle and
other predatory
birds
Biomagnification
Also called biological magnification
Accumulation of pollutants in higher order
trophic levels
How do humans cause
extinction?
HIPPCO
5.
Climate change
polar bear – loss of sea ice
bleaching of coral reefs
 Golden toads were discovered in
1964, in Monteverde, Costa Rica
Males
 The mountainous cloud forest has
a perfect climate for amphibians
 Extreme sexual dimorphism
 Unfortunately, they became extinct
within 25 years
 Causes:
1.
Changes in habitat – drying of cloud forest due
to global warming, ENSO
2.
Narrow window of time for reproduction – breed
in temporary ponds which dried up early
3.
Limited range
4.
Disease
Female
How do humans cause
extinction?
HIPPCO
6. Overharvesting, hunting, poaching
Both legal and illegal collecting of organisms has had
a negative impact
Easter Island
Population Growth
Footprint and Growth
Lorax Notes
 Who does the Lorax represent?
 Who does the Once-ler represent?
 What happened to the animals that lived there
before the Once-ler made the factory?
 What was the Once-ler’s major mistake?
 With your group come up with something that the
Once-ler could have done to prevent his business
from going under?
Footprints
 Ecological Footprints – measure the extent to which
humans are using the Earth’s bioproductive
capacity
 How fast we are using up Earth’s resources
 Bioproductivity – amount of biological material that
is useful to humans
 Measured in Hectares – 2.4 acres
 1 hectare = 2 complete football fields
 11.5 billion hectares of biologically productive surface
Supply and Demand
Supply and Demand
 Supply = biocapacity/bioproductivity
 Supply is declining because of urbanization and
deforestation
 Demand = Human needs
 Demand is increasing because population of the Earth
is rising
 Current estimates indicate that humans are overusing
the bioproductivity of Earth by about 25-50%
 Think about The Lorax
 Eventually the amount of needed by humans exceeded
how much Earth produced.
 What did this cause?
What is your footprint?
 Do Ecological Footprint Activity
How do we measure up
with the rest of the world?
How does Earth on a
whole stand?
 11.5 billion hectares
 Amount of bioproductive land is declining
 There are about 7 billion people on earth
 Amount of people is increasing
 Currently have 1.6 hectares per person
 Most ecologists believe this is insufficient to support a
significant quality of life for the average person
 It is predicted that by 2050 we will have only 1 acre
per person
Solutions
 Controlling emissions is cheaper than paying for the
climate change
• A 2010 study by the Pew Trust estimates the cost of lost
ecological services by 2100
• Costs included factors such as lost agricultural
productivity from drought, damage to infrastructure from
flooding and storms, lost biological productivity, health
costs from heat stress, and lost water supplies
• The Pew report found that climate change is likely to cost
between $5 trillion and $90 trillion by 2100
• The Stern Review (2006) estimates a cost of only about 1%
of global GDP to avoid the worst impacts of climate change
Solutions
 Controlling emissions is cheaper than paying for the climate change
 Ways to control emissions
• We can reduce dependence on coal, which produces more CO2
per energy unit than any other fuel
• We could institute fees for selling fossil fuels–these would help
fossil fuel prices represent their many hidden costs
• We can invest in new technologies and energy efficiency
• We can institute emissions trading, by instituting a legal cap on
emissions, then allowing companies to buy and sell shares of
that total cap (California’s AB-32 does this)
Population Growth
Daily Dose
 The Stork and the Grim Reaper
Questions
1. Make a prediction on what will happen to the water
level.
Questions
1. Make a prediction on what will happen to the water
level.
2. In the scenario which is greater the death rate or the
birth rate?
3. What does this tell us about Earth’s population
growth?
4. List some things that would make the Reaper’s cup
larger…Real life things.
5. What would need to happen to have the water level
remain constant?
Population Growth
 Population – number of organisms for a species
 Can increase, decrease, or remain constant
 What’s
happening to
the population
on the right over
time?
Factors that affect Growth
 Create a list with your table of factors that affect a
population’s growth.
 Write on sticky notes and place on board
Population Growth Terms
 Limiting Factor – limits the growth of a population
 Food availability
 Droughts






Predators
Competition
Catastrophic events
Parasite
Disease
Habitat availability
Terms continued
 Carrying Capacity – maximum population size an
environment can support for a long period of time
 Carrying capacities can change as the environment
changes
 Birth Rate – number of births in a population per
year
 Death Rate – number of deaths in a population per
year
Scenario
 Scenario: You have just been hired for exactly one
month. Your boss is discussing your pay and asks
for your opinion. He wants you to choose:
 Option A: $100 per week
 Option B: 1 penny for the first day and doubled
everyday for the next 28 days
 Which one should you chose. Take 3 minutes to
come to your conclusion.
Scenario cont.
 You should choice option B because it grow
exponentially and you would get more $$
 Same is true in population growth
Population Growth
Patterns
 Exponential Growth
 Birth Rate is HIGHER than the death rate
 Birth rate is increasing
 Called a J - Graph
Carrying
capacity
and
limiting
factors
cause a
plateau in
growth.
Called
S-graph
Population Growth
Patterns
Human Growth
 Based on the graph what is human growth?
Human Growth
Human Growth
 Why is the growth pattern exponential?
Human Growth
 Why is the growth pattern exponential?
 Birth rate > Death Rate
Human Growth
 Why is the growth pattern exponential?
 Birth rate > Death Rate
 Medical advances
 Increase technology
Current Population
 Around 7 billion people
 Read 13.3 page
Essay Prompt
 Are humans exceeding Earth’s carrying capacity?
How can you tell? What would happen if we were
to exceed the carrying capacity?
 Minimum 2 paragraphs
 Include:
1. Definition of carrying capacity.
2. What type of growth pattern humans have.
3. Solutions for minimizing human footprints and thereby
increasing our carrying capacity.
4. Defend your answer