Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall
34-1, 36-1, 36-2 What Is Ecology? Photo Credit: ©Bruce Coleman, LTD/Natural Selection Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Interactions and Interdependence
Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment, or surroundings. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Interactions and Interdependence
The biosphere contains the combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, including: land water air, or atmosphere The biosphere extends from about 8 kilometers above Earth's surface to as far as 11 kilometers below the surface of the ocean. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Biotic factors include all the living things with which an organism might interact. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Physical, or nonliving, factors that shape ecosystems are called abiotic factors. Abiotic factors include: temperature precipitation humidity wind nutrient availability soil type sunlight Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

The area where an organism lives is called its habitat. A habitat includes both biotic and abiotic factors. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Levels of Organization
What different levels of organization do ecologists study? Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

To understand relationships within the biosphere, ecologists ask questions about events and organisms that range in complexity from a single individual to the entire biosphere. The levels of organization that ecologists study include: individuals, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Biosphere Biome Ecosystem Community The study of ecology ranges from the study of an individual organism to populations, communities, ecosystems, biomes—and, finally, to the entire biosphere. The information that ecologists gain at each level contributes to our understanding of natural systems. Population Individual Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

A species is a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring. Populations are groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area. Communities are assemblages of different populations that live together in a defined area. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

An ecosystem is a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical, environment. A biome is a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities. The highest level of organization that ecologists study is the entire biosphere itself. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Producers Where does the energy for life processes come from? Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Producers Producers = Organisms that turn energy in the environment to a usable form. Another term for Producers is Autotrophs. Without a constant input of energy, living systems cannot function. Sunlight is the main energy source for life on Earth. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Producers Energy From the Sun The most autotrophs use energy from the sun through a process known as photosynthesis. Plants (on land), Algae (in water), and Photosynthetic Bacteria (also in water) are the primary photosynthetic producers. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Producers Photosynthesis is responsible for adding oxygen to—and removing carbon dioxide from—Earth's atmosphere. Sunlight is the main energy source for life on Earth. Some types of organisms rely on the energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds. Plants use the energy from sunlight to carry out the process of photosynthesis. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Producers Life Without Light Some autotrophs can produce food in the absence of light. When producers use chemicals to produce usable energy (called carbohydrates), the process is called chemosynthesis. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Producers Sunlight is the main energy source for life on Earth. Some types of organisms rely on the energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds. Other autotrophs, such as sulfur bacteria, use the energy stored in chemical bonds for chemosynthesis. In both cases, energy-rich carbohydrates are produced. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Consumers Consumers = Organisms that can NOT create their own energy must EAT or CONSUME. Heterotrophs are also called consumers. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Consumers There are many different types of heterotrophs. Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat animals. Omnivores eat both plants and animals. Detritivores feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter. Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, break down organic matter. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Feeding Relationships
How does energy flow through living systems? Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction, 1) The sun or inorganic compounds 2) autotrophs (producers) 3) heterotrophs (consumers). Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Food Chains A food chain shows how organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten in a community. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

In some marine food chains, the producers are microscopic algae and the top carnivore is four steps removed from the producer. Small Fish Zooplankton Squid Food chains show the one-way flow of energy in an ecosystem. In this marine food chain, energy is passed from the producers (algae) to four different groups of consumers. Shark Algae Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

The Niche The Niche An organisms niche includes all the biotic and abiotic factors of its habitat, and how it uses those factors. Basically- an organisms niche is how it makes its living. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

The Niche No two species can share the same niche in the same habitat. Different species can occupy niches that are very similar. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Community Interactions
When organisms live together in ecological communities, they interact constantly. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Competition Competition occurs when organisms of the same or different species attempt to use an ecological resource in the same place at the same time. A resource is any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food, or space. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Direct competition in nature often results in a winner and a loser—with the losing organism failing to survive. The competitive exclusion principle states that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

These warbler species avoid direct competition, because each species feeds in a different part of the tree. This is called RESOURCE PARTITIONING =avoiding competition by using a resource differently. Each of these warbler species occupies a different niche. 18 12 Feeding height (m) Cape May Warbler Each of these warbler species has a different niche in its spruce tree habitat. By feeding in different areas of the tree, the birds avoid competing with one another for food. Bay-Breasted Warbler 6 Yellow-Rumped Warbler Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Predation An interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism is called predation. The organism that does the killing and eating is called the predator, and the food organism is the prey. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Symbiosis Any relationship in which two species live closely together is called symbiosis. Symbiotic relationships include: mutualism commensalism parasitism Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Symbiosis Mutualism: both species benefit from the relationship. Ex: Lichens Flowers and Bees, Rhinos and Egyptian Plovers Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Symbiosis Commensalism: one member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed. Ex: Clown Fish and Sea Anenome Barnacle on a Whale Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Symbiosis Parasitism: one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it. External parasites include Ticks, fleas, lice, mosquitoes, bed bugs, etc . . . There are many internal parasites as well! Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Food Webs Ecologists describe a feeding relationship in an ecosystem that forms a network of complex interactions as a food web. A food web links all the food chains in a community together. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

This food web shows some of the feeding relationships in a salt-marsh community. This illustration of a food web shows some of the feeding relationships in a salt marsh. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Trophic Levels Each step in a food chain or food web is called a trophic level. Producers make up the first trophic level. Consumers make up the second, third, or higher trophic levels. Each consumer depends on the trophic level below it for energy. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Ecological Pyramids How efficient is the transfer of energy among organisms in an ecosystem? Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Ecological Pyramids Ecologists recognize three different types of ecological pyramids that describe how energy is transferred through an ecosystem: energy pyramids biomass pyramids pyramids of numbers- won’t worry about Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Ecological Pyramids 0.1% Third-level consumers Energy Pyramid: Shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level. Only part of the energy that is stored in one trophic level is passed on to the next level. 1% Second-level consumers 10% First-level consumers Ecological pyramids show the decreasing amounts of energy, living tissue, or number of organisms at successive feeding levels. The pyramid is divided into sections that represent each trophic level. Because each trophic level harvests only about one tenth of the energy from the level below, it can support only about one tenth the amount of living tissue. 100% Producers Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Ecological Pyramids Only about 10 percent of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next trophic level. SO . . . The further away the top trophic level is from the 1st level, the more energy is lost. Energy that is “lost” is used by the living organisms to function. Some is also lost as heat. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Ecological Pyramids Biomass Pyramid The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called biomass. Biomass is usually expressed in terms of grams of organic matter per unit area. A biomass pyramid represents the amount of potential food available for each trophic level in an ecosystem. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Ecological Pyramids Biomass Pyramid: Represents the amount of living organic matter at each trophic level. Typically, the greatest biomass is at the base of the pyramid. 50 grams of human tissue 500 grams of chicken 5000 grams of grain Ecological pyramids show the decreasing amounts of energy, living tissue, or number of organisms at successive feeding levels. The pyramid is divided into sections that represent each trophic level. Because each trophic level harvests only about one tenth of the energy from the level below, it can support only about one tenth the amount of living tissue. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3-1 The combined portions of the planet in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere, form the biosphere. community. species. ecosystem. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3-1 A group of organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring is known as a(an) ecosystem. species. biome. community. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3-1 Compared to a community, an ecosystem includes the nonliving, physical environment as well as the community. only the physical environment of an area without the organisms. the entire biome but not the biosphere. only one of the populations within the community. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3-1 An ecologist marks out an area in a specific ecosystem and proceeds to identify the number of insect species in the area. This is an example of ecological experimentation. observation. modeling. inference. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3–2 The main source of energy for life on Earth is organic chemical compounds. inorganic chemical compounds. sunlight. producers. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3–2 Organisms that feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter are detritivores. carnivores. herbivores. autotrophs. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3–2 How does a food web differ from a food chain? A food web contains a single series of energy transfers. A food web links many food chains together. A food web has only one trophic level. A food web shows how energy passes from producer to consumer. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3–2 In a biomass pyramid, the base of the pyramid represents the mass of heterotrophs. primary consumers. producers. top level carnivores. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

3–2 The amount of energy represented in each trophic level of consumers in an energy pyramid is about 10% of the level below it. 90% of the level below it. 10% more than the level below it. 90% more than the level below it. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

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