All living and nonliving components found in a particular location that depend on each other to maintain a natural balance.

What are things that can disrupt an ecosystem’s natural balance?

What happens when a new species is introduced into an ecosystem?

Diverse Least likely to be damaged by human interactions, natural disasters, and climate change SO, why are ecosystems likely to be damaged by humans?

Food & water Space Movement Reproduction Composed of cells Able to use and make energy

Soil Atmosphere Heat Light Water Living organisms

The living and decayed plants, animals, and microorganisms of an ecosystem are called BIOTIC. Examples ?

 Producers  Consumers  Detritus (parts of dead organisms, cast off fragments and wastes of living organisms) The list above represents the job or role organisms play in an ecosystem The role or job an organism has is called a niche.

 Producers (autotrophs) - Photosynthesis  Consumers (heterotrophs) - Aerobic respiration  Decomposers

Primary, secondary, tertiary, etc.Primary, secondary, tertiary, etc. Herbivore - plant eaterHerbivore - plant eater Carnivore - meat eaterCarnivore - meat eater Omnivore - mixed plant/animal dietOmnivore - mixed plant/animal diet

Review notes – and on scrap paper create the diagram below. Fill boxes with vocabulary words – easier words go on bottom, tougher words on top. Ecological succession abiotic

Predation Competition Symbiotic Parasitism Commensalism Mutualism

1) Outside energy source 2) Physical factors that determine weather, climate weather, climate 3) Chemicals essential for life

1- When I call a number the person races to the back and searches for appropriate definition or term. 2 - Repeats phrases and hands definition to the person at the back of their row. 3 – Each person repeats the phrases and passes the term or definition to the front of the row. 4 – Each team with the correct response gets a point.

Population is ………………… ………………… ………

Total Generation 14 Generation 28 Generation 312 Generation 416 Generation 516 Generation 616 Generation 716

Total Generation 164 Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation

Total Generation 144 Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation

Total Generation 144 Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation

Total Generation 144 Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation

Total Generation 144 Generation 2044 Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation

Total Generation 116 Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation

What is biodiversity and why is it important to maintain it? What are some of the ways biodiversity is maintained?

Harvard University Life Sciences - HHMI Outreach Summer 2010 Workshop for Biology Teachers David Eatough

Habitat loss/destruction Habitat loss is the greatest reason for biodiversity loss. Habitat loss is due to: Conversion of natural areas to farms, houses, etc Fragmentation of ecosystems by human activities, housing, transportation, agriculture etc. Simplification of genetic diversity and complex ecosystems by planting/selecting monocultures.

Invasive / Exotic Species Invasive, exotic species introduced from elsewhere outcompete native species because they: Have no natural predators Colonize disturbed habitats quickly Have a high biotic potential (r-species)

Cane Toads – The Conquest movie

How are invasive species spread? How do invasive species affect biodiversity?

Characteristics of Invasive Species

Environmental Costs of Invasive Species

How does invasive species affect us economically?

Are there any benefits from invasive species?

Pollution Pollution (Oil spills, human agricultural waste, fertilization, pesticides, acid deposition, greenhouse gases etc) caused by human activities has a negative effect on biodiversity

Population, Human overpopulation that is. 6.8 Billion and counting. The expansion of human population and affluence, especially in the developing world harms natural ecosystems.

Overharvesting, Overuse, Overexploitation Overhunting, overfishing, destructive harvesting practices (cyanide, dynamite), illegal trade, exotic pet industry

Human Population Increase Increasing Economic Activity Increased use of technology Social, political and cultural factors Land use change (Habitat loss) Increasing Economic Activity Increased use of technology Social, political and cultural factors Indirect (Underlying causes) Direct causes Declining Biological Diversity Raven, Berg, and Hassenzahl put it this way

How is biodiversity maintained?

One way biodiversity is maintained is through “mother nature” aka Nutrient Cycles * Water Cycle * Carbon Cycle * Nitrogen Cycle * Phosphorus Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen Cycle Song Nitrogen Cycle Explained

The Water Cycle

The Carbon Cycle Animation

The Phosphorus Cycle

Characteristics shared by many endangered species include: Low reproductive rate (biotic potential) Feed at high trophic levels (apex predator) Large body size Specialist Specialized feeding habits Specialized nesting and/or breeding areas Fixed migratory patterns Found in one place or region Rare Commercially valuable Negative human interactions including attacks on people or livestock

How can humanity protect biodiversity?

Important Laws Protecting Biodiversity Lacey Act (1900) forbids interstate commerce of illegally killed wildlife. Modifications of act prevent importing dangerous non-native species. Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 makes it illegal to kill, trap, uproot (plants), modify the habitat of, or engage in commerce of an endangered species or its parts. To designate a species as endangered or threatened, Fish and Wildlife Service or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must: List species Designate critical habitat areas where species is found Develop a recovery plan to help species survive and thrive

The rich variety of the natural world that Charles Darwin memorably imagined as an "entangled bank", and that E. O. Wilson labeled "biodiversity", is in crisis. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) calculates that one-fifth of mammals and nearly one-third of amphibians are threatened with extinction. Some estimate that only half of the species alive today will survive to Others describe the pace of biodiversity loss as 100 times the rate of natural extinctions. Less-diverse ecosystems are less productive, less stable and less robust. So loss of biodiversity may weaken ecosystems and make them more fragile, especially in the face of climate change, with grave consequences for food security, among other things. Sara Abdulla, Chief Commissioning Editor, Nature March 2010

This summary of the relative effects by the year 2100 is a composite derived from calculations carried out for 12 individual terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems by O. E. Sala et al. (Science287, 1770–1774; 2000). Overall, changes in land use constitute the main estimated impact on biodiversity, but the pattern varies considerably for different ecosystems. According to Sala and colleagues' calculations, climate change will have the strongest effect on Arctic, alpine and boreal ecosystems, whereas biotic exchange (that is, invasion by non-native species) will exert its main influence in lakes.