Transcript Ecology Powerpoint #1

What is Ecology?
The study
of the
interactions
________________
between organisms
and their
environment
Biotic
examples
include any
________
plants
or
animals
___________
Abiotic examples
include:
A)________
Sunlight
water
B)
________
Air
C) __________
CO2
O2
D)
Soil
ECOLOGY
1- INDIVIDUAL
2POPULATION
3- COMMUNITY
4- ECOSYSTEM
5- BIOME
6- BIOSPHERE
1. Individual
•A plant or
animal belonging
to a specific
____________
species
Ex: 1 zebra
2. Population
group
•A _________of
individuals from the
______ species living in
same
a specific area
• Members of a population
usually ____________
interbreed
Ex: A herd of zebras
3. Community
• A group of
________________that
populations
interact with each other
Ex: Zebras, lions, antelope, hyena, elephants,
bushes, trees, grass
4. Ecosystem
• One or more
_____________
communities
that interact
with each
other.
5. Biome
• A region of the
world that has
a particular
climate
____________
For example:
Deserts, tropical rain forests
6. Biosphere
A place on
the Earth
Where
________
life
can exist
Man-made Biosphere
Ecological Niche:
is the role that
each
species plays
in the
ecosystem
Your job!!!!
Habitat:
lives
A place where a species ________
Competition
Is the
struggle
for
resources
Limiting factors:
In the environment
limit the size of the
population and
may include:
The number of
and their
_____________
Who is the Prey?
• The one that is
eaten
• There must
always be
more prey
than predators
In this snowy environment, the polar bear is white
to avoid being noticed as it approaches the seal, and
the seal pup is white to avoid being noticed by the
bear.
Other Limiting
factors include:
• For plants the
amounts of:
______________ &
_____________
Other Limiting
factors include:
• Temperature
• pH
• Type of rock or
• Minerals
in the rock or soil
Carrying Capacity
What is Carrying Capacity
• The number
Of organisms
Of any single
Species an
Ecosystem
Can support
What Can Effect Carrying
Capacity?
Energy
Water
Oxygen
Minerals
Food
Why does the white-tailed deer
population drop when the carrying
capacity is exceeded?
1. Resources are too low to support the
population.
2. Weather changes reduce the deer
population.
3. The height of edible plants exceeds the
height of the deer.
4. Competition by other animals is greatly
reduced.
1. Autotrophs:
Also known as
_________
producers
Because they can
make their own
food
Ex:
Plants
Heterotrophs:
A.k.a. - Consumers
_________
Cannot make their
own food
Ex: people
animals
a) Herbivores:
Eat
plants
________
Ex: Cows,
horses,
rabbits,
panda
b) Carnivores:
Eat
meat
_______
ex: Lions
tigers
hawks
Carnivore - Wolf
c. Omnivores:
Eat BOTH
plants
&
________
animals
_______
Ex: Bears,
humans,
chimps,
Pigs - Omnivores
3. Decomposers:
Break down
And re-cycle
Materials that
can be used by
consumers
Ex: fungus,
worms,
bacteria
Maggot-covered Sea Lion
4. Scavengers
• Eat dead animals
or plants
• Ex: Flies,
maggots,
vultures, hyena,
sea gulls, pigeons
Hyenas and Vultures
5. Parasites:
attack other living
organisms called
a host
______________
they live on or in the
body of their host.
Ex: Tapeworms and fleas
examples: _________________________
Food Web:
• Interconnected
food chains
1: Producer or Consumer?
2. Producer or Consumer?
3. Producer or Consumer?
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Mutualism
• Relationship in
which both
organisms benefit
• Ex: Rhino and tick
bird (oxpecker)
• Ex: Bacteria living
in guts of animals
• Ex: Flowers and
bees
Zebra and Oxpecker
• Oxpeckers land on rhinos
or zebras and eat ticks
and other parasites that
live on their skin.
• The oxpeckers get food
and the beasts get pest
control.
• Also, when there is
danger, the oxpeckers fly
upward and scream a
warning, which helps the
symbiont (a name for the
other partner in a
relationship).
Bacteria in your Guts
• There are good
bacteria that live
in the human
digestive tract
• The bacteria help
break down food
• They get food and
a nice place to live,
and we get aid in
digestion!
Flowers and Bees
• Bees fly from flower to flower
gathering nectar, which they
make into food, benefiting the
bees.
• When they land on a flower,
the bees get some pollen on
their hairy bodies, and when
they land in the next flower,
some of the pollen from the
first one rubs off, pollinating
the plant.
• This benefits the plants. In
this symbiotic relationship,
the bees get to eat, and the
flowering plants get to
reproduce.
Commensalism
• When one species benefits and
the other is neither harmed
nor helped
• Ex: shark and remora fish
(fish get free food, protection
and ride)
• Barnacles and whale
• Orchid atop palm trees
(flower closer to sun)
• Eyebrow mites and people!
(mites get free food, we don’t
even know they are there!)
Barnacles live on
Gray Whales
Parasitism
• Parasites are small
animals that live off
larger “host” animals
• Parasite benefits, host is
harmed
• Parasites must be careful
though. If they sap too
much energy from a host,
they too will die
• Ex: leech, ticks,
tapeworm, malaria
Hookworms feed off
your intestines!
Tapeworm
Food Chains
Food Chain:
• Feeding
relationships in
which a series of
organisms pass
food energy to
each other
Food Chain:
• Sunlight is essential for most food chains
• Plants use the Sun’s energy to make their
own food – starch – which they store in their
leaves
• Herbivores eat the plants (rabbits)
• Carnivores or omnivores eat herbivores
• They, in turn, are eaten by other carnivores
Humans are just another
link on the food chain!
Energy
Flow:
Least amount
of energy
Decomposers
Consumers
Most Energy
Producers
Energy Pyramid:
• Producers (autotrophs): make their own food
and possess the greatest amount of energy
(leaves, grasses, algae)
• Primary (1st) Consumers: eat the leaves,
grasses, algae, etc. Ex: grasshoppers,
crickets
• Secondary (2nd) Consumers: eat the primary
consumers. Ex: frogs
• Tertiary (3rd) Consumers: eat the secondary
consumers. Ex: snakes, hawks, owls, lions
• Decomposers: break down dead animals and
plants (possess the least amount of energy)
Food Webs:
• In order to meet their energy requirements, most
animals are a part of more than one food chain.
• Not many animals feed on only one kind of food
• The risk of becoming overly dependent would be
too great.
• These interconnected food chains form a food web
• Food webs are more accurate than food chains in
representing what actually goes on in nature
Microbes decade
organic matter and
use up dissolved
oxygen
No more dissolved
oxygen and fish
die 
Healthy
lake
Pollution, heavy in
organic matter,
enters lake