ECOLOGY

Ecology

Ecology - the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. How the environment determines what

organisms live in an ecosystem How organisms affect the environment. How organisms interact with each other.

Careers

EmployersExamples of available work

Federal, state, and local government agencies EPA DEP

Universities Environmental

consulting firms

Forestry Land use planning Waste management Fish and Game

commission Environmental law Research Many others

Terms:

Biosphere – the area of the earth where life exists. most life exists within a few meters of the

earth’s surface contains ecosystems

Ecosystem – ecological unit that contains all of the interacting parts of an environment biotic factors – living components abiotic factors – nonliving components

http://www.paherps.com/herps/frogs-toads

://www.paherps.com/herps/snakes

http://www.paherps.com/herps/turtles

http://www.batmanagement.com/Batcentral/batspecs.html

http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/op/cor/rec/images/fish/Crappie.jpg

Trophic level – feeding level

Primary Producers

Autotrophs – make their own food Include plants, algae, and

photosynthetic bacteria.

Primary Consumers

Also called first level consumers Eat producers Herbivores

Secondary consumers Also called second level consumers Eat primary consumers Carnivores can be secondary

consumers

Tertiary consumers

Also called third level consumers Carnivores can be tertiary consumers

Related Terms

Omnivores – eath both producers and consumers.

Teeth of different trophic levels

Related terms

Scavengers – feed on organisms that have recently died.

Related terms

Decomposer – break down dead tissues and wastes into nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, and other elements and compounds.

Food chain

Specific order in which organisms obtain energy from in an ecosystem.

Food web

Shows feeding relationships of an entire ecosystem.

Shows how food chains in an ecosystem overlap.

Ecological PyramidsThe amount of available energy, numbers of organisms, and amount of biomass change with trophic level.

Energy pyramid – the amount of available energy decreases with trophic level. Most of the energy in an ecosystem is locked up in producers.

This is because the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next is not complete.

Numbers pyramid Most numbers pyramids resemble energy

pyramids. As trophic levels increase numbers of organisms

usually decrease.

Brd

bird

There are times when the numbers pyramid is not followed.o Ex. One large tree may support thousands of

caterpillars.

Biomass Pyramid Biomass- the total dry weight of the organisms in the ecosystem.

Follow both regular and inverted pyramid forms.