Transcript An_Introduction_To_Ecology_2012...arizona

An Introduction To Ecology
What is Ecology
• Ecology – study of interactions
between organisms and
environment.
• Consists of abiotic (nonliving;
i.e. temperature, light, etc) and
biotic (living) factors.
http://www.apsnet.org/education/illustratedglossary/PhotosE-H/forestdecline.htm
Levels of Organization in
Ecology
• Population – group of individuals of
same species living in an area.
• Community – all organisms of all
species that live in an area.
• Ecosystem – above plus abiotic
factors.
• Biosphere – sum of all ecosystems.
http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch8en/conc8en/img/biosphere.gif
Abiotic Factors that effect the
Environment
• Distribution affected by
temperature, water, sunlight, wind,
and rocks and soil.
• Type of each will determine what
can live there.
http://www.your-healthy-gardens.com/images/SoilTypes1.jpg
Abiotic factors continued
• Temperature and water are
biggest factors.
• Biomes – major types of
ecosystems.
• Determined by proximity to
equator, closeness to ocean,
mountains, etc.
http://z.about.com/d/geography/1/0/V/A/equator.jpg
Aquatic biomes
• 2 types – marine and freshwater.
• Stratified vertically – photic zone
(light) – lots of animal and plant
diversity and aphotic zone (little
light).
• Bottom of aquatic is benthos – food
is detritus that falls from above.
Free swimming zone lots of fish. Most
Diversity of organisms because of the light.
Bottom species like snails, catfish
and clams…NO light
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Antevs/nats104/00lect17lakeutrophic.jpg
• Freshwater – close to shore –
littoral zone.
• Open water – limnetic zone.
• ALakes classified by nutrients –
1eutrophic – shallow and nutrientrich; oligotrophic – deeper and
nutrient-poor. Too much phosphorus
leads to algae blooms called
eutrophication.
Oligotrophic lake
http://kentsimmons.uwinnipeg.ca/16cm05/1116/50-19b-Eutrophic.jpg
Eutrophic lake
http://www.spatial.maine.edu/~snoox/images/eutrophic_lake.jpg
Marine Estuary on a coral reef
*
• BWetlands – area covered with
water; supports plants.
• CEstuaries – area where freshwater
meets ocean.
• Intertidal zone – land meets water.
• DCoral reefs – dominated by coral.
Wetlands
http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/assets/images/Wetlands.jpg
Estuary
http://www.cop.noaa.gov/images/estuaries.jpg
Coral Reef
http://212.84.179.117/i/Coral%20Reef.jpg
Ocean Biome Land Features
• EOceanic pelagic biome – away from
shore.
• Abyssal zone – lowest part of
• Benthos; deep-sea hydrothermal
vents help chemoautotrophic
organisms.
Abyssal zone
http://206.110.20.50/web/schuh/students/jonathan/Monsters/MonstersofthDeep/seaslug.JPG
Terrestrial “LAND” biomes
• Defined vertically from the
canopy at top to the permafrost
at the bottom.
• ATropical forest – little light
reaches ground because of deep
canopy.
• Rainfall determines life in area.
Tropical Forest In Madagascar
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/mudge/bneimark/SC%202.jpg
Terrestial Biomes cont.
• Savanna – scattered trees and
grasses.
• Fire helps increase diversity.
• Has rainy season.
• Temperate grassland – seasonal
drought, fires prevent tree growth.
• Most used for farming.
Savanna
http://www.plantzafrica.com/vegetation/vegimages/savanna3.jpg
Grasslands
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/Biome/Images/picgrassland.jpg
Terrestrial Biomes cont.
• DDeserts – sparse rain, some are
cold.
• Plants have structures to allow
survival (i.e. water storage,
alternative forms of photosynthesis)
• EChaparral – evergreen shrub; long,
hot, dry summers with fires.
Desert
http://pangea.stanford.edu/~hsiao/desert.jpg
Chaparral
http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu/images/semiaridgrasslands92rw.jpg
Abiotic factors of specific
biomes
• FTemperate deciduous forest – small
mammals, leaves fall during autumn.
• GConiferous forest – cone-bearing
trees, trees have needles.
• HTundra – permafrost covers ground,
low diversity.
Deciduous forest
http://www.ccet.ua.edu/hhmi/images/Autumn.JPG
Coniferous forest
http://www3.newberry.org/k12maps/module_07/images/coniferous.jpg
Tundra
http://photojunkie.ca/photoblog/tundra.jpg
http://www.hesd.k12.ca.us/resource/biomes/Biome%20map.gif
Biomes around the World
• SUCCESSION = How The Land Changes
Pioneer Species:
Over Time.
lichens- grow on rocks
moss- grow on trees
Over hundreds to thousands of years, the barren rock is changed by
pioneer species like bacteria, lichen and mosses to form soil. As seeds are
dispersed by the wind, water and deposited by animal fur or digestion, the
small non-flowering plants eventually grow into flowers, shrubs, small trees
and finally into areas with more diversity changes the species in the area.
• Primary Succession – volcanoes and
Glaciers build-up new land, islands, or
mountains.
• Succession continued:
• Secondary Sucession – an established land
is disturbed or removed by natural or man-made
processes such as fire, floods, mowing a field,
hurricanes, tornadoes, clear-cutting a forest
called FRAGMENTATION.
• Succession continued:
• Climax Community – balance within an
ecosystem
Organism Relationships (Symbiosis)
•Sym= together Bio = life sis = process
“the process of living together”
•Relationships between living things:
1.Commensalism – organisms live together with very little
interaction. Sometimes, one organism may help the other to survive but
benefit is not returned. For example: Wilderbeast in Africa are protected
by zebra heards. It makes it harder for a lion to isolate and kill a
wilderbeest.
• Organism Relationships continued
• Mutualism – when the survival of the organism
depends upon another organism. Both species help each
other to survive. Each organism has a role: protection, free ride, a warning
device, cleaning parasites, free food, gets water, and etc.
• Organism Relationships continued
• Parasitism- when one organism actively
benefits from the harm of a host organism.
• Host – the carrier organism
• Parasites may use nutrients or drink blood from other
organisms, use a host for part of a life cycle, control a life
function of the organism, use the host as a home and etc.