Principles of Ecology EQ: What are the interactions between the levels of biological communities? How does energy flow through an ecosystem? Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/druclimb/56763994/in/photostream/

ECOLOGY - the study of interactions among organisms with each other and with environment BIOSPHERE - portion of planet where life exists

Ecological methods - how do we study it. 1. Observing 2 Ecological methods - how do we study it? 1. Observing 2. Experimenting 3. Modeling Models are created by humans to make predictions.

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION Species - individuals that can breed with one another Population - all the individuals of the same species (ducks) in an area A population is always composed of same-species organisms

Community - all the populations that live together in an area What is in your backyard community??

Ecosystem - the community plus the physical factors in an area (rain, light, soil…) Examples: Rotting Log Koi Pond Lake Clump of Dirt A field An old maple tree **EVERY ecosystem includes both biotic (living) and abiotic(nonliving) factors.

Biome - large area that has a particular climate, and particular species of plants and animals that live there (ex: tundra)

Biosphere - the part of the earth that supports life Biodiversity: variety of different species living near one another ?? Where do you think there is the most biodiversity on our planet??

ENERGY FLOW Autotroph (producer) - capture energy from environment and convert it into "food”…green plants/algae… ?? What process ?? Heterotroph (consumer) - must eat things to get the energy it needs Herbivores Omnivores (plant eaters) (meat and plants) Carnivores Decomposers (carnivore eaters) (recycle materials in dead organisms) Detritivores (eat fragments of dead matter in ecosystem)

SUNLIGHT is the main source of energy…starts the energy flow *SUNLIGHT is the main source of energy…starts the energy flow! Remember… Photosynthesis: uses light energy to make "food"

Chemosynthesis - makes food from chemicals (some bacteria synthesize food in this way) Some bacteria live in deep ocean vents, and make their food from chemicals in those vents

**Each step in a chain or web is called a TROPHIC LEVEL FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBS - illustrate the flow of energy in an ecosystem - Food Chain: simple, sequence of feeding relationships - Food Web: complex, network of feeding relationships in a whole ecosystem **Each step in a chain or web is called a TROPHIC LEVEL

Identify: 1. Producers 2. Consumers - Identify them as primary, secondary, tertiary, or quaternary 3. Herbivores 4. Omnivore 5. Carnivore

ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS