Ecology The scientific study of the relationships among living organisms and the interaction they have with the environment Part 1: Organisms and Their Relationships Part 2: Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Part 3: Cycling of Matter

Organisms and Their Relationships Day 1 Organisms and Their Relationships

First, let’s review: What is a “Living Thing”? Composed of cells. Complex organization patterns Use energy. Have stable internal conditions. Grow and change. Reproduce Let’s Review!

Biotic and Abiotic Factors The living factors in an organism’s environment Abiotic The nonliving factors in an organism’s environment

Biotic or Abiotic? (Make a Venn Diagram with your group) Whale Clock Water Fish Paper Glass Aluminum Wooden Ruler Sand Clouds Corpse Snail Steak Pork Chops Salad Bread Plant Hair Finger Nails Pipe Cotton Fabric Wool Gold Plastic Grapes Air

Levels of Organization We have covered very small living things. Just to review, let’s start with the cell… Cell  Tissues  Organs  Organisms  Population  Let’s Review! Biological Community  Ecosystem  Biome  Biosphere

Levels of Organization Organism: An individual Population: Organisms of a single species that share the same geographic location Community: A group of interacting populations (different species) that occupy the same area at the same time.

Levels of Organization Ecosystem: A community and all of the abiotic factors that affect it. Biome: A large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities. Biosphere: All biomes together; the Earth

Community Interactions Competition: More than one organism uses a resource at the same time. Predation: The act of one organism consuming another organism for food. Symbiosis: The close relationship that exists when two or more species live together.

Symbiotic relationships Mutualism: When both organisms benefit (ex. Lichen = photosynthetic algae and fungus) Algae provides food (sugar) for the fungus Fungus provides algae with water Commensalism: One organism benefits, while the other is neither helped nor harmed. Parasitism: One organism benefits at the expense of the other.

Ecosystem Interactions Habitat: An area where an organism lives Niche: The role or position that an organism has in its environment

Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Day 2 Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem

Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem Autotroph: An organism that collects energy from sunlight or inorganic substances to produce food. (Producer) Heterotroph: An organism that gets its energy requirements by consuming other organisms. (Consumer)

Different types of Heterotrophs Herbivore: Eats only plants (Deer, rabbits, grasshoppers, etc.) Carnivore: Prey on other heterotrophs (Wolves, lions, cats, etc.) Omnivore: Eat both plants and animals (Bears, humans, mockingbirds, etc.) Detritivore: Eat fragments of dead matter (Worms, organisms on stream bottoms, fungi)

Models of Energy Flow Trophic Levels: Each step in a food chain or food web. Autotrophs always make up the first trophic level in ecosystems. Heterotrophs make up the remaining levels

Models of Energy Flow Food chains: A simple model that shows how energy flows through an ecosystem

Models of Energy Flow Food webs: Show flow of energy through many interconnected food chains

How many connections can we make?

Activity: Deadly Links (In your IntNB, record the following on top of page 95) Objective: To understand how food (energy) moves through an ecosystem and to understand the phenomonon called “biological magnification.” Once your teacher assigns you a role in the food chain, circle whether you are a grasshopper, shrew, or a hawk in the “GET STARTED” box

Now that you have completed the activity… Explain in the notes section of your interactive notebook, copy the questions on the left and answer the following questions on the right hand side: What happened to the animals at each level of the food web Summarize your understanding of biological magnification

Models of Energy Flow Ecological pyramids: A diagram that can show the relative amounts of energy, numbers of organisms, or biomass at each trophic level in an ecosystem. Biomass: The total mass of living matter at each trophic level

Activity #2 Create the biological pyramid represented in the deadly-links game on page 97

Day 3 Cycling of Matter

Warm-up: What does your DDT graph tell you?

Cycling of Matter Cycles in the Biosphere Natural processes cycle matter through the atmosphere The exchange of matter through the biosphere is called the biogeochemical cycle. Bio: Involves living things Geo: Geological Processes Chemical: Chemical Processes

The Water Cycle Solar Energy Movement of clouds by wind Precipitation Evaporation Precipitation Transpiration from plants Percolation in soil

The Water Cycle Most precipitation falls into the ocean Over land approximately 90% of the water evaporates 10% transpires (evaporated) from plants Only about 2% of water is retained in a reservoir i.e., a glacier, ice cap, aquifer or lake

Carbon and Oxygen Cycles CO2 in atmosphere Burning Cellular Respiration Photosynthesis Plants, Algae & Cyanobacteria Higher level Consumers Wood & Fossil Fuels Primary Consumer Detritivores (soil microbes & others) Detritus

Carbon and Oxygen Cycles Classified in two groups Short term cycles Long term cycles

Carbon and Oxygen Cycles 1) Short term cycle Autotrophs use CO2 for ____________. Heterotrophs produce CO2 during ________ __________. Photosynthesis Cellular Respiration

Carbon and Oxygen Cycles 2) Long term cycle: a) Fossil Fuels Organic matter is buried and converted to peat, coal, oil or gas deposits. 5.5 billion tons are burned annually 3.3 billion tons stay in the atmos- phere, the rest dissolves in sea water* http://www.ucar.edu/ (The National Center for Atmospheric Research)

Carbon and Oxygen Cycle b) Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) Marine animals use Carbon to build skeleton They fall to the bottom of the ocean, creating limestone rock.

Carbon and Oxygen Cycles c) Atmosphere (atm) 21% Oxygen (O2) is found in the atm very reactive element that combines with other elements and disappear from the atmosphere. Some of the O2 is converted into Ozone (O3) in higher atm Ozone absorbs damaging UV radiation from the sun.

Carbon and Oxygen Cycles d) Green house effect Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the atmosphere. 30% more CO2 in air today than 150 years ago due to human activity (burning of fossil fuels) The atm has not held this much Carbon for at least 420,000 years http://www.ucar.edu/ (The National Center for Atmospheric Research)

Nitrogen Cycle Plants Assimilation Denitrifying bacteria Nitrogen in atmosphere Plants Assimilation Denitrifying bacteria Nitrates (NO3-) Nitrogen – fixing bacteria in root nodules of legumes Decomposers (aerobic & anaerobic bacteria and fungi) Nitrifying bacteria Ammonification Ammonium (NH4+) Nitrites (NO2-) Nitrogen – fixing bacteria in soil

Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen is 78% of atmosphere Most is unusable. nitrogen gas (N2) is made of 2 strongly bonded atoms. Lots of energy needed to break these bonds, such as produced by lightning or fires Little Nitrogen on land or sea Bacteria can release nitrogen from organic material Bacteria can also release nitrogen from organic material back into the atm Nitrogen is a key element in proteins and DNA.