1. Organisms and their Relationships

2. Organisms and Their Relationships
Ecology
The study of relationships between living organisms and the interaction they have with their environments
Ecologists observe, experiment, and model using a variety of tools and methods.

3. A thin layer around Earth
Organisms and Their Relationships
Biosphere
A thin layer around Earth
Extends several kilometers above the Earth’s surface
Extends several kilometers below the ocean’s surface
The biosphere is the broadest level of ecological study, the global sum of all ecosystems

4. Organisms and Their Relationships
The Biosphere

5. Living factors in an organism’s environment
Organisms and Their Relationships
Biotic Factors
Living factors in an organism’s environment

6. Nonliving factors in an organism’s environment
Organisms and Their Relationships
Abiotic Factors
Nonliving factors in an organism’s environment
Weather, rocks, sunlight, etc.
Organisms adapt to survive in the abiotic factors present in their natural environment.

7. Levels of Organization
Organisms and Their Relationships
Levels of Organization
Levels increase in complexity as the numbers and interactions between organisms increase.
biosphere
biome
ecosystem
community
population
organism

10. The lowest level of organization is the individual organism itself.
Organisms and Their Relationships
The lowest level of organization is the individual organism itself.
Organisms of a single species that share the same geographic location at the same time make up a population.
A community is a group of interacting populations that occupy the same geographic area at the same time.

11. Organisms and Their Relationships
An ecosystem is a biological community and all of the abiotic factors that affect it.
A biome is a large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities.

12. Levels of Organization
Organisms and Their Relationships
Levels of Organization
Organism- any single living species
Populations – groups of the same species that live in the same area
Communities – different populations living together in a defined area
Ecosystem – all living (Biotic) and non-living (Abiotic) components
Biome – group of ecosystems in a similar climate
Biosphere – collection of all biomes

13. Ecosystem Interactions A habitat is an area where an organism lives.
Organisms and Their Relationships
Ecosystem Interactions
A habitat is an area where an organism lives.
Habitat destruction is the main reason that organisms are endangered or extinct (ADD TO NOTES)
A niche is the role or position that an organism has in its environment.

14. Organisms and Their Relationships

15. Community Interactions
Organisms and Their Relationships
Community Interactions
Competition
Occurs when more than one organism uses a resource at the same time
Predation
Many species get their food by eating other organisms.

16. Community Interactions Symbiotic Relationships
Organisms and Their Relationships
Community Interactions
Symbiotic Relationships
The close relationship that exists when two or more species live together
Mutualism
Both organisms benefit
Possibly the most famous of mutualistic relationships is the lichen. Actually there are hundred of "species" of lichens. A lichen looks like a plant, but is actually a complicated mutualistic association between a species of fungus and a species of either a green algae or a blue-green algae. Although lichens come in a wide variety of forms and structures, all lichens are essentially a sandwich with a layer of fungi on the outside with a filling of an algal species on the inside. The fungus species attaches the lichen structure to the log, rock, or brick wall it lives on and absorbs nutrients from the environment. It addition the fungus forms a protective envelope for the algae preventing the algae from drying out. The algae in its turn uses the nutrients absorbed by the fungus and the carbon dioxide produced to photosynthesize. The sugars and oxygens produced by the algae are, in turn, used for food by the fungus. This highly successful mutualistic relationship between the two species allows lichens to colonize habitats that are hardly survivable by other plant and animal species.

17. Symbiotic Relationships
Organisms and Their Relationships
Symbiotic Relationships
Commensalism
One organism benefits, the other is unaffected
Anemonefishes (sometimes called clownfishes) are a beautiful group of tropical, reef fishes from the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Almost all of the species belong to the genus Amphiprion. These fishes are unusual because they have a close relationship with sea anemones. Sea Anemones belong the class Anthozoa which includes the hydras, corals, and jellyfish. The simple structure of the sea anemone consists of a hollow cylinder surrounded by a crown of tentacles. The tentacles are equipped with specialized cells called nematocysts. Nematocysts are shaped and function like small harpoons and contain a poison sufficient to paralyze or kill small fish and other reef inhabitants.
The anemonefish lives among the forest of tentacles of an anemone and is protected from potential predators not immune to the sting of the anemone. The anemonefish is protected from the sting of the anomone tentacles by a substance contained in the mucous on its skin. The exact nature of this protective substance is not known, but is believed to be a combination of a partial natural secretion and chemicals the fish harvests by rubbing up against the anemone's tentacles. What ever the case may be, the anemone treats the fish as part of itself and does not sting it.
Some consider this relationship to be a case of mutualism, claiming that the anemonefish chases away other fish that might prey on the anemone. However this aspect of the relationship is not well documented.
Barnacle are sedentary, highly modified crustaceans resembling conical pyramids. Barnacles live by using long, feathering appendages to sweep the surrounding water for small, free-floating organisms. The critical resource for barnacles is a place to stay. Barnacles attach to rocks, ships, shells, whales, and just about anywhere else they can gain a foothold. In the example on the left the two barnacles are attached to the shell of a scallop. The barnacle gains a place to live and, presumably, the scallop is not harmed by the presence of the barnacles. Therefore the relationship is commensalism.

18. Symbiotic Relationships
Organisms and Their Relationships
Symbiotic Relationships
Parasitism
One organism benefits, the other is harmed
Tick, tapeworm, mistletoe

19. Symbiotic Relationships
Read Section 3-1 pgs
Read Section 4-2 pgs