Principles of Ecology V. Hassell Everything on Earth- air, land, water, plants and animals= is connected. Understanding these connections help us keep our environment clean, healthy and safe..

Uses qualitative (descriptive) and quantitative research  The study of interactions that take place between organisms and their environment  Uses techniques from  Math  Chemistry, physics, geology  Other branches of biology

POPULATION  A group of organisms of the same species which can interbreed and live in the same area at the same time  Because members of the same population compete with each other for food, water, mates, and other resources.  Competition increases when resources are in short supply

 a group of interacting populations of different species occupying a particular place  a pond community

 The organisms in a plant population and the biotic and abiotic factors which impact on them.

The area on earth which supports life (where life is found)  Thin layer.  Supports a diverse group of organisms in a wide range of climates  Living things are affected by nonliving and living factors.

 1. biotic  living or derived from living things  2. abiotic- nonliving factors;  sunlight, temp. water, soil

 Limits of Tolerance conditions under which growth will occur  Optimum Range- the best conditions for growth  Limiting factors- A nutrient in short supply which limits an organisms growth. It keeps populations from spreading beyond areas to which they are best adapted

2 types of Ecosystems  Terrestrial ecosystems- on land  Include forest, measows and rotting logs  Aquatic ecosystems include fresh water and saltwater forms  Fresh water- Includes ponds, lakes, streams  Salt water – called Marine ecosystems, make up 70% of earth’s surface

 Organisms must be able to adapt to changing conditions.  Coastal organisms spend part of the day underwater.  Tides affect salinity (salt content)

Where an organism lives its life  Prairie dog- burrows in prairie  Birds- nest in trees or on the ground  Others- Wetlands, ponds, oceans 

1 st Producer -  Autotroph  Photosynthesis  plant

competition  It is an advantage to have a different nich than other species in the habitat  Less competition  2 species with the same needs can’t exist for long together  One will gain control  Other become extinct, move elsewhere or adapt

 Adaptations to survive in different habitats include  Cypress knees  Polar bears

Organisms living together in close, permanent association  Types  Mutualism- both species benefit  Commensalism- one species benefits, the other is not affected  Parasitism- one benefits, one is harmed

 Spanish moss  Orchids  barnacles

Harmful to one species, beneficial to another  Endoparasite  Hook worms  Do they care if their host dies?  Exoparasite- outside  Tick, fleas

 Compare how organisms satisfy their nutritional needs.  Trace the path of energy and matter in an ecosystem  Analyze how matter is cycled in the abiotic and biotic parts of the biosphere

Autotrophs  The ultimate source of energy is the sun  Plants use photosynthesis to produce food from light energy.  Autotrophs  Producers  Plants  Some protist & algae Other organisms depend on thes for energy

Consumers are Heterotrophs  Can not make its own food  Obtain nutrients by eating other organisms  Heterotrophs  Omnivore  Carnivore  Scavenger

Breakdown and release materials  Breakdown complex compounds of dead and decaying organisms into simpler substances  Fungi, bacteria

 Matter is composed of carbon, nitrogen and other elements  Moves through the food chain from producers to consumers

Flow of energy  Arrows indicaate direction in which energy is transferred  May be as few as one or two – or unlimited  Plants  decomposers  Plants  cow  man  decomposer (bacteria)

Shows relationships for organisms that feed on more than one species

Only 10 % of energy is passed to next level

 Food chains, food webs and ecological pyramids are all models that show how energy moves in only one direction through the tropich levles of an ecosystem  Some energy lost to heat  Sunlight is souce

 energy is neither lost or gained. Some is transferred at each tropic level enerters the environment as heat, but the total amount of energy remains the same.

 Each level in a pyramid of biomass represents the amount tht the level above needs to consume to meet it’s needs

Matter is recycled (never lost) and is not replenished like energy from sunlgiht  There is a finite amount of matter  The atoms that make up the boies of organisms alive today are the same atoms that have been on Earth since the beginning of time.

Evaporation, condensation, transpiration, precipitation

Life on earth is a carbon based. Carbon is molecule of life

78 % of atm- not available to plants Ammonia (urine), lightning, manure,

 can cause major algae blooms and harm an ecosystem  causes blue baby syndrome

All organisms need phosphorus It is Necessary for growth and development  Short cycle  Plants absorb from soil  Eaten, animsl dies, decompose and is returned to soil  Long cycle  Phosphates wash into water and are locked in rock  Millions of years later- rock is exposed