Ecological Organization and Matter Cycles Ms. Henriksen Biology

What is Ecology? The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment, or surroundings. Study how living things interact with other living things and with non-living things.

Abiotic factors = nonliving Biotic factors = living non-living components in the environment… light water wind nutrients in soil heat solar radiation atmosphere, etc. Living organisms… Plants Animals microorganisms in soil, etc.

Levels of organization

Levels of Organization Species - group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring Population- group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area Community – group of different populations that live together in a defined area Ecosystem - collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving environment Biome - group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities Biosphere - part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere

Cycles of Matter Matter: anything that has weight and takes up space. Matter cannot be used up. It is transformed. Matter is recycled within and between ecosystems. Example: you eat food, it is assembled into living tissue or passed out as waste.

Nutrient Cycles Nutrients: all the chemical substances that an organism needs to survive. “Building Blocks” To build tissues 2. To carry out life’s essential functions

Diagram of the carbon cycle pg How does carbon move to the air? How is carbon cycled back to the soil? How is carbon stored in water?

Diagram of the nitrogen cycle What organisms are most important for fixing nitrogen into a form that other can use? Where do we find these organisms

Diagram the phosphorous cycle Is phosphorus ever cycled into the atmosphere?

Nutrient Limitation Primary productivity: how fast producers create organic matter. A Limiting Nutrient: a nutrient that is scarce or cycles slowly, limiting primary productivity.

Too much of a good thing… Fertilizers are used to speed up plant growth. Too much of a nutrient will cause an algal bloom Algal bloom: algae grows quickly, without enough consumers to eat it up. Algae takes over the surface of the water. (p.80, figure 3-16)