Ecology Power Point

A.Environment- the sum total of our surroundings, including all of the living things and nonliving thing with which we interact. A.Biotic Factors- living things (plants, animals, bacteria, algae…) B.Abotic Factors- non living things (soil, water, sunlight, air, minerals, temperature) C.What do we rely on the environment for, as humans? *air, water, food, shelter, and everything else essential for living B.Environmental Science- the study of how the natural-world work, how our environment affects us, and how we affect our environment. C.Ecology- the study of interactions between organisms and their ecosystems A.Ecological Footprint- the expresses the environmental impact of an individual or population in terms of the cumulative amount of land and water required to provide raw materials the person or populations consumes and dispose of or recycle the waste the population or person produce.

Ecological Footprint Earth’s population has QUADRUPLED in the past 100 years From , 6 billion to 6.5 billion 78 million people are added to this planet every year Over 200,000 a day! We have converted half of the planet’s land surface for agriculture Since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide risen by 31% Activity: Analyzing Ecological Footprints

Ecological Footprint for the United States

Levels of study ecology A.Biosphere- the parts of the earth where living things are found B.Ecosystem- all of the living and nonliving things found in an area C.Community-a group of different species that live in the same area D.Population- a group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area E.Organism-a living thing; one of many different forms of life largest smallest

A. Food web  The more accurate and realistic approach to demonstrate how elements and energy are transferred.  Demonstrated in many over lapping food chains in one ecosystem B. Food chain  Is a more simplistic series of events in which on organism eats another and obtains energy  A linkage to show who eats who…  Energy, essential elements and compounds are transferred The movement of energy through an ecosystem can be shown in diagrams called:

Trophic Levels A.Producers- produce their own food (plants, algae) B.Primary Consumers- herbivores that eat the producers C.Secondary Consumers- small carnivores D.Tertiary Consumers- large predators Other parts of food webs: a.omnivore- consumes plants and animals b.Scavenger- is a carnivore that feeds on bodies of dead organisms c.Decomposers-organisms that break down wastes and dead organisms and return raw materials to the environment. Energy for organisms is obtained based on what they eat. Heterotrophic- food from eating Autotrophic- makes on food The most energy is available at the producer level of an energy pyramid, as you move up, less energy is available. Only about 10% of energy at one level is transferred to the next higher level

A.Niche: the fundamental role of a species in a community. (ecological role) a.Fundamental niche: full niche/role of a species, with no competitors, (an organism can exploit its full fundamental niche) b.Realized niche: a partial role because of competition or other species interactions (when competition restrict the organism from exploiting its niche) B.Predation: the process by which individuals of one species, a predator, hunt, capture, kill, and consume individuals of another species (prey). a.Predation has evolutionary ramifications…examples? b.Predation plays a huge role in population dynamics..examples? Ex; Zebra Mussel predation on phytoplankton- mussels have reduced plankton up to 90% in Great lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Causes changes to the food webs, causes biomass to decrease. C.Mutualism-a relations hip in which two or more species benefit from the interaction (one provides resource, other provides a service) Examples????? A.Symbiosis- a parasitic or mutual relationship of organisms that live very close together. D.Invasive Species- a non-native organism that spreads widely and becomes dominant in a community. Examples?????? – Usually introduced by people either on purpose or by accident – Spread widely due to loss of THEIR limiting factors (predators, water shortage…) E.Keystone Species- a species that has a particularly strong influence or far-reaching impact. – Some species have a greater influence than othersu sually top of the food chain carnivores – Examples: Wolves, mountain lions, birds of prey

Ecological Succession- a stereotypical series of changes in the composition and structure of an ecological community through time Two Types of Succession: A.Primary Succession- follows a disturbance so severe that no vegetation or soil life remains from the community that occupied the site A biotic community completely from scratch Usually bare rock is exposed and soil is just beginning to form What are some examples???? Dried up lakes, glaciers, lava… B.Secondary Succession- begins when a disturbance dramatically alters an existing community BUT does not destroy all things or all organic matter in the soil (the building blocks are present to rebuild) Examples???? Fires, volcanoes, human destruction…. C.Pioneer Species- the species that arrive first to colonize, are well-adapted for colonization Examples??? Lichens, algae, Ecological Succession Primary Secondary

Biomes of the World Working together and using your textbook, complete the Data table on Biomes and label the regions on the map provided. Be detailed and specific