ecology notes
TRANSCRIPT
ECOLOGY
What is Ecology?
Ecology is the study of the relationships among
organisms and their environment.
Ecologists study environments at different levels of organization.
• Ecology is the study of the interactions among living things, and between living things and their surroundings.
Organism
Organism
• An organism is an individual living thing, such as an alligator.
Organism
Organism
Population
Population
• A population is a group of
the same species that lives in
one area.
Organism
Organism
Population
Population
Community
Community
• A community is a group of
different species that live
together in one area.
Organism
Organism
Population
Population
Community
Community
Ecosystem
Ecosystem
• An ecosystem includes all of
the organisms as well as the
climate, soil, water, rocks and
other nonliving things in a given
area.
Organism
Organism
Population
Population
Community
Community
Ecosystem
Ecosystem
Biome
• A biome is a major regional or
global community of organisms
characterized by the climate
conditions and plant communities
that thrive there.
• A biosphere is the global ecosystem
– The sum of all the planet’s ecosystems and biomes
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
What factors both living and non living will affect my life?
3 minutes ToTHINK
Factors affecting mouse
• Predators
• Food
• Shelter
• Temperature
• Weather
• Competitors
• Pathogens
• Parasites
• Clean Water
Would the same factors affect this flower?
Factors Affecting Plant
• Predators
• Food
• Shelter
• Temperature
• Weather
• Competitors
• Pollinators
• Soil
• Nutrients
• Wind
• Aspect
• Daylight
Keywords for today
• Biotic
• Abiotic
At the end of today’s lesson you will be able to
• Define biotic and abiotic
• Give examples of each type of factor
Classify the factors in the picture as either biotic factors or abiotic factors
List the Biotic and Abiotic Factors in the Image
Decide whether the following items are Abiotic, Biotic, or can be
argued to be both, place in the Venn diagram.
Abiotic Biotic
Biotic or Abiotic or Both?
Fish Chair Water Train Atom Plastic Insects Wood Sea Shell
Dirt Dog Worm Burger Wheat T.V. Broccoli Pine Tree Energy
Flower Dead animal Wooden Table Cotton Shirt Sunlight Ice Hydrogen Strawberries Wind
Abiotic Factors
• Factors that relate to the weather
• Factors that relate to the soil
What climatic factors could we measure?
• Light Intensity
• Humidity
• Wind speed
• Temperature
• Aspect
• Slope
What soil factors could we measure?
• Soil pH
• Amount of water in soil
• Soil Temperature
• Soil Air
• Soil Texture
List the Biotic and Abiotic Factors in the Image
The Deer Population
A field study was conducted to observe a deer population in a given region over time.The deer were counted at different intervals over a period of 40 years. During this period of time both ranching and hunting increased in the study region.
A summary of the data is presented in the table.
Questions on Deer Population
• During which 10 year period did the greatest increase in the deer population occur?
• State one possible action that could have been used to help maintain a more stable population of deer in the area.
• Identify an abiotic limiting factor for the deer populations.
• Identify a biotic limiting factor for the deer populations.
• List two problems an overpopulation of deer can cause in the environment.
Abiotic Factors
Biotic Factors
Decide if Factor is Biotic or Abiotic
Write A if Abiotic_______ Mouse _______ Rocks _______ Water _______ Fish _______ Paper _______ Glass _______ Aluminum _______ Wooden Ruler _______ Sand_______ Clouds
Write B if Biotic_______ Corpse _______ Snail _______ Vegetation_______ Bread Mold _______ Trees_______ Soil_______ Plastic _______ Pipe _______ Air_______ Wind
Habitat• All of the biotic and abiotic factors in the area
where an organism lives
• Factors
– Grass
– Trees
– Water
Niche• All of the physical, chemical, and biological
factors a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce in an ecosystem.
Madagascar
South America
Animated Biology
• Survive within a Niche
Lion niche in African Savannah
Find 4 factors that help the lion survive.
An antelope may use the tall grasses of the African plains as a food resource, a lion may use the same grasses as camouflage for hunting. A lion uses the antelope as a food resource and hunts primarily during low-light times like dawn or dusk. In order to avoid the intense heat of the savannah, lions often spend afternoons in the shade.
What are some of the abiotic and biotic
factors of your habitat?
ABIOTIC:
air, temperature, buildings, roads, water
BIOTIC:
Pets, plants, people
COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS
Competition
• Two organisms fight for the same limited resource.
– Intraspecific competition
• Within a species
– Interspecific competition
• Two different species compete for the same resource
Predation
• Predator/Prey – one organism eats the other
• Predator – does the eating
• Prey – gets eaten
Symbiosis
• A close relationship between two or more species where at least one benefits
Kinds of Symbiosis
1. Mutualism – Both species benefit from the relationship
2. Commensalism – one species benefits and one is not affected
3. Parasitism – one species benefits and the other is harmed
Examples of Interactions
• National Geographic
Terminology Review
• Autotroph
– Make their own food
• A.K.A. Producer
• Heterotroph
– Get energy from eating other living resources
• A.K.A. Consumer
Terminology Review: Types of Consumers
• Herbivore
– Eats only plants
• Carnivore
– Eats only animals (meat)
• Omnivore
– Eats both plants and animals
• Detritivores/Decomposers
– Eats dead organic matter
Trophic Levels:Levels within the food chain where an organism obtains its energy
Trophic Levels• Primary Producer (autotrophs)
– Make their own food from sunlight and/or chemical energy from deep sea vents
– The base of every food chain
Trophic Levels
• Primary Consumer
–Eat producers
• Herbivores
Trophic Levels
• Secondary Consumers
–Eat Primary Consumers
• Carnivores and Omnivores
Trophic Levels
• Detrivores/Decomposers
– Eat dead organisms
Trophic Levels
• Tertiary Consumers
–Eat secondary consumers
• Quaternary Consumers
–Eat tertiary consumers
• The top of the food chain has animals with little or no natural enemies
Energy Flow
• 10% Rule
–Only about 10% of the energy in any level of a food pyramid is available to the next level.
Example: When you eat an apple, only about 10% of the energy in the apple will end up being used by you.
Energy Pyramid
Energy Pyramid
Energy Pyramid Vocabulary
• Population size decreases as level increases
• Biomass – total dry weight of living matter at a level
Practice Questions
If we were trapped on a fertile grass island, about the size of a soccer field,
should we plant food crops or graze animals? Why?
• Island can produce 10,000 different edible plants.
• Island can provide food to graze one small cow, and two goats. They can produce a few glasses of milk.
A: We should plant crops!
• There is more available energy in producing vegetables than animals.
• We may get 10,000 plants
• The field may support one small cow which will just give a small amount of milk, even less energy if we use our one animal for BBQ.
Study the drawing to the right.
Infer the effect on the number of the pyramid’s organisms if an infection lowered the number of primary consumers to 100,000
Hypothetical Problem
AlgaeWater fleasMinnowFishHumans
A human weighs about 100 kg. According to the above food chain, how many humans can 100 million kilograms of algae support?