Transcript Energy Classification

Chapter 2 Fundamentals of Ecology
Abiotic environment- consists of the nonliving aspects of an
organisms surroundings.
Biotic environment- consists of living organisms and the way they
interact.
Habitat and Niche:
Habitat- the place in the environment where an organism is
found. Can be subdivided into smaller subdivisions called
microhabitats.
Niche- an organisms role in it’s environment. Can be determined
by abiotic factors, biological factors, and an organisms behavior.
Environmental Factors that Affect Animal Distribution
Maintaining Homeostasis:
Homeostasis- internal balance that organisms must maintain
In order to survive. An organism’s ability to maintain this limits the
areas in which it can live.
Zone of stress- regions above or below the optimal range.
Zone of intolerance- zone in which environmental variable is so
far from the optimal range that the organism can’t survive.
Environmental Factors that Affect Animal Distribution
• Physical environment: light, temperature, salinity, pressure metabolism
• Biological environment: competition, predator-prey relationships, symbiosis
1. Sunlight:
The amount of available sunlight influences photosynthesis,
Vision, and whether excessive levels are damaging to
organisms in the form of desiccation.
2. Temperature:
Ectotherm-obtains body heat from its surroundings.
Endotherm- can maintain a constant body temperature
1. Temperature can influence the distribution of organisms in
shallow water and in the intertidal zone.
2. Oxygen dissolves easier in cool water than in warm water.
3. Salinity:
Solutes are substances that are dissolved in water.
Osmosis- the movement of water across a membrane is response
to differences in solute concentration. Salinity is important in
determining the distribution of organisms.
Using the warm-up
question explain
what is:
•Hipotonic?
•Isotonic?
•Hypertonic?
4. Pressure:
Sea level= 1atm. Every 10 m(or 33ft) below sea level pressure
increases by 1 atm.
How many atm of pressure are there at 4000 m bellow surface? At 8000 m?
Metabolic Requirements:
1.Available dissolved nutrients and gases needed for
metabolism, growth, and reproduction.
2. Anaerobic organisms thrive in oxygen free environments.
Species Interactions:
Intraspecific
competition- competition
between members of a
single species.
Interspecific competitioncompetition between similar
species.
Competition- can occur when organisms require the same
limited resource such as food or living space.
•Competitive exclusion- is when one
organism successfully out competes
another organism and excludes it from
a particular area or niche.
•Resource partitioning- the process of
subdividing a niche into smaller niches.
Keystone species- an animals presence that makes it possible for
many other species to live there.
Keystone species- an animals presence that makes it possible for
many other species to live there.
Symbiosis:
Symbiosis-means living together
1. Mutualism- both organisms benefit from the relationship. Ex.
clownfish and sea anemone.
2. Commensalism- one organism benefits, while the other
is neither harmed nor benefitted. Ex. Remora fish and
shark.
3. Parasitism- one organism, the parasite lives off another
organism. Ex. Tapeworm living in a dog.
Population, Communities, and Ecosystems
Population- is a group of the same species that occupies a
specified area.
Community- composed of populations of different species.
Zones of the Marine Environment:
Can divide marine environment into two divisions:
A: pelagic division- composed of the ocean’s water
(water column).
B. Benthic division- ocean bottom.
A. Pelagic Division
1. Neritic zone- water that overlies continental shelves.
2. Oceanic zone- water that covers the deep ocean basins
Also can de divided into photic (sunlight present) and aphotic
(sunlight absent).
B. Benthic Division
1. Intertidal zone- covered with water only during high tide.
2. Shelf zone- low tide to edge of continental shelf.
3. Bathyl zone- continental shelf-4,000m
4. Abyssal zone- 4,000-6,000m
5. Hadal zone- > 6,000m
Epifauna- animals that live on the bottom.
Infauna- animals that live in bottom sediments.
Ecosystems:
Some of the major marine ecosystems are estuaries, salt
Marshes, mangrove swamps, rocky shores, sandy beaches, kelp
Forests, coral reefs, and open ocean.
Energy flow Through Ecosystems:
Producer- organisms able to produce their own food. In the
marine environment, the most important photosynthetic
organisms are phytoplankton.
Chemosynthetic- uses the energy from chemical reactions,
rather than sunlight to form organic molecules from carbon
dioxide and other compounds.
Consumers- rely on other organisms for food.
Food Chains and Food Webs
Food Chain- sequence of feeding relationships among a group
of organisms.
Food web- a representation of the complex feeding networks
that exist in an ecosystem.
Energy Flow through Trophic Levels:
On Average only about 10% of the energy available at one
trophic level is passed onto the next trophic level.
Biogeochemical Cycles:
Biogeochemical cycle- a combination of biological, chemical, and
physical processes that act to recycle nutrients. Essential
Nutrients are water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
Hydrological cycle- is the cycling of water between the
Atmosphere and land through evaporation and precipation.
Carbon Cycle- Co2 from atmosphere is dissolved in seawater
and used by producers through photosynthesis. When the food
is metabolized in respiration the Co2 is returned to the
environment.
Nitrogen Cycle- producers like plants require nitrogen for protein
synthesis and thus for proper growth. The nitrogen they need is
Usually in the form of ammonia, ammonium, nitrite, or nitrate.
1. Producers use energy from photosynthesis to concentrate the
nitrogen in their tissues and assemble it into amino acids and
proteins.
Nitrogen fixation- converting atmospheric nitrogen into forms
that are useable by producers, usually done by cyanobacteria.
Upwelling- the process by which wind and ocean currents bring
Nutrient rich material from the ocean bottom back to the photic
zone.