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Ecology, Ch 3-5

• Ecology (Section 3-1)• Energy flow (Section 3-2)• Cycles of Matter (Section 3-3)• Ecosystems (Section 4-1)• Biomes (Section 4-2)• Aquatic Ecosystems (Section 4-3)• How populations grow (Section 5-1)• Limits to population growth (Section 5-

2)• Human population growth (Section 5-3)

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Ecology

• Ecology = scientific study of interactions between organisms, and between organisms and their environment

• Eco comes from the Greek word “oikos” which means “house,” so ecology is the study of YOUR house-Earth!

• Nature has many “houses”– Biosphere = all parts of our earth where life exists

• No life is an island unto itself

• Life depends on interactions between living and non-living parts of the biosphere

• All life is inter-dependent– Birds eat worms that live on leaves of trees, trees depend

on soil, sunlight and water– Humans eat plants and animals, breathe air, and drink

water, animals eat plants or other animals, plants depend on soil, water and sunlight

Bio = lifeSphere = circle

Biosphere = The circle of Life!

Section 3-1

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Group of organisms so similar to one another they can breed and produce fertile offspring

Group of ecosystems with the same climate and similar dominant communities (desert, tundra, taiga, temperate forest, tropical rainforest, artic)

6 Levels of Organization

Collection of all organisms that live in a particular place, together with the non-living parts of their environment

Assemblies of different populations living in a defined area

2. Ecosystem

3. Communities

5. Species

4. Populations

1. Biome

Groups of individuals belonging to the same species and living in the same area

One member of a species6. Individual

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??

??

??

Biome

Ecosystem

Community

Population

Individual

Species

6 Levels of Organization

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Energy Flow• Everything needs energy • What is the ultimate source of energy?

• The Sun!

• Energy flows through an ecosystem• Producers = obtain energy directly

from the sun or capture energy from chemicals– Autotrophs = plants, some algae, and certain

bacteria can capture the sun’s energy or use chemicals to produce their own food

– Essential to the flow of energy through an ecosystem

– Autotrophs are producers

Section 3-2Producers produce food

Auto = self

Troph = nourishment

I hate to break it to you, but you are not an autotroph.

I’m a producer!

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Energy From the Sun!!• Photosynthesis = uses sunlight

energy to power chemical reactions that convert CO2 and H2O into O2 and energy-rich carbohydrates (sugars and starches)

– Plants, algae, photosynthetic bacteria

• Without photosynthesis, you wouldn’t have air to breathe or food to eat- you would DIE!6CO2 + 6H2O 6O2 + C6H12O6

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Consumers• Ok, you’re not an autotroph,

so what are you?• Heterotrophs = organisms that rely on

other organisms for their energy and food supply

• You consume animals and plants to obtain energy, you are a CONSUMER

• Types of heterotrophs:– Herbivore – eats only plants– Carnivore- eats only animals– Omnivore- eats plants and animals– Detritivore – eats plant and animal remains, dead things– Decomposers – breaks down organic matter

cow, sheep, caterpillar

snakes, dogs, owls

humans, bears, crows mites, earthworms, snails, crabs

bacteria, fungi

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Food Chains• Energy flows in only ONE direction, from

the sun to autotrophs then heterotrophs• Who eats who forms a network of feeding

relationships called a Food Chain• Food Chain = series of steps in which

organisms transfer energy by eating or being eaten

• ALL food chains begin with producers, no exceptions!!!!

Producers 1st level consumers 2nd level consumers

= Food Chain

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Food Webs• Life isn’t simple, most ecosystems consist

of a series of food chains called Food Webs• Food Web = links together all the Food

Chains in an ecosystem

= Food Web

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heron

marsh hawk

shrew

clapper rail (omnivore)

plankton eating fish

harvest mouse

(omnivore)

ribbed mussel

marsh grassalgae

pickle weed

detritus

zooplankton

sandhopper

decomposers producers

herbivores

1st level consumers

Top level carnivores

Food Web

Each step in a food chain or web is called a Trophic Level.

Each trophic level depends on the level above and below it.

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Ecological Pyramids• Amounts of energy and matter in an ecosystem

can be represented by an ecological pyramid

• 10% Rule: only about 10% of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next level

Energy Pyramid

1st order consumers = 10%

2nd order consumers = 1%

3rd order consumers = 0.1%

Producers = 100%100%

10%

1%0.1%

Where did the 99.9% of the energy go?

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Biomass Pyramid

• Biomass = total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level– Usually expressed in grams of organic matter/unit area– Biomass pyramid represents total amount of potential

food available for each trophic level in an ecosystem

Typically, the greatest biomass is at the base of the pyramid.

100 grams of human tissue

500 grams of chicken

1500 grams of grain

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Pyramid of Numbers• Each trophic level harvests only about one

tenth of energy from the level below it

Shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level.

Less top predators like the eagle

More 1st and 2nd order consumers, the prey

Producers, like plants, are the most abundant Box 18

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Cycles of Matter

• Unlike the 1-way flow of energy in an ecosystem, matter recycles in and between ecosystems

• Biogeochemical Cycles = elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from 1 organism to another and to other parts of the biosphere– Water cycle– Nutrient cycles

• Nitrogen cycle• Phosphorous cycle• Carbon cycle

Section 3-3

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Water Cycle

• All living things depend on H2O to survive

• It moves between the ocean, atmosphere and land, constantly recycling

• Evaporation = process where H2O changes from liquid to atmospheric gas– Evaporation is from oceans or other

bodies of H2O

• Transpiration = H2O entering atmosphere by evaporating from leaves of plants

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condensationprecipitation

run off

seepage

root uptake

transpirationevaporation

Water CycleBox 22

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Nutrient Cycles• Nutrients = all the chemical substances

an organism needs to sustain life– Producers obtain nutrients from their environment– Consumers obtain nutrients by eating other organisms

• Every living organism needs nutrients to build tissues and carry out essential life functions

• Like H2O, nutrients are passed between organisms and the environment through biogeochemical processes

• The 3 Nutrient Cycles are:– Carbon cycle– Phosphorous cycle– Nitrogen cycle

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Carbon Cycle• You are full of CHON, but Carbon

is the main ingredient of living tissue• 4 main types of processes move

carbon through its cycle:1. Biological processes = photosynthesis,

respiration, decomposition2. Geochemical processes = erosion and volcanic

activity release CO2 into the air and oceans3. Mixed biogeochemical processes = burial and

decomposition of dead organisms, and their turning into fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)

4. Human activities = mining, cutting and burning forests, burning fossil fuels,= release CO2 into air

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Carbon Cycle

CO2 in atmosphere

CO2 in ocean

Carbon is found in several large reservoirs in the biosphere:In the atmosphere –CO2 gasIn the oceans- dissolved CO2

On land –in organisms, rocks and soilUnderground –coal, oil and calcium carbonate rock

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Nitrogen Cycle• All organisms require nitrogen to make

amino acids, the building blocks of proteins• Different forms of naturally occurring Nitrogen:

• Nitrogen gas (N2)- makes up 78% of Earth’s atmosphere

• Nitrogen containing substances – such as ammonia (NH3) and nitrate ions (NO2

-)

• Some bacteria “fix” nitrogen from the air, converting nitrogen gas into ammonia = Nitrogen fixation

• Live on roots of plants and in soil• Consumers eat the plants and use the nitrogen to make

proteins

• Denitrification = when soil bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas, which is released into the air

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Phosphorous Cycle

• Phosphorous (P) is essential to living organisms because it forms part of important life-sustaining molecules like DNA and RNA

• Despite its importance, P is not very common in the biosphere– P exists in the form of inorganic phosphate

found in rocks and soil– P washes into rivers, streams and lakes where it

dissolves and eventually ends up in the ocean– P also remains on land where it cycles between

organisms and the soil

P = phosphorous, not pee

P? In our

rivers? Nasty!

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Ecosystems and Communities• Greenhouse effect = (technical definition)

CO2, methane, H2O vapor, and a few other atmospheric gases trap heat energy and maintain Earth’s temperatures

• Act like windows of a greenhouse, keeping us warm

• Greenhouse effect = heat retained by a layer of greenhouse gases

Section 4-1

Sunlight

Some heatescapesinto space

Greenhousegases trapsome heat

Atmosphere

Earth’s surface

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Parts of an Ecosystem

• Biotic factors = living, biological, factors that shape ecosystems

• Trees, mushrooms, bacteria, animals, flowers, etc.

• Abiotic factors = physical or non-living factors that shape ecosystems

• Rocks, water, soil, air, sunlight

• Biotic + Abiotic factors determine the survival and growth of an organism and the productivity of the ecosystem

Section 4-2

Biotic factors

Abiotic factors

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Who Lives in an Ecosystem• Habitat = an organism’s address,

where it lives• Niche = an organism’s occupation,

what it does in its habitat– Includes:

• Where it fits into the food web• Type of food it eats• How it obtains food• When and how it reproduces

• No 2 species can share the SAME habitat and the SAME niche

• But, different species can occupy similar niches in the same habitat

Bernie’s habitat

Bernie’s niche

No one else could do MY job.

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Community Interactions• Organisms constantly interact with

each other– Community Interactions include:

1. Competition2. Predation3. Various forms of symbiosis

1. Competition = occurs when organisms of the same or different species attempt to use an ecological resource in the same place, at the same time

Resource = any necessity of life (H2O, nutrients, light, food, or space)

Competitive Exclusion Principle = no 2 species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time

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Predation and SymbiosisBox 39

Clownfish in Sea

Anemone

2. Predation = interaction in which 1 organism captures and feeds on another organism

Symbiosis (sim-by-OH-sis)= any relationship in which 2 species live closely

together

3 Main classes of Symbiotic Relationships:•Mutualism = both species benefit from the relationship Ex. Flowers and bee pollinators

•Commensalism = 1 member benefits and the other is neither helped or harmed (doesn’t care) Ex. Clownfish live inside poisonous sea anemones where they hide from predators, and in return, they clean the anemones’ tentacles and drop pieces of food for it

•Parasitism = 1 member lives on or inside an organism and harms it

Ex. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant, it can kill it’s host. Also, tapeworms, roundworms, heartworms, flatworms

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Biomes• Earth is divided into 10 biomes• Biome = a complex of terrestrial

communities covering a large area, characterized by a certain type of soil and climate, and contains particular types of plants and animals

• Earth’s 10 Biomes are:

Section 4-3

Tropical rain forest

Tropical dry forest

Tropical savanna

Desert

Temperate wood and shrub-land

Temperate forests

Northwestern Coniferous forest

Boreal forest

Temperate grasslands

Tundra

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Aquatic Ecosystems• 2 types of Freshwater ecosystems:• Flowing Water Ecosystems – rivers, streams,

creeks, brooks, where H2O flows over land– Estuaries – wetlands formed where rivers meet the sea (salt

marshes, mangrove swamps)

• Standing Water Ecosystems – lakes and ponds, where H2O collects and stays in a place, and has some circulation

– Plankton and Phytoplankton are tiny free-swimming organisms that live in standing freshwater and ocean ecosystems

– Freshwater Wetland – ecosystem where H2O either covers the soil or is just beneath

• Wetlands, bogs, swamps

Section 4-4

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Marine Ecosystems

landCoastalocean

Openocean

Oceantrench

Aphotic zone

Photic zone

Continentalshelf

Continental slope andcontinental rise

Abyssalplain

200m1000m

4000m

6000m

10,000m

Light penetrates

No light penetrates

Coral Reefs are very diverse and productive environments

Intertidal Zone- rough and extreme environment

Coastal Ocean is rich in plankton and phytoplankton

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Deep Sea Bestiary

Anoplogaster cornuta“Fangtooth”Found in tropical and temperate waters down to 16,000 feet

Chauliodus sloani “Viperfish”Has such lengthy lower fangs that they don't even fit in its mouth, but rather project back dangerously close to the eyes

Cryptopsaras couesi“Anglerfish”the three luminescent sacs just forward of her dorsal fin, which lend her her common name, "triplewart sea devil." Along with the lightable lure above her eye, the caruncles may also help entice prey to within striking distance

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More nasty beasts from the deep sea

Melanocetus johnsoni “Anglerfish”For all its ferocious aspect, the "common black-devil," as this species is known, reaches a maximum length of five inches

Saccopharynx lavenbergi “Gulpers”These babies can reach six feet in length, have rows of sharp little teeth, and, like pythons of the deep, can swallow prey much fatter than themselves. They down victims whole.

Saccopharynx lavenbergi “Umbrella Mouth Gulpers”Throws wide its loosely hinged jaws and balloons out its mouth to engulf hapless fishes. Though a fearsome-looking creature, the pelican eel is only two feet long, including the whip like tail. It lives in all the world's oceans at depths exceeding 6,500 feet.

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And more!

Caulophryne polynema “Stalked toad with many filaments”Has quill-like fin rays so it looks more a porcupine!

Grammatostomias flagellibarba Only six inches long, but its chin barbel can be six feet in length.

Thaumatichthys axeli "Prince Axel's wonder-fish." Has a luminescent organ dangling from the toothy jaws.

Vampyroteuthis infernalis “Vampire Squid”Has the largest eyes of any animal. A six-inch specimen bears globular eyeballs the size of a large dog's. Such impressive orbs, coupled with its wing-like fins and its ability to turn on and off at will a constellation of photophores -- tiny lights all over its body -- help this dark-bodied beast find prey at the lightless depths at which it lives, more than 3,000 feet down.

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More!

Harriotta raleighana “Long-nosed chimaera ”A touch of the venomous spine on the first dorsal fin can kill a person, though such a fate is unlikely given the 8,000-foot depths at which this creature lives

Stylephorus chordatus "tube-eye" and "thread-tail." This balloonable cavity can expand to 38 times its original size as the fish sucks in seawater through its tubular mouth, as if through a straw. Once filled, the mouth closes and the fish forces the water back out through its gills, leaving behind a meal of plankton.

Lasiognathus saccostoma “Lantern fish”Comes equipped with nature's equivalent of a fishing rod, complete with lure and three bony hooks.

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And finally, the ugliest of them all..

Himantolophus groenlandicus “Football fish” With a face only a mother could love, he looks like a middle linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which may have something to do with how it got its common name, the "footballfish." The species holds pride of place as the first deep-sea angler ever found. The original specimen washed ashore in Greenland in 1833; at 22 inches long, it is still the largest one on record. Since no females of this species have ever been found bearing parasitic males, biologists assume they are fertilized by free-swimming mates.

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Ch 5- Populations• 3 important characteristics of

populations:1. Geographic distribution (where it is)2. Density (how many live there)3. Growth rate (how fast is pop growing)

• Population Density = # of individuals per unit area

• Population Growth is affected by 3 factors:1. Number of births2. Number of deaths3. Number of individuals who enter or

leave

Section 5-1

Immigration = movement of individuals IN to an area

Emigration = movement of individuals OUT of an area

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Exponential and Logistic Growth

• Exponential Growth = occurs when individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate

• Under ideal conditions with unlimited resources, a population will grow exponentially

• Logistic growth occurs when a population’s growth slows or stops

• Carrying Capacity = # of individuals the environment can support without undergoing deterioration

Nu

mb

er o

f M

agg

ots

Carrying capacity

Time (hours)

Maggots in a Garbage Can

Oops! We ate all the trash!

Exponential Growth Logistic Growth

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Limits to Growth

• Limiting factors = factor that causes population growth to decrease

• Competition, predation, parasitism, drought and other climate conditions, human disturbance

• Density-dependent factors = limiting factors that depend on the populations size

• Competition, predation, parasitism, disease

• Competition = when organisms compete with each other for resources– Too many people, too few jobs– Too many deer, not enough food

Section 5-2

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Predation• Populations in nature are controlled by predation

• Predator-Prey relationships = one of the best mechanisms for population control

60

50

40

30

20

0

1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

2000

1600

1200

800

4000

2400

Moose Wolves

Relationship Between Wolves and Moose on Royale Island (Lake Superior)

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Density-Independent Factors• Density-Independent Factors affect all

populations no matter what the size• Weather, natural disasters, seasonal

cycles, certain human activities (damming rivers, clear cutting forests)

– The Tsunami in Sri Lanka affected all populations there, human, animal and plant

– Volcanic eruption of Mt. St. Helens affected all populations in that area

– Mud slides in California have affected humans and all other non-human populations

The largest world tsunamis generated by earthquakes during the last 55 years are: 1952 – Kamchatka Peninsula (Russian Far East) – 18 to 19 meters high (< 2000 fatalities), 1960 – Chile – 25 meters high (< 500 fatalities), 1964 – Alaska – 67 meters (< 100 fatalities reported), 2004 - Indian Ocean - up to 30 meters high (< 200,000 deaths) - 8 countries affected on three continents.

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Human Population Growth• In 2000, the world had 6.1 billion human

inhabitants. • This number could rise to more than 9 billion in

the next 50 years. • For the last 50 years, world population multiplied

more rapidly than ever before, and more rapidly than it will ever grow in the future.

Low growth rate

Low growth rate

Low growth rateHigher growth rate

Explosive growth rate

Very high growth rate

Underdeveloped countries tend to have higher population growth rates, but they also have higher death rates – disease, famine, etc.

So, what is China’s excuse?

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How We Grew So Fast

Agriculturebegins

Plowingand

irrigation

Bubonicplague

IndustrialRevolution

begins

We had a long, slow start, but improvements in medicine, sanitation, agriculture, energy use, and technology has allowed our population to grow exponentially. So, what’s going to happen to us if this type of population growth continues?

We will reach our carrying capacity – resources will be exhausted, disease, famine, wars, natural disasters, or we’ll find a way to emigrate to new planets and start all over again.

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Age Structures

U.S. Population Rwandan Population

Age-structure diagrams = (population profiles) graph the numbers of people in different age groups in the population

Who can reproduce

Who will reproduce

More older people (no reproducing)

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What’s Going To Happen?• At the 2000 growth rate of 1.4 percent, the

world's 6.1 billion population yields an annual increase of about 85 million people.

• Because of the large and increasing population size, the number of people added to the global population will remain high for several decades, even as growth rates continue to decline.

• Between 2000 and 2030, nearly 100 percent of this annual growth will occur in the less developed countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

• Growth rates of >1.9 percent mean that populations would double in about 36 years, if these rates continue

• So, when YOU are ~54 yrs old, there will be ~12.2 billion people on Earth- good luck finding a job!(I’ll be ~70 and I won’t need a job anymore, whew!)

Copyright 2005, Population Reference Bureau