Ecology- energy transfer the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environments, focusing on energy transfer  It is a science of relationships.

 Definition:  All external conditions and factors (living and nonliving) that affect an organism or other specified system during its lifetime

The environment is made up of two factors: Biotic factors- Biotic factors- all living organisms inhabiting the Earth ex. How organisms interact/effect each other Abiotic factors- Abiotic factors- nonliving parts of the environment  temperature  Soil  Sunlight  water/moisture  air currents/wind  Severe disturbances

 Temperature 0-50 o C is the narrow range of temperatures that can support life  Too hot: above 50…important enzymes DENATURE  Too cold: metabolism slows down…what is metabolism? (review notes from beginning of year!)  Set of chemical reactions that help break down and build up molecules to get energy for life  Organisms have made adaptations to extreme environments  Prokaryotes in deep sea vents (extreme heat)  Prokaryotes in frigid arctic waters (extreme cold)

 Product of abiotic forces (ice, rain, and wind) and biotic forces (microorganisms, plants, and earthworms) on rocks and minerals of Earth’s crust  Effects plants that grow in areas  Dry, nutrient poor soil  dominated by blue stem grasses with long roots to obtain scarce moisture in soil and narrow leaves that prevent excessive water loss  Soil/sand in aquatic environments also impacts ecosystem  Soil can be acidic or basic, nutrient rich or nutrient poor  This influences plants that grow in area, which influence organisms that live there

 Energy source for ALL organisms (except chemosynthetic organisms)  Terrestrial and aquatic  Penetrates top 200 m of the surface…affects algae  Forests  what does that mean?  trees prevent sunlight from reaching the bottom…varying amounts of sunlight creates microhabitats…what does that mean?  You get a Habitat with conditions different from the larger surrounding environment  PHOTOSYNTHESIS is HUGE!!!

 Dissolves gasses  Universal solvent (review 4 major properties of water)  Organisms make adaptations to prevent water loss (needles instead of leaves on trees and a waxy cuticle)

 Affects distribution  Moves clouds which carry precipitation  Stirs up water which mixes up the nutrients in lakes and streams  Spreads pollen and seeds of plants (improves genetic diversity!!!)

 Fires, hurricanes, droughts, Floods and volcanic eruptions  Some occur frequently and organisms have made evolutionary adaptations (prairie grasses)  Some are infrequent (volcanic eruptions) and organisms have no voluntary adaptations

Organism Population Community Biosphere Ecosystem

OrganismOrganism- any unicellular or multicellular form exhibiting all of the characteristics of life, an individual. The lowest level of organization

PopulationPopulation-a group of organisms of one species living in the same place at the same time that interbreed and compete with each other for resources (ex. food, mates, shelter)

CommunityCommunity- several interacting populations that inhabit a common environment and are interdependent.

EcosystemEcosystem- populations in a community and the abiotic factors with which they interact (ex. marine, terrestrial)

BiosphereBiosphere- life supporting portions of Earth composed of air, land, fresh water, and salt water. The highest level of organization

ecological niche “The ecological niche of an organism depends not only on where it lives but also on what it does. By analogy, it may be said that the habitat is the organism's ‘address’, and the niche is its ‘profession’, biologically speaking.” Odum - Fundamentals of Ecology

 Each species unique living arrangement in a community  “Role”  Think about a specific position player on a team i.e. pitcher on a baseball team  Ex. Lizards in a rainforest  Includes:  Habitat  Food sources  Time of day organism is most active

 Fundamental rule in ecology  Competitive Exclusion Principle  Russian biologist G.F. Gause  Paramecium caudatum vs. Paramecium aurelia  Separately, both thrive in a culture  P. aurelia could gather food more quickly than the P. caudatum, therefore, if they are grown together, P. aurelia will thrive while P. caudatum will die out  2 species so similar in requirements that the same resource limits both population’s growth, and one species may succeed over another  No two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat and the same time  Prevents un necessary competition

20 Competitive Exclusion: The Ciliate Paramecium over 24 d Grown in Separate Flasks Grown in the Same Flask

Habitat vs. Niche Niche - the role a species plays in a community (job) Habitat- the place in which an organism lives out its life (address)

Habitat vs. Niche A niche is determined by the tolerance limitations of an organism, or a limiting factor. Limiting factor- any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence of organisms in a specific environment.

Examples of limiting factors (things that limit the population of species in a habitat) Amount of water Amount of food Temperature Habitat vs. Niche

 Earth rotates on an axis (23.5’)  So sunlight hits Earth at different angles  Creates Climate Zones  Tropics  Region between Tropic of Cancer (23.5’N) and Tropic of Capricorn (23.5’S)  Most direct sunlight  Temperate Zones  Latitudes between the Tropics and the Polar Zones  Seasonal changes; no extreme heat or cold  Polar Zones  Region north of the Arctic Circle (66.5’N) and South of the Antarctic Circle (66.5’S)  Least amount of direct sunlight  These climate zones are important and create BIOMES

 Our planet's rotation produces a force on all bodies moving relative to the Earth  Due to Earth's approximately spherical shape, this force is greatest at the poles and least at the Equator.  "Coriolis effect”  the force that causes the direction of winds and ocean currents to be deflected  Northern Hemisphere  wind and currents deflected toward the right  Southern Hemisphere  wind and currents deflected to the left.

 Weather  Day-to-day conditions of Earth's atmosphere  precipitation, humidity, temperature, etc.  Changes every day  Climate  The average, year-after-year, conditions (temperature and precipitation) that prevail in a specific region  Microclimate  Climate in a specific area that varies from the surrounding climate region  Ex. The burrow of a Kangaroo rat in the New Mexico desert (dark and cool)

 Terrestrial ecosystems that cover a large region of Earth  Characterized by communities of plants and other organisms adapted to the climate and other abiotic factors

 Tropical Rainforest  Tropical Dry Forest  Tropical Savannah  Desert  Temperate Grasslands (Prairie)  Chaparral /shrubland  Temperate Deciduous forest  North Western Coniferous  Boreal Forest/Taiga  Tundra