Transcript Ecology

Organisms and Their Environment
ECOLOGY
VOCABULARY
Ecology – study of interactions that take place
b/t organisms and their environment
 Abiotic factor – non living parts of an organisms
environment (i.e. rocks, air currents)
 Biotic factor – all living organisms that inhabit
an environment (including things that are dead
but were once living)
 Biosphere – portion of Earth that supports
living things

VOCABULARY
Food web – shows all possible feeding
relationships at each trophic level in a community
 Trophic level – each organism in a food chain
representing a feeding step in the passage of
energy and materials
 Mutualism – symbiotic relationship in which both
species benefit
 Commensalism – symbiotic relationship in which
one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

VOCABULARY
Parasitism – symbiotic relationship in which one
organism benefits and the other organsims is
harmed
 Symbiosis – relationship in which 2 organsisms
live closely together
 Biodiversity – variety of life in an area, usually
measured by the # of species
 Niche – all the strategies and adaptations a
species uses in its environment; how it meets its
specific needs for food and shelter; how it
survives; where it reproduces

VOCABULARY
Habitat – place where an organism lives out its
life
 Food chain – simple model that scientists use
to show how matter and energy move through
an ecosystem
 Producer – organism that make organic
molecules from inorganic molecules; serve as a
food source for other organisms (i.e. plants)

VOCABULARY
Consumer – organism that eats other
organisms or organic matter instead of
producing its own nutrients or obtaining
nutrients from inorganic sources (i.e. rabbits,
deer, humans)
 Decomposer – organism that feeds by breaking
down organic matter from dead organsims (i.e.
bacteria, fungi)

THE BIOSHPERE
Earth – the planet we live on (duh!)
 Divided into different parts

 Lithosphere
– Earth’s crust
 Hydrosphere – Earth’s water in all forms
 Biosphere – contains all life
 Atmosphere – all of Earth’s air

Biosphere overlaps/encompasses some or all
of each of the other spheres
BIOSPHERE
Consists of all living –biotic factors, and non
living –abiotic factors
 Abiotic factors are necessary to sustain life

 Air
currents
 Temperpature
 Moisture
 Light
 Soil, rocks
ABIOTIC FACTORS
Affect the environment
 i.e. amount of rain fall determines the
abundance & diversity of life an area can
support
 Whale page 37 Problem-Solving Lab 2.1

BIOTIC FACTORS

Biotic factors affect the abundance and
diversity of life in an area as well
 Competition
among species
 Symbiotic relationships
ORGANIZATION OF THE BIOSPHERE (WHALE 40)

In order from smallest to largest:
 Populations  Community 
Ecosystem  Biosphere
 Organism:
single individual of a species
 Population: species of organism that lives in the
same place at the same time
 Community: all populations living in the same
place at the same time
 Ecosystem: biotic and abiotic factors in the same
place at the same time
 Organism
ORGANISMS IN AN ECOSYSTEM

Each organism has its own habitat


i.e. Birds may live in trees; centipedes live on the
ground
Each organism has its own niche
Different species may share habitats, food, shelter
 There will be at least one essential resource that will be
used in a different way by each organism
 Leads to reduced competition for resources
 If 2 species use the same resources, eventually one will
gain control and the other will die off or migrate

SYMBIOSIS - MUTUALISM
SYMBIOSIS - COMMENSALISM
SYMBIOSIS - PARASITISM
ENERGY FLOW THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM

How organisms obtain energy:
Producers – make their own
 Primary Consumers – only eat producers (herbivores)
 Secondary consumers – eat primary consumers
(carnivore), sometimes producers as well (omnivores)
 Tertiary consumers – eat secondary consumers,
sometimes eat producers as well
 Decomposers – eat decomposing producers and
consumers

ENERGY FLOW IN AN ECOSYSTEM

Food chain
 Follows
the flow of energy as it moves through
organisms
 i.e. Seaweed  perch  shark  sea slug
 As food moves through the chain, the amount of
energy passed to each level diminishes
considerably (Whale 52)
ENERGY FLOW THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM
Food web – encompasses all the food chains in
an ecosystem (Whale 51-52)
 Problem Solving Lab 2.2 on Whale 50

AFFECTS ON BIODIVERSITY
Changes in an ecosystem can affect its
biodiversity
 What would happen if it stopped raining in the
Mojave Desert? Or, if the amount of acid in the
rain falling in the Sierra Nevada Mts increased
dramatically to lethal levels?
 Whale page 51

AFFECTS ON BIODIVERSITY
Uncontrolled population growth of a single species
can affect biodiversity
 Humans as a species can have a devastating
affect on biodiversity


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i.e. hunting to extinction the grey wolves in Yellowstone
Non native/alien/invasive/introduced species can
affect the biodiversity

Usually have no natural predators so they can flourish
in the new area & dominate the resources, leaving little
resources for the native species which do have natural
predators
CYCLES IN NATURE

Water cycle – precipitation  evaporation /
transpiration  condensation
 Process

recycles water through the environment
Carbon cycle – all life on Earth is based on
carbon
 They
form all biological molecules (protein etc)
 Plants use CO2 to make food  consumers exhale
CO2 back to the atmosphere for plants to use
CYCLES IN NATURE

Nitrogen cycle – plants need nitrogen to
produce
get nitrogen from soil & turn it into food 
consumers eat plants & store nitrogen in their
bodies, then release as urine or they die and are
decomposed and the nitrogen returns to the soil
 Plants
LIFE W/IN COMMUNITIES

Limiting factors – any biotic or abiotic factor
that restricts the existence, numbers,
reproduction, or distribution of organisms
 i.e.
availability of food & water, predators,
temperature, climate

Tolerance – the ability of organisms to w/stand
fluctuations in biotic and abiotic factors
LIFE W/IN COMMUNITIES
Succession – change over time
 Primary succession: colonization of barren land by
communities of organisms

Takes place where there is no life
 i.e. lava fields
 Pioneer species – 1st species to take hold, they
eventually die, but they change the land so other
species can thrive
 Climax community – the stable, mature community that
undergoes little/no change in species following primary
succession

LIFE W/IN COMMUNITIES

Secondary succession – sequence of changes
that takes place after an existing community is
severley disrupted in some way
 Compare
to primary – primary is barren land w/ no
life, secondary is some life but largely devastated
 i.e. fire devastated areas, some life will still exist,
but most of it will have been wiped out
BIOMES
Biome – large group of ecosystems that share
the same type of climax community
 Divided into terrestrial and aquatic
 Organisms w/in each are adapted to the
conditions of that particular biome

AQUATIC BIOMES

Marine/Ocean, divided into zones
 Photic
zone: portion shallow enough for sunlight to
penetrate, photosynthesis can occur
 Aphotic zone: deep waters that never receive
sunlight, photosynthesis cannot occur
AQUATIC BIOMES – PHOTIC ZONES

Intertidal zone (tide pools)
 Close
to shore line
 Organisms are adapted to periodic exposure to air
during low tide times
 Types of organisms: crab, mussels, oysters, sea
anemones, sea stars
 Organisms must be able to w/stand crashing waves
TIDE POOLS
PHOTIC ZONES

Neritic Zone
 Extends
from intertidal zone over the continental
shelf
 Most productive marine zone
 Upwellings carry nutrients from ocean bottom
 Species: plankton, numerous fish, sea turtles
PHOTIC ZONES

Neritic Zone – Coral Reefs
 Form
in tropical neritic areas
 Rich in species
 Built by coral animals over long periods of time
 Constructed
by their external skeletons, as animals die,
the skeletons acculuate
 Species:
fish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc
NERITIC ZONE
AQUATIC BIOMES – PHOTIC/APHOTIC ZONES

Oceanic Zone
 The
upper portion of the oceanic zone is photic
 The lower portion (deep ocean) is aphotic
 Contains fewer species than the other zones, even
in the photic zones
 Species in upper portion –
 Producers:
microscopic protists, bacteria, plants,
invertebrate plankton
 Animals: fish, mammals like whales, large invertebrates
OCEANIC ZONE

Aphotic zone
 Species
feed on sinking plankton & dead
organisms
 Deep ocean – near freezing temps & crushing
pressure
 Species have slow metabolisms & reduced skeletal
systems, large jaws & teeth, expandable stomachs
 Species: squid, by thermal vents – clams, crabs,
worms
OCEANIC ZONES
AQUATIC BIOMES - ESTUARIES
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Where freshwater meets sea
i.e. bays, mud flats, mangrove swamps, salt marshes
Shallow water gets lots of sunlight & rivers deposit lots
of minerals
Interaction of fresh and salt water causes great variation
in temp and salinity
Surface is exposed to air during low time
Organisms are adapted to frequent change
Species: mangrove trees, softshell clams, plankton,
snails, shrimp, crab, grasses and trees
ESTRUARIES
AQUATIC BIOMES - FRESHWATER

Lakes and ponds
 Eutrophic
lakes – rich in organic matter and
vegetation, waters are murky
 Oligotrophic lakes – contain little organic matter,
water is clearer, bottom usually rocky or sandy
 Species – fish, ducks, turtles, snakes,
salamanders, frogs
AQUATIC BIOMES - FRESHWATER

Rivers and streams
 Body
of freshwater that flows downward
 Organisms are adapted to strong currents
 Slow-moving rivers are richer in nutrients & support
greater diversity of life, rooted plants
 Species: brook trout and other fish
AQUATIC BIOMES - FRESHWATER

Freshwater wetlands
Land covered w/ fresh water at least part of each year
 Marshes – non woody plants (cattails)
 Swamps – woody plants (trees/shrubs)
 Bog – sphagnum mosses
 Most productive freshwater biomes
 Species – birds, fish, mammals, amphibians,
invertebrates, reptiles, whooping crane, Florida
panther, american crocodile, american alligator
 Provide protection for spawning organisms
 Filter pollutants out of the water & act as flood control

AQUATIC BIOMES - FRESHWATER
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES - TUNDRA
Temp: -14.8 F to 53.6 F
 Precipiation: <25 cm
 Soil: moist, thin topsoil over permafrost; low in
nutrients; slightly acidic
 Vegetation: mosses, lichen, grasses, dwarf
woody plants
 Animals: arctic fox, caribou, ermine, grizzly
bear, harlequin duck, musk ox, polar bear,
snowy owl
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TUNDRA
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES – TAIGA
Temp: 14 F to 57.2 F
 Precipitation: 35-75 cm
 Soil: low in nutrients; highly acidic
 Vegetation: coniferous evergreen trees
 Animals: American black bear, bald eagle, bob
cat, Canadian lynx, grey wolf, grizzly bear, long
eared owl, red fox, river otter, snowshoe rabbit,
wolverine

TAIGA
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES – FORESTS: TEMPERATE
FOREST
Temp: 42.8 F to 82.4 F
 Precipitation: 75-125 cm
 Soil: moist, moderately thick topsoils; moderate
nutrient levels
 Vegetation: broad-leaved deciduous trees and
shrubs or evergreen coniferous trees
 Animals: American bald eagle, American black
bear, coyote, duckbilled platypus, eastern
chipmunk, European red squirrel, fat dormouse,
least weasel, white tailed deer

TEMPERATE FOREST (DECIDUOUS FOREST)
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES – FORESTS: TROPICAL
FORESTS
Temp: 68 F to 93.2 F
 Precipitation: 200-400 cm
 Soil: moist, thin topsoil; low in nutrients
 Vegetation: broad-leaved evergreen trees and
shrubs
 Animals: African forest elephant, Bengal tiger,
chimpanzee, common palm civet, dawn bat,
golden lion tamarin, harpy eagle, jambu fruit dove,
king cobra, kinkajou, Linn’s sloth, orangutan,
probiscus monkey, red shanked douc
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TROPICAL FORESTS
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES – GRASSLANDS:
TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS
Temp: 32 F to 77 F
 Precipitation: 25-75 cm
 Soil: deep layer of topsoil; very rich in nutrients
 Vegetation: dense, tall grasses in moist areas;
short grasses in drier areas
 Animals: corsac fox, Mongolian gerbil, saiga
antelope, northern lynx, saker falcon, American
bald eagle, badger, bob cat, bumble bee, prairie
dog, swift fox, Geoffrey’s cat, greater rhea

TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES – GRASSLANDS:
SAVANNA
Temp: 60.8 F to 93.2 F
 Precipitation: 75-150 cm
 Soil: dry, thin topsoil; porous; low in nutrients
 Vegetation: tall grasses and scattered trees
 Animals: African elephant, African wild dog,
black mamba, caracal, chacma baboon,
Egyptian mongoose, emu, Grant’s zebra, koala
bear, lion, nigriceps ants, nile crocodile
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SAVANNA
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES – GRASSLANDS:
CHAPARRAL
Temp: 50 F to 64.4 F
 Precipitation: <25 cm
 Soil: rocky, thin topsoil; low in nutrients
 Vegetation: succulent plants and scattered
grasses
 Animals: aardwolf, black tailed jack rabbit,
cactus wren, golden jackal, grey wolf, island
grey wolf, puma, spotted skunk, wild goat

CHAPARRAL
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES - DESERTS
Temp: 44.6 F to 100.4 F
 Precipitation: <25 cm
 Soil: dry, often sandy; low in nutrients
 Vegetation: succulent plants and scattered
grasses
 Animals: armadillo lizard, banded gila monster,
bob cat, cactus wren, coyote, desert bighorn
sheep, desert kangaroo rat, desert tortoise,
javelina, cactus, ferruginoug pygmy owl, thorny
devil

DESERT