In the News!! Read These Headlines Mississippi Floods Hit in Midwest American Songbirds Vanish from their Habitats New England Fisheries disappear The Ozone Holes Get Larger Skin Cancer Risk on the Rise Coral Reefs die in the Florida Keys Polar Bears are Losing their Habitat What do all these headlines have in common?

ECOLOGY “The Study of Our House- The Planet Earth” Chapter 13 Pages

Ecology Defined The scientific study of the interactions between different kinds of living things and between living things and their environments. What are the things Ecologists Learn by studying Ecology?

2 Factors that make up the environment: Biotic factors: all living organisms inhabiting Earth Abiotic factors: nonliving parts of the environment (i.e. temperature, soil, light, moisture, air currents)

Levels of Organization The kinds of questions ecologists ask about the living environment vary depending on the level in which the ecologist works. How might we organize these levels? BiomePopulationSpecies IndividualBiosphereCommunity

Ecology Research These pictures represent living things threatened by various changes in their environments.

1. What needs do all the living things in these pictures share? 2. What types of animals are shown in the second picture? 3. What kind of environmental changes might be affecting the gorilla and coral? 4. What has happened to the trees? What could have caused this?

Research Methods of Ecology Observation: first step in asking ecological questions Which species live here? How many individuals of each species are there? Experimentation: used to test hypotheses Ex. Artificial environment in a greenhouse to see how growing plants react to different conditions of temperature, lighting, or carbon dioxide concentrations Modeling: models are made to understand specific phenomena such as: Global warming

Ecology: Plays an Important Role in Our lives Ecological research provides us with information necessary to understand and resolve many of the environmental and ecological issues that confront us!

Ecology: Plays an Important Role in Our lives Earth is home to an amazing variety of living things that are closely related. Ecologists study the planet to understand these connections so that humans can use the Earth’s resources without causing long term harm.

2 Fundamental Truths 1.The planet is home to many forms of life. 2.The health of human society depends on the well-being of much of that life. To take care of our planet and ourselves properly, we must understand how and why organisms affect one another and their environment as they do.

Question 1.What is at the core of every organism’s interaction with its environment and with other organisms? 2.In other words, what 2 BASIC needs do organisms have that creates these interactions?

Energy And Nutrients

Energy and Nutrients Energy is needed to power life’s processes and to supply the raw materials to build and maintain living tissue. 1. What is meant by life's processes? Raw materials? Give examples The processes of acquiring energy and nutrients join all life together in an intricate web of survival. 2. What is meant by this statement?

The Study of Ecology Must begin with the study of HOW different organisms obtain and use the energy and nutrients on which all life depends.

Energy: Essential for Life’s Processes Green plants: can use the energy from the sun to run a process called photosynthesis. Using the sun and simple substances from their environment, plants create complex substances that make up living tissue, such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

Plants: Primary Producers (comes first in the food chain) Make their own living tissue from nonliving substances, such as water, carbon dioxide, and energy. Can also be called autotrophs; “self-feeding”

Animals and Bacteria: Consumers (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary) Animals and most bacteria obtain energy and nutrients by eating other organisms. Animals are also called heterotrophs.

Types of Heterotrophs Herbivores: obtain energy by eating plants. Carnivores: obtain energy by eating other animals. Omnivores: eat both plants and animals. Parasites: organisms that live in or on another organism and obtain nutrients from their living host. Decomposers: feed on dead bodies of both plants and animals.

Match the Picture with the type of Heterotroph

Questions 1.What is photosynthesis? 2. What is the difference between producers and consumers? 3. Describe the 4 types of heterotrophs.