Intro to Ecology

Ecology Ecology studies 2 things: ● the interactions of organisms with each other ● the interactions between organisms and their environment

Broken up into BIOMES – areas of similar climate & vegetation General Vocabulary Biosphere – Area of the earth where life exists; places on Earth that can support life Extends from oceans depths to a few kilometers above land. Broken up into BIOMES – areas of similar climate & vegetation

Ecosystem A self supporting unit of interacting organisms and their environment. Ex. Forest or pond Includes biotic and abiotic factors. a. Biotic factors – living things b. Abiotic factors – nonliving things Ex. Temperature, light, nutrients

Community vs. Population Community – all the ecosystem’s interacting biotic factors. Communities may be broken down into smaller units called populations. Populations – A group of individuals that belong to the same species and occupy the same area and share common resources. A community may have 1000’s of populations (tropical rainforest) or relatively few (tundra)

Tropical Rainforest Biome Tundra Biome Tropical Rainforest Biome

Organization Individual – 1 member of a species Population – several members of the same species Community - all the interacting populations in an ecosystem Ecosystem – an area of interacting organisms and their environment. Biome – an area of similar climate & vegetation Biosphere – any part of the planet that can support life Organization

Energy Transfer How is energy transferred in an ecosystem? Trophic Levels Organisms in a community survive by either producing or consuming food. Trophic levels – levels of feeding in a community Trophic levels

Also known as AUTOTROPHS Producers Producers – Make their own food Ex. plants, some bacteria Done by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis Also known as AUTOTROPHS

Consumers Consumers – CANNOT make their own food. They must EAT food. Also known as HETEROTROPHS Several kinds Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores Decomposers

Consumers – either carnivores or omnivores Food Chains & Webs Food chain - A series of steps of energy transfer ALWAYS begins with a PRODUCER Consumers – either carnivores or omnivores Producer Herbivore

Comedy Break

Food Web Food Web – ALL of the feeding relationships in an ecosystem A series of interconnected food chains A change in one species in a food web will cause changes in the other species!!

Energy Transfer Producers have the MOST available energy Energy is lost as it moves up through the food web; 10% rule – only 10% of the available energy is passed to the next trophic level The “lost” energy is used to catch, eat, and digest food.

57 units

If all of the dragonflies DIED OUT, what would happen to the other organisms in this food web? 3700 Units of ENERGY Knowing how much energy the producer has, you should be able to fill in the number of energy units that will pass to EVERY other organism in this web!!

Symbiotic Relationships ALL species rely on other species in some way This is called Symbiosis – when 2 species live their lives connected together in some manner 4 main types: Mutualism Commensalism Parasitism Predator/Prey

Don’t forget about humans and bacteria… and flowers and birds/bees Mutualism Don’t forget about humans and bacteria… and flowers and birds/bees When BOTH species benefit from the relationship Clownfish and sea anemone Lichen – an alga and a fungus

Commensalism When 1 species BENEFITS and the other is UNAFFECTED Shark and Ramora fish Birds and Trees

Parasitism When 1 species benefits and the other species is HARMED Humans and tapeworms Dogs and Fleas PARASITE HOST

Predator/Prey When 1 species KILLS and EATS the other species Predator – does the killing Prey – gets eaten