1. Warm-up
What is ecology?

2. Ecology

3. What is Ecology?
Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment

4. Ernst Haeckel Coined term “Ecology” in 1866
Greek word “oikos” means house
Why does this make
sense?

5. Ecology Examples: What kinds of studies could you do in Ecology?
How deer populations affect the undergrowth of forests
Oxygen content in lakes and ponds and how this affects fish and plants
How much will species diversity be reduced by the building of a new road in a forested area?

6. How do we study Ecology? Observing Experimenting Modeling
What species live here? How many are there? How do they interact?
Experimenting
Testing hypotheses to answer questions
Modeling
Making models to investigate complex phenomena
How will global warming progress in the next ten years? Twenty years?

7. Where do we study Ecology?
The Biosphere is the part of earth that supports life. This includes land, water, air, and the atmosphere
What on earth is NOT part of the biosphere?

8. Remember the 6 Characteristics of Life???
Can you name them?
Cells
Organization
Energy use
Homeostasis
Growth
Reproduction

9. Parts of the Environment
Biotic:
Living parts of the environment (animals, plants, fungi, etc.)
Abiotic:
Non-living parts of the environment (air, water, sunlight, rocks, etc.)

10. Biotic? Abiotic?

11. How do we study such a large place?
Ecologists study many different levels of organization:
Species
Populations
Communities
Ecosystems
Biomes
Biosphere

12. Species
Group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring
Organism

13. Population
A Population is a group of organisms in the same species that interbreed and live in the same area
Part of a population of bullfrogs:

14. Community
A Community is a mix of different populations that live together

15. Ecosystem
An Ecosystem includes the community and the non-living (abiotic)environment (soil, air, water, sunlight, etc.)
The bullfrogs’ ecosystem is a pond:

16. Biome
A Biome is a group of ecosystems with the same climate and dominant communities
The Bullfrogs’ Biome is a temperate forest:

17. The Bullfrog is a Species They live in a Population with Bullfrogs
Their Community includes Bullfrogs and their biotic friends (birds, trout, trees)
Their Ecosystem is a pond, which includes abiotic factors (soil, air, water)
The Biome that they live in is the Temperate Forest
The Temperate Forest is part of the Biosphere
In your notes, write your own level of organization (like we did for the Bullfrog). Start at the Species level and move up to an Ecosystem. You can use real or make believe organisms.

18. How do organisms interact with their environment?
Each organism has a habitat--where it lives out its life. There are many habitats in each ecosystem.
In habitats there are many niches, each occupied by one species. A niche is a species’ role, sort of like it’s JOB.
Why can there only be one species in each niche?

19. How do organisms interact with their environment?
Think of Finding Nemo and its examples of organism’s niches and habitats!
What is the Habitat?
What types of organisms do you see?
What are their niches? (what do they do?)

20. Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs
Autotrophs – make their own food so they are called PRODUCERS
Heterotrophs – get their food from another source so they are called CONSUMERS

21. Warm-up What is an autotroph? How do they get their energy?
What is a heterotroph? How do they get their energy?

22. Two Main forms of Energy for Autotrophs
Sunlight
The main source of energy for life on earth
Photosynthesis
Chemical
Some organisms such as bacteria, rely on the energy stored in inorganic compounds
Chemosynthesis

23. Types of Consumers Omnivores- eat plants AND animals
Herbivores- only eat plants
Carnivores - only eat animals
Detritivores and Decomposers
Feeds on plant and animal remains

24. How does Energy flow through an Ecosystem?
Energy flows through an ecosystem in ONE direction
sun or chemicals
autotrophs
heterotrophs

25. Energy Flow in Ecosystems:

26. Feeding Relationships
Food Web – network of all the food chains in an ecosystem
Food Chain – steps of organisms transferring energy by eating & being eaten

27. Food Web (notice the direction of the arrows!!)
Trophic levels
3rd/ top consumers
2nd consumers
1st consumers
producers

29. Warm-up Finish your American Shad Food Web.
On your warm-up sheet list the following from your American Shad Food Web:
Ultimate source of energy
Producers
Primary consumers (herbivores)
Secondary consumers
Tertiary consumers

30. Ecological Pyramids
Trophic Level – each step in a food chain or food web
Biomass Pyramid
Energy Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers

31. Pyramid of Energy – amount of energy available at each trophic level
Only 10% of the energy from each trophic level is passed on to the next level
Most of the energy is used by the organisms for life processes
Some of the energy is lost as heat

32. Pyramid of Numbers – the number of individuals at each trophic level

33. Pyramid of Biomass - amount of living organic matter for each trophic level

35. How does Matter move through an ecosystem?
Unlike the one way flow of energy, matter is recycled within & between ecosystems
Nutrients are passed between organisms & the environment through biogeochemical cycles
Biogeochemical Cycles:
Bio –life
Geo – Earth
Chemo – chemical

36. Why are nutrients important ?
Every living organism needs nutrients to build tissues and carry out essential life functions.
95% of your body is made of…
OXYGEN
CARBON
HYDROGEN
NITROGEN
PHOSPHOROUS

37. Water Processes
Precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, or hail (any water subject to gravity)
Evaporation: change of water from liquid to gaseous phase
Transpiration: evaporation of water from the leaves of plants
Run-off: water flow when the ground is saturated; causes flooding
Condensation: change of water from gaseous to liquid phase
Infiltration: process in which water on the ground enters the soil (opposite of run-off)

38. THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

39. Carbon Cycle Sources (release carbon into the atmosphere)
Breathing
Burning fossil fuels
Decomposition
Deforestation
Volcanoes
Sinks (take carbon from the atmosphere)
Photosynthesis
Oceans
Permafrost

40. CARBON CYCLE

41. NITROGEN CYCLE Unusable form of nitrogen is in the atmosphere (N2)
Usable forms of nitrogen:
Ammonia (NH3)
Nitrate (NO3-)
Nitrite (NO2-)
ORGANISMS NEED NITROGEN TO MAKE PROTEINS!!!
Video!

42. Nitrogen Cycle
Bacteria and lightning “fix” nitrogen (take it in from atmosphere and make it usable)
Nitrogen fixation (nitrification)
Bacteria and other organisms use the nitrogen
Plants absorb nitrogen through their roots
Plants and animals use nitrogen to build proteins
Decomposers consume usable nitrogen and release unusable form (N2) of nitrogen back into the atmosphere

43. PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
PHOSPHORUS FORMS PART OF IMPORTANT LIFE-SUSTAINING MOLECULES (ex. DNA & RNA)

44. Availability of nutrients
If a nutrient is in short supply, it will limit an organism’s growth. It is called a limiting nutrient
When a limiting nutrient is dumped into a lake or pond, an algal bloom occurs and can disrupt the ecosystem