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What is Ecology?
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What is Ecology??
The study of interactions that take place between organisms and their environment.
It explains how living organisms affect each other and the world they live in.
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3. A Key Theme in Ecology No single organism is isolated!!
The interconnectedness or interdependence of all organisms is central to the study of ecology
The survival of organisms depends on their interactions with their surrounding environment
Ex: Humans cannot live without the plants that produce food and oxygen

4. The Nonliving Environment
Abiotic factors- the nonliving parts of an organism’s environment.
Examples include air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil.
Abiotic factors affect an organism’s life.
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5. The Living Environment
Biotic factors- all the living organisms that inhabit an environment.
All organisms depend on others directly or indirectly for food, shelter, reproduction, or protection.
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic
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10. Levels of Organization
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11. What are the Simplest Levels?
Atom
Molecule
Organelle
Cell
Tissue
Organ
OrganSystem
Organism
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12. Levels of Organization
Ecologists have organized the interactions an organism takes part in into different levels according to complexity.
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13. 1st Level of Organization
Organism: An individual living thing that is made of cells, uses energy, reproduces, responds, grows, and develops
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14. 2nd Level of Organization
Population: A group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time.
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15. 3rd Level of Organization
Biological Community: All the populations of different species that live in the same place at the same time.
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16. 4th Level of Organization
Ecosystem: Populations of plants and animals that interact with each other in a given area with the abiotic components of that area. (terrestrial or aquatic)
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17. 5th Level of Organization
Biosphere: The portion of Earth that supports life.
The highest level of organization
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The Biosphere
Life is found in air, on land, and in fresh and salt water.
The BIOSPHERE is the portion of Earth that supports living things.
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19. What level of organization?
Organism
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20. What level of Organization?
Community
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21. What level of Organization?
Population
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22. Organization of Ecology
Draw the diagram of hierarchical organization of ecology from P.361

23. Habitat vs. Niche
Niche - the role a species plays in a community; its total way of life
Habitat- the place in which an organism lives out its life
Although several species may share a habitat they each have their own niche. A niche is a very narrow range where a species fits within a habitat. 23

24. Habitat vs. Niche
A niche is determined by the tolerance limitations of an organism, or a limiting factor.
Limiting factor- any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence of organisms in a specific environment.
Although several species may share a habitat they each have their own niche. A niche is a very narrow range where a species fits within a habitat. 24

25. Habitat vs. Niche Examples of limiting factors - Amount of water
Amount of food
Temperature
Amount of space
Availability of mates
Although several species may share a habitat they each have their own niche. A niche is a very narrow range where a species fits within a habitat. 25

26. Niche Differences Generalists are species with broad niches
Can tolerate a range of conditions and use a variety of resources
Ex: Virginia opossum  found all over the US and can eat a wide range of food
Specialists are species that have narrow niches
Ex: koalas  only feed on leaves from a few species of eucalyptus trees

27. Organisms in a Changing Environment Tolerance Curve: A graph of performance versus values of an environmental Variable
Tolerance Curve for Cutthroat Trout –
Shows they can tolerate temps between 5 and 23°C)

28. Acclimation
Acclimation is the process by which organisms can adjust their tolerance to abiotic factors
Ex: Going to the mountains
If you spend a few weeks in the mountains, your body will acclimate to the lower oxygen levels by producing more red blood cells in your body
This will allow your blood to carry more oxygen
Acclimation IS NOT adaptation!!
Adaptation is a genetic change in a species that occurs over many generations – acclimation occurs within the lifetime of a species

29. Acclimation
Question: If you raised the temperature of a goldfish bowl a degree every week, and your fish was able to tolerate higher temperatures than other goldfish…Is this Acclimation?

30. How do organisms deal with change in their physical environment?
Strategy 1 – Conformers
These organisms do not control their internal
conditions and change as their external
environment changes
example: reptiles are cold blooded
Strategy 2 – Regulators
These organisms do control their internal
conditions and maintain within their optimum
range in spite of external conditions
ex. Mammals maintain constant body temp

31. What if conditions change too drastically, How does an organism survive?
Some species become dormant (a state of reduced activity) when the environmental conditions aren't suitable (like too cold, not enough food, too dry)
Some species migrate (move to a more
favorable habitat) when conditions become unbearable

32. Ch (Ecology)
ENERGY TRANSFER

33. Nutritional Relationships:
Autotrophs: can synthesize (or make) their own food Ex.) Plants
B. Heterotrophs: can NOT synthesize their own food and are dependent on other organisms for their food

34. Feeding Relationships
Producer- all autotrophs (plants), they trap energy from the sun
Bottom of the food chain
How do they trap the sun’s energy? Through what process? What is that process similar to in animal cells? 34

35. Feeding Relationships
Consumer- all heterotrophs: they ingest food containing the sun’s energy
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Decomposers
Energy moves up the food chain through the producer/consumer relationship. 35

36. Feeding Relationships
CONSUMERS
Primary consumers
Eat plants
Herbivores
Secondary, tertiary consumers
Prey animals
Carnivores
Herbivores are the 1st step up the food chain, they eat the producers 36

37. Consumers can be grouped according to the type of food they eat.
TYPES OF CONSUMERS
Consumers can be grouped according to the type of food they eat.
Scavengers are a type of carnivore that eat dead animals, or carrion. Vultures, hyenas, crabs, deep sea fish-talk about distance from the sun and must eat the dead things that sink to the bottom, bottom feeders 37

38. Herbivores- Eat Producers Carnivores- Eat other Consumers
TYPES OF CONSUMERS
Herbivores- Eat Producers
Carnivores- Eat other Consumers
Omnivores- Eat both Producers and Consumers
Scavengers are a type of carnivore that eat dead animals, or carrion. Vultures, hyenas, crabs, deep sea fish-talk about distance from the sun and must eat the dead things that sink to the bottom, bottom feeders 38

39. Other Consumers Detritivors: AKA Scavengers
Feed on carrion, dead animals
Decomposers
Breakdown the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be absorbed
Humans and bears are omnivores but a large and important subset of omnivores are the decomposers. They breakdown dead producers and release the energy back into circulation. 39

40. Each link in a food chain is known as a trophic level.
Trophic Levels
Each link in a food chain is known as a trophic level.
Trophic levels represent a feeding step in the transfer of energy and matter in an ecosystem. 40

41. Trophic Levels
Biomass- the amount of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a habitat.
As you move up a food chain, both available energy and biomass decrease. 41

42. E N R G Y Trophic Levels Producers- Autotrophs
Tertiary consumers- top carnivores
Secondary consumers-small carnivores
Primary consumers- Herbivores
Producers- Autotrophs 42

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44. Energy Transfer On Average, 10% of Total Energy is transferred from
one energy level
to the next.

45. Trophic Levels
Food chain- simple model that shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystem 45

46. A Food Chain
Bear
Frog
Insects
Plant
Fish
People

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48. Represents a network of interconnected food chains
Trophic Levels
Food web- shows all possible feeding relationships in a community at each trophic level
Represents a network of interconnected food chains 48

49. Food chain Food web
(just 1 path of energy) (all possible energy paths) 49

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