1. Intro to Ecology

2. Ecology Ecology studies 2 things:
● the interactions of organisms with each other
● the interactions between organisms and their environment

3. Broken up into BIOMES – areas of similar climate & vegetation
General Vocabulary
Biosphere – Area of the earth where life exists; places on Earth that can support life
Extends from oceans depths to a few kilometers above land.
Broken up into BIOMES – areas of similar climate & vegetation

4. Ecosystem
A self supporting unit of interacting organisms and their environment.
Ex. Forest or pond
Includes biotic and abiotic factors.
a. Biotic factors – living things
b. Abiotic factors – nonliving things
Ex. Temperature, light, nutrients

5. Community vs. Population
Community – all the ecosystem’s interacting biotic factors.
Communities may be broken down into smaller units called populations.
Populations – A group of individuals that belong to the same species and occupy the same area and share common resources.
A community may have 1000’s of populations (tropical rainforest) or relatively few (tundra)

6. Tropical Rainforest Biome
Tundra Biome
Tropical Rainforest Biome

7. Organization Individual – 1 member of a species
Population – several members of the same species
Community - all the interacting populations in an ecosystem
Ecosystem – an area of interacting organisms and their environment.
Biome – an area of similar climate & vegetation
Biosphere – any part of the planet that can support life
Organization

9. Energy Transfer How is energy transferred in an ecosystem?
Trophic Levels
Organisms in a community survive by either producing or consuming food.
Trophic levels – levels of feeding in a community
Trophic levels

10. Also known as AUTOTROPHS
Producers
Producers – Make their own food
Ex. plants, some bacteria
Done by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
Also known as AUTOTROPHS

11. Consumers Consumers – CANNOT make their own food. They must EAT food.
Also known as HETEROTROPHS
Several kinds
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Decomposers

16. Consumers – either carnivores or omnivores
Food Chains & Webs
Food chain - A series of steps of energy transfer
ALWAYS begins with a PRODUCER
Consumers – either carnivores or omnivores
Producer
Herbivore

19. Comedy
Break

20. Food Web Food Web – ALL of the feeding relationships in an ecosystem
A series of interconnected food chains
A change in one
species in a food web
will cause changes in
the other species!!

21. Energy Transfer Producers have the MOST available energy
Energy is lost as it moves up through the food web; 10% rule – only 10% of the available energy is passed to the next trophic level
The “lost” energy is used to catch, eat, and digest food.

22. 57 units

23. If all of the dragonflies DIED OUT, what would happen to the other organisms in this food web?
3700 Units of ENERGY
Knowing how much energy the producer has, you should be able to fill in the number of energy units that will pass to EVERY other organism in this web!!

24. Symbiotic Relationships
ALL species rely on other species in some way
This is called Symbiosis – when 2 species live their lives connected together in some manner
4 main types:
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism
Predator/Prey

25. Don’t forget about humans and bacteria… and flowers and birds/bees
Mutualism
Don’t forget about humans and bacteria…
and flowers and birds/bees
When BOTH species benefit from the relationship
Clownfish and sea anemone
Lichen – an alga and a fungus

26. Commensalism When 1 species BENEFITS and the other is UNAFFECTED
Shark and Ramora fish
Birds and Trees

28. Parasitism When 1 species benefits and the other species is HARMED
Humans and tapeworms
Dogs and Fleas
PARASITE
HOST

30. Predator/Prey When 1 species KILLS and EATS the other species
Predator – does the killing
Prey – gets eaten