Transcript Ecology Notes

ECOLOGY
The Study of the
Interaction of organisms
with their environment
The Environment
• Biotic Factors
all of the living
things in the
environment
• Abiotic Factors
all of the nonliving
things in the
environment
Community
• All of the living
things in an area
that DEPEND on
each other
Relationships in a Community -1
Symbiosis = “Living Together”
– Close relationship between two or
more species
– Examples
• Mutualism
• Commensalism
• Parasitism
Mutualism
• Both species
benefit from the
relationship
• WIN – WIN
• EX: acacia tree
and ants.
Commensalism
• One species benefits
from the relationship
and the other is
unaffected.
• WIN – “I don’t care”
• EX: Orchid
Parasitism
• One species benefits (parasite)
and the other is harmed (host)
• WIN – LOSE
• EX: Tick
• Parasite does not
want to kill the
host. Why?
Relationships in a Community - 2
• Predation - The feeding of one
organisms on another
– Predator
• hunts/eats
– Prey
• gets eaten
Habitat
• The Place where
an organism
lives
Niche
• The JOB of an
organism in a
community
Niches in a Community
• PRODUCER
• CONSUMER
• DECOMPOSER
Producer (Autotroph)
• Plants make food
in a community
• Photosynthesis
– using sunlight
to make food
Consumer (Heterotroph)
• Can’t make their own food
• Primary Consumer
 Eats plants
• Secondary Consumer
 Eats other animals
Decomposers
• Are consumers
• Get food by breaking down dead matter
• Recycle nutrients
• Examples
– Fungi (molds, mushrooms)
– Bacteria
Energy
• The ability to do work
• Flows through an
ecosystem
• What is the primary
source of energy in an
ecosystem?
The Sun
Food Chain
• Pathway of energy through an ecosystem
Sun
Grass
Producer
Grasshopper
Primary
Consumer
Bird
Secondary
Consumer
Food Web
• Food chains connected in a
community
• All of the possible feeding
relationships
Food Web
Energy Pyramid
TERTIARY
CONSUMER
SECONDARY
CONSUMER
PRIMARY CONSUMER
PRODUCER
Energy Pyramid
• Shows energy loss in a
food chain
– 90% lost as heat
• # of organisms at each
level decreases
– Less energy available
• Because of energy loss,
maximum of 5 levels.