“Study of (natures) house” Ecology Means “study of” Means “house” This presentation is very customized for a sequence of local activities. Before using this in your class, I suggest you make modifications to suit your needs. This is designed for use with note-taking sheets and New England Coast coloring sheet. Run through the entire presentation before using it in class so that you know what’s coming next! It helps to print the outline and notes to have with you while presenting so that there are no surprises. –JessB.org “Study of (natures) house” The scientific study of interactions that take place between organisms and their environment. © J Beauchemin 2006

Levels of Organization

What are the Simplest Levels? Atom Molecule Cell Tissue Organ Organ System Organism

Levels of Organization Ecologists have organized the interactions an organism takes part in into different levels according to complexity.

1st Level of Organization Organism a.k.a. species : An individual living thing that is made of cells, uses energy, reproduces, responds, grows, and develops A single zebra

2nd Level of Organization Population: A group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time. A group of zebras

3rd Level of Organization Community: All the populations of different species that live in the same place at the same time. All the zebras & wildebeest

4th Level of Organization Ecosystem: Populations of plants and animals that interact with each other in a given area along with the abiotic components of that area. BIOME: A group of ecosystems with the same climate & dominant communities All the animals plus the non-living components (i.e. rocks, weather, water etc.)

5th Level of Organization Biosphere: The portion of Earth that supports life. Life is found in air, on land, and in fresh and salt water.

What level of organization? Organism

What level of Organization? Community

What level of Organization? Population

ECOSYSTEMS ECOSYSTEM BASICS: Interactions between the biotic and abiotic components of an environment

The Living Environment BIOTIC THE LIVING PARTS of an organisms environment. All organisms depend on others directly or indirectly for food, shelter, reproduction, or protection.

The Nonliving Environment ABIOTIC THE NON-LIVING PARTS of an organism’s environment. Examples include air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil. Abiotic factors affect an organism’s life.

Abiotic or Biotic? Biotic

Abiotic or Biotic? Abiotic

Abiotic or Biotic? Abiotic

Habitat & Niche HABITAT: is the place a plant or animal lives EX: a birds habitat is its nest, essentially, its “address” Includes biotic & abiotic factors NICHE :is an organism’s TOTAL way of life; its “occupation” Includes its place in a food web The range of temperature it needs to survive The type of food it eats When and how it reproduces

ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY! Here are some important terms that will help you describe interactions in a food chain & web.

Eat or be eaten PRODUCER a.k.a. (Autotroph) Auto= self Troph= nutrition Organism that can “self” feed, i.e. make its own food Use photosynthesis or chemosynthesis to produce glucose Auto= self; autograph, automatic, automobile, autobiography…how many can your students think of? troph= feeding

Mmmmm…delicious. CONSUMER a.k.a (heterotroph) Hetero= other/different Troph= nutrition - Organism that must consume “others” because it can not make its own food There are several words that describe consumers… Prey: the hunted Predator: the hunter Herbivore: eats plants Carnivore: eats animals Omnivore: eats both plants and animals hetero= different; heterogeneous, heterosexual troph= feeding

Hey, you gonna eat that? DECOMPOSER: Breaks down dead organisms Examples: bacteria, maggots, fungi, worms Complete the circle of life by returning nutrients to the soil Decomposers are important parts of the food web that are not always represented well in textbook diagrams. Check to see how your textbook incorporates decomposers.

Jus gimmie the left overs! SCAVENGER: an organism who feeds on refuse (trash) or carrion (dead, decaying matter) Play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition of dead animal remains. Dung beetle Vulture

FOOD CHAIN Definition- Traces the path of nutrients and energy from producer to top consumer Show’s “who eats who” Arrows indicate the flow of energy “FROM” what is consumed “TO” the consumer Secondary Consumer Primary Consumer Producer

Definition- show more complex feeding interactions between organisms Food webs Definition- show more complex feeding interactions between organisms Food webs show “what eats what” Several “food chains” interacting with each other Ask students to describe the interactions shown in the food web.

FOOD CHAIN & TROPHIC LEVELS A TROPHIC LEVEL is the position occupied by an organism in a food chain. Trophic levels can be analyzed on an energy pyramid.

ENERGY PYRAMID Energy Decreases RULE OF TEN: ONLY 10% OF PREVIOUS ENERGY IS AVAILABLE FROM ONE LEVEL TO THE NEXT 90% LOST AS HEAT! LEAST ENERGY HERE ENERGY PYRAMID Energy Decreases MOST ENERGY HERE

Energy in Ecosystems Every level you go up, you divide the amount of energy by “10” RULE OF TEN: ONLY 10% OF PREVIOUS ENERGY IS AVAILABLE FROM ONE LEVEL TO THE NEXT 90% LOST AS HEAT!

Every level you go up you divide the amount of energy by 10 Rule of 10 Every level you go up you divide the amount of energy by 10 0.2 Joules 2 Joules 20 Joules 200 Joules

0.2 Joules 2 Joules 20 Joules 200 Joules

Ecological Pyramids Pyramid of Numbers SHOWS THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS AT EACH TROPHIC LEVEL Energy Pyramid SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY AVAILABLE AT EACH TROPHIC LEVEL. Organisms use about 10% of this energy for life processes. The rest is lost as heat. Biomass Pyramid SHOW THE AMOUNT OF “LIVING” MATTER AT EACH TROPHIC LEVEL. The MOST biomass is at the bottom of the pyramid

Biomass Pyramids Bio=life Mass=how much matter Bio + Mass = how much of living matter within an ecosystem. Energy is sometimes considered in terms of biomass, the mass of all the organisms and organic material in an area. MORE biomass at trophic level of PRODUCERS (There are more plants on Earth than there are animals.) LESS biomass at trophic level of CONSUMERS

BIOMASS PYRAMID LEAST BIOMASS BIOMASS DECREASES MOST BIOMASS

Biomass Biomass does NOT always follow the rule of 10. Instead the boxes are drawn bigger to show bigger amounts and smaller to show smaller amounts.

Biomass Analysis Question What happens with the phytoplankton that lets it have the most energy but the smallest biomass? ANSWER: It makes new phytoplankton very quickly, so even though it gets eaten quickly it also regenerates quickly

Pyramid of Numbers Pyramids of Numbers tell you how many of each organism there are QUESTION: Will there always be more producers than consumers?

Pyramid of Numbers Pyramids of Numbers tell you how many of each organism there are Will there always be more producers than consumers? No! Here there are only 200 trees but 150,000 insects can live in those trees!

Biological Magnification toxins in any trophic level effects the other levels. The tiny primary consumers eat a little bit of the toxin. Most toxin Least toxin The secondary consumers eat many of the 1st consumers so they eat more of the toxin The tertiary consumers eat many of the 2nd consumers so they eat even more of the toxin At every level the amount of toxin increases! What would a pyramid for this look like?

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER LET’S REVIEW

Energy Flow ORGANISMS THAT CAN MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD At the base of EVERY food chain/web MOST energy MOST biomass Energy Flow Producers (AUTOTROPH) 1000J

HERBIVORE= “Plant Eater” ORGANISM THAT FEEDS OF OTHER ORGANISMS BECAUSE THEY CANT MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD HERBIVORE= “Plant Eater” Energy Flow Primary consumer (HERBIVORE) 100 J

OMNIVORE= “Plant & Meat Eater” ORGANISM THAT FEEDS OF OTHER ORGANISMS BECAUSE THEY CANT MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD LEAST ENERGY LEAST BIOMASS CARNIVORE= “Meat Eater” OMNIVORE= “Plant & Meat Eater” Secondary Consumer (CARNIVORE OR OMNIVORE) 10 J Energy Flow

Heterotrophs Scavenvers Decomposers Primary consumer 100J Producers Secondary Consumer 10J Heterotrophs Primary consumer 100J Producers 1000J Autotrophs Decomposers