Transcript Ecology complete - Valhalla High School

THE BIOSPHERE
What is Ecology?
 Study of interactions between
organisms and between organisms
and their environment.
Ernst Haeckel – coined term
Ecology in 1866
Greek word “oikos” means house
Natures “houses”come in many
sizes
Levels of Organization
 Ecologist study
organisms ranging
from the various
levels of
organization:
 Species
 Population
 Community
 Ecosystem
 Biome
 Biosphere
Species
 Group of similar organisms that can breed
and produce fertile offspring
Population
 group of organisms, all of the same species,
which interbreed and live in the same area.
Community
 an assemblage of different populations that
live together
Ecosystem
 Collection of organisms that live in a place with
the nonliving environment
Biome
 Group of ecosystems with the same climate
and dominant commuties
Tropical rain forest
Temperate grassland
Temperate forest
Tundra
Tropical dry forest
Desert
Mountains and
ice caps
Tropical savanna
Temperate woodland
and shrubland
Northwestern
coniferous forest
Boreal forest
(Taiga)
Biosphere
Ecosystem
 The part of the earth where life exists including
land, water, air, and atmosphere
Three Ecological Methods of
Study
1. Observing
•
•
What species live here?
How many individuals of species are there?
2. Experimenting
•
•
Used to test a hypothesis
Ex - making artificial environments in the lab
3. Modeling
•
•
Making models to gain insight into complex
phenomena
Ex. - Global warming
Autotrophs vs.
Heterotrophs
 Autotrophs –
make their own
food so they are
called
PRODUCERS
 Heterotrophs –
get their food from
another source so
they are called
CONSUMERS
Two Main forms of Energy
for Autotrophs
 Sunlight
 The main source of
energy for life on
earth
 Photosynthesis
 Chemical
 Some organisms
such as bacteria, rely
on the energy stored
in inorganic
compounds
 Chemosynthesis
Types of Consumers
Herbivores- only eat plants
Carnivores - only eat meat
Detritivores and
Decomposers
Feeds on plant and animal
remains
Omnivores
Eat plants and meat
How does Energy flow
through an Ecosystem?
 Energy flows
through an
ecosystem in ONE
direction,
 sun or chemicals
 Autotrophs
 heterotrophs
Energy Flow in
Ecosystems:
Feeding Relationships
 Food Chain – steps of
organisms transferring
energy by eating &
being eaten
 Food Web – network
of all the food chains
in an ecosystem
Food Web
Ecological Pyramids
 Trophic Level – each step in a food chain or food
web
Biomass Pyramid
Energy Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers
Pyramid of Numbers -relative
number of individuals at each trophic level
Pyramid of Biomass -
amount of
potential food available for each trophic level
Pyramid of Energy -
amount of
energy available at each trophic level
 Only 10% of the energy from each trophic level
is passed on to the next level
 Most of the
energy is
used by the
organisms
for life
processes
 Some of the
energy is lost
as heat
How does Matter move
through an ecosystem?
 Unlike the one way flow of
energy, matter is recycled
within & between
ecosystems
 Nutrients are passed
between
organisms & the environment
through biogeochemical
cycles
 Biogeochemical Cycles:
 Bio –life
 Geo – Earth
 Chemo – chemical
1.
WATER CYCLE
2.
NUTRIENT CYCLES:
a) CARBON
CYCLE
b) NITROGEN
CYCLE
c) PHOSPHORUS
CYCLE
Why are nutrients
important ?
 Every living organism
needs nutrients to
build tissues and
carry out essential
life functions.
95% of your body is made of…
1)
OXYGEN
2)
CARBON
3)
HYDROGEN
4)
NITROGEN
Availibility of nutrients
 If a nutrient is in short
supply, it will limit an
organisms growth. It is
called a limiting nutrient
 When a limiting nutrient
is dumped into a lake or
pond, an algal bloom
occurs and can disrupt
the ecosystem
THE WATER CYCLE
CARBON CYCLE
4 PROCESSES MOVE
CARBON THROUGH
ITS CYCLE:
(see fig.3-13)
CO2
1) Biological
2) Geochemical
3) Mixed biochemical
4) Human Activity
CO2
NITROGEN CYCLE
14)
(see fig.3N2
in Atmosphere
Nitrogen-containing nutrients in
the biosphere include:
1) Ammonia (NH3)
2) Nitrate (NO3-)
3) Nitrite (NO2-)
ORGANISMS NEED
NITROGEN TO MAKE
AMINO ACIDS FOR
BUILDING PROTEINS!!!
N03NH3
&
N02-
PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
(see fig.3-15)
PHOSPHORUS FORMS PART OF IMPORTANT LIFE-SUSTAINING
MOLECULES (ex. DNA & RNA)