Study of the environment an how organisms interact with it

Ecological Organization

Place the following in order from largest to smallest:

Biome Population Biosphere Species Ecosystem Community

SpeciesSimilar organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring

PopulationSame species living in the same area

Example : catfish in a pond

CommunityMany species living in the same area.

Example: all the dogs, cats, trees, birds, humans in Pikeville

Ecosystem All of the living (biotic) and

non-living (abiotic) factors in an environment

Examples: Biotic-plants and animals

Abiotic-soil, temperature, sunlight,moisture

BiomeAn area of characteristic climate and vegetation

Specific type of weather and plant life primarily based on latitude

Examples: Rainforest, Temperate Forest, Taiga, Tundra

BiosphereAll the life on Earth and the abiotic factors that help to sustain it.

HabitatThe place in which an organism lives.

Example: Tree, pond

NicheAn organisms role/job in the environment such as what it eats and where it nests

Autotroph/Producer “Self –feeder” Make their own food Photosynthetic (contain chlorophyll) Examples –Plants and plantlike

protists like algae Marine Environment makes most O2

Chemosynthetic- archaebacteria Examples-around hydrothermal

vents, dead sea

Heterotroph/Consumer

Get their energy from eating other organisms

Examples: animals, decomposers, and some protists

Herbivores-eat plantsCarnivores-eat animalsOmnivores- eat bothScavengers- feed on dead, dying, or defenseless organisms

Detritiphores-feed on dead plants

Decomposer/Saprophytes/ Detritivores Break down dead organic

material Examples: Fungi and bacteria The great recyclers putting nutrients back into the soil and atmosphere keeping us from being overtaken by wastes

Food Chain

A diagram that shows the flow of energy and matter through the ecosystem

Arrows show the flow of energy through the food chain

1. Producers are always at the beginning of the food chain because they have to convert energy from the sun into food for other organisms.

2. Primary consumers eat the producers (1st order).

Secondary consumers eat the primary consumers (2nd order).

Tertiary consumers eat the secondary consumers (3rd order).

3. Decomposers get their energy from all the above when they die.

3 Major components of the food chain

Create a food chain utilizing the following items:Bacteria/FungiCarrotRabbitHawkSnake

Carrot Rabbit Snake Hawk

Fungi and Bacteria

Trophic Level

Feeding level in the food chain. There were 5 trophic levels in our prior example.

Marine Food Chain Place in the correct order:Bigger Fish, Phytoplankton,

Smaller Fish, Zooplankton, Medium Fish

How many trophic levels are there?

Energy PyramidProducers are at the bottom of the energy pyramid. They have the most energyand have the largest population because they provide food and energy for everythingelse.

With each step up the pyramid, energy is lost by a factor of 10 because 90% of the energy available is used in daily activities or released as heat.

The number of organisms decreases because not enough energy to support more organisms

Biomass decreases as move up the food pyramid.

Food Web-series of interconnecting food chains

Biomagnification Bioaccumulation

Toxins increase as they move through the food chain

Examples: DDT, mercury Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring

book about the effect of DDT on Eagle egg shells. The exposure to DDT through the food chain caused the shells to thin and crack causing the decrease in the Eagle population

http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module02/BioconcentrationandBioaccumulation.htm

Carbon Cycle-cycling of carbon between organic molecules and CO2

CO2 from atmosphere for photosynthesis

Consumers eat plants to get carbon for their tissues.

CO2 returns to atmosphere through respiration, excretion, and decomposition

Burning of fossil fuels add CO2 back into atmosphere

Carbon Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Atmosphere 78% N2 but can’t use in respiration

Nitrogen fixers convert ammonia into nitrites

Nitrogen fixers live on roots of legumes (soy beans, peas) adding usable nitrogen to soil

Nitrifying bacteria convert

Water Cycle

Phosphate Cycle

Relationships between organisms in the community1. Symbiosis- long term relationship

between two organisms in community

2. Competition- two organisms have the same habitat and niche competing for resource

3. Predator-prey relationship

Symbiotic Relationship-living together, two different species

1. parasitism- 1 harmed, 1 benefits Example-tick and tapeworms-

parasites; dog-host 2. mutualism-both benefit Example-lichen-algae and

fungi;cleaner fish remove dead skin and parasites from fish for protection

3. commensalism- 1 is benefitted the other is not affected

Example- barnacles on a whale

Competition-organisms compete for limited resources like food, water, light, and space.

It can occur between same or different species.

Predator-the hunter (lynx)Prey-the hunted (hare)

Your text here

Leopard, Hyena, Lion

Population Dynamics Growth rate of a population=

change in population number through time

Immigration-movement into a population

Example-birth rate Emmigration-movement out of

population Example-death rate

Population Growth Curves J-curve, Exponential Growth-starts slow

and increases rapidly as reproducing organisms increase. (new populations, human population)

Eventually a population will reach a limiting factor like lack of food, space, water, etc

Carrying capacity is the total number of individuals the environment can support

S-curve, Stabilization curve (older populations)

Limiting factors 1. Density-Dependant Factors- factors

are influenced by the size of a population.

Examples- disease, food, water, space limits

The more organisms, the more impact these factors have

2. Density-Independent Factors-not controlled or influenced by the population size

Examples-floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, tsunami

Demographics- population statistics

Succession-replacement of 1 community by anotherExample-Field to Forest Primary Succession- no soil only rock Examples cooled volcanic rock,

retreating glaciers Pioneer Species -1st into area Lichen holds moisture and weathers rock Next bacteria, protists, mosses and fungi Next weeds, herbs and grasses As soil becomes available, shrubs

and trees

Secondary Succession-Soil and seeds are present

Examples –fires , floods, abandoned farms

Pond succession-eutrophication

Rich with nutrients, lots of growth, reaches carrying capacity, fills in

The Earth is made up of interconnected biotic and abiotic Factors including the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.

Every organism impacts its environment Humans overburden the

environment placing the greatest impact on itWhy do we need other organisms?

Balance of food chain, Use them in industry, Medications

Hydrosphere- only 2.5% is freshwater Most of the 2.5% is unusable because it

is frozen in the icecaps Humans require up to 13gallons a day for

cooking, cleaning and drinking. This does not include irrigation and animal care.

Agricultural runoff leads to eutrophication destroying wetlands and acidifying rivers

Increase in metals like mercury from runoff causing biomagnification

http://www.riverlaw.us/fishkills.htmlPfiesteria

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44946850/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/japan-tsunami-debris-spotted-course-hit-us

Overfishing and pollution have led to the extinction of organisms

Lithosphere-land Deforestation= clear cutting , urbanization Agriculture-pesticides, growing only one

crop year after year instead of rotating crops to replenish the nutrients in the soil, over plowing leading to erosion

Landfill space or lack there of Paint, cleaners prescription drugs, batteries,

grease etc. being disposed of inappropriately

Throwing away items that can be recycled or reused because to lazy to take the time to dispose of them correctly

The US Consumes 1500 Plastic Water Bottles Every Second, a fact by Watershed

Petz Scholtus Science/Clean WaterOctober 15, 2009

Out of the 50 billion bottles of water being bought each year, 80% end up in a landfill, even though recycling programs exist.

17 million barrels of oil are used in producing bottled water each year.

Bottled water costs 1,000 times more than tap water. Drinking 2 Litres of tap water a day only costs 50 cents per year.

Plastic leaches toxins into the water, which have been linked to health problems such as reproductive issues and cancer.

http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/tdc02_vid_btcorn/

http://www.today.com/id/26184891/vp/51863808#51836205

Over use of natural resources both renewable and non renewable.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/hurricane-sandy-nc-outer-banks_n_2199391.html#slide=1810246

http://wn.com/fracking_animation

Atmosphere

Acid Rain-sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere from burning of fossil fuels mixes with rain

Fog and Ice have a greater impact

Burn young plants. When brought up through roots clogs veins

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/acid-rain-invisible-menace/

Ozone Depletion Cause-CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons) from aerosol cans and refrigerants

Ozone protects us as well as other plants and animals from harmful UV radiation

http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/ess05_vid_antarctica-en/

Global Warming Cause- burning of fossil fuels increasing

greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane)

Greenhouse gases trap infrared radiation in Earth’s atmosphere causing the temperature of Earth to increase

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50152559#50018387

http://www.today.com/id/26184891/vp/51863808#51863808

Biosphere

Invasive Species, Removal of Habitat Endangered species,

http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2012/sep/21/neighbors-wonder-if-cancer-tce-contamination-linke-ar-2628405/

http://www.today.com/video/today/51863808#51795179

http://www.earthsendangered.com/

http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/lpsc10_vid_frogs/ http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/

50152559#50138674 Biosphere Invasive species http://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/

resource/71a3dc8d-8936-4ce0-8d8d-8c07c9d47fec/71a3dc8d-8936-4ce0-8d8d-8c07c9d47fec/

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/07/18107999-deadly-giant-snail-found-in-houston?lite

Positive Impacts National parks, Wild Life Protection Acts Protection of Endangered Species, Clean

Air Acts

Finding Alternative Fuels Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Carpool, Walk, Mass Transit, Bicycle Reduce your carbon footprint Reclamation of mining lands