1. Unit 3

2. What do you know?
You may have heard the term ‘Eco-Friendly’ Do you know what ‘Eco’ stands for? What is Ecology? What do you think they mean by ‘Eco-Friendly’?

3. Intro to Ecology

4. ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of organisms and the interactions between them and the environment.
Levels of organization
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Individual

5. Factors in an Ecosystem
biotic factors- biological influences on organisms
(living factors)
Examples of biological influences on a bullfrog- algae it eats as a tadpole, herons that eat bullfrogs, & other species competing for food or space.

6. Factors in an Ecosystem
Abiotic factors- physical components of an ecosystem
(nonliving factors)
Ex: a bullfrog could be affected by abiotic factors such as water availability, temperature, & humidity.

7. Factors in an Ecosystem
abiotic & biotic factors- some substances may be a mix of both
Ex: pond muck contains nonliving particles, mold, & decomposing plant material that is food for bacteria & fungi

8. Biomes- consist of abiotic & biotic factors
Seasonal patterns of temp & precipitation
Cover large areas of land
Ex: Desert/Rainforest/Tundra
Climate Diagram:
Temp- line graph
Precipitation- bar graph

9. Weather and Climate

10. What do you know?
Is there a difference between weather and climate? What do you think causes climates to be different in different parts of the world?

11. Weather vs Climate

12. Climate vs. Weather
Weather - day-to-day conditions of Earth’s atmosphere Climate- year-after-year patterns of temperature & precipitation.

13. Climate-Solar Radiation
main force in climate= solar energy from sun
Some energy absorbed & converted into heat
Some heat is trapped in the biosphere & determines average temperature

14. Climate-Solar Insolation
More direct sunlight at the equator = hotter!
Less direct sunlight near the poles = cooler!
Summer = Earth is tilted toward sun so there’s more direct sunlight
Winter = Earth is tilted away from the sun so there’s less direct sunlight.

15. Greenhouse effect
Earth’s temperature controlled by 3 atmospheric gases:
CO2
Methane
Water vapor
Called “greenhouse gases”- allow light to enter but trap heat (via the greenhouse effect )
Without greenhouse effect, Earth would be 30°C cooler than it is today. (WE HAVE TO HAVE GREENHOUSE EFFECT TO LIVE!)\
More Greenhouse Gases= more heat trapped= Earth warms
More Carbon Dioxide = Earth warms (CLIMATE CHANGE!)

16. Greenhouse Effect

17. Greenhouse Effect
Some light from the Sun is reflected back to space and some is absorbed by the surface
Absorbed light is then reradiated from the ground as heat.
-This is where most heat on Earth
comes from.
-Greenhouse gases help keep this heat
from being all lost to space.

18. Show me!
Draw a picture of the greenhouse effect!

19. Community Interactions

20. What do you know? What ways do organisms interact with each other?
What impact on ecosystems could these interactions have?

21. Community Interactions

22. Tolerance Each species has its own tolerance:
Ability to survive & reproduce under a range of environmental circumstances.
Temperature/Water Level/Food Availability/Toxicity Levels etc…
Cannot survive past upper & lower limits

23. Habitat: An organism’s address; where an organism lives
Niches & Habitats
Different organisms live in different habitats and have different niches…
Habitat: An organism’s address; where an organism lives
Niche: The role and position of an organism in its community (How it lives)

24. Ecological Relationships

25. Community Interactions
Competition- organisms try to use the same limited resource in same place at same time
Who is the winner/loser?

26. Does this example break the competitive exclusion principle?
Competition
Competitive exclusion principle- no 2 species can occupy exactly the same niche in the same habitat at the same time
One will win (survive) and the other will die (death/extinction)
Does this example break the competitive exclusion principle?
No! They may live in the same tree, but they live in different parts of the tree.

27. Community Interactions
Predation- one animal (predator) captures & feeds on another (prey)
Symbiosis- relationship in which 2 species live closely together
3 types of symbiotic relationships:
mutualism- both species benefit
parasitism- 1 organism lives in/on another & harms it
commensalism- 1 organism benefits & other is not helped or harmed

28. “Good for you, good for me!
MUTUALISM
“Good for you, good for me!
Example: Ostrich and Gazelle
These two animals feed next to each other in the grasslands. Both watch for predators and alert each other to danger. The visual abilities of these two animals are different so they are able to identify threats the other animal would not see.
How would this bee and flower be an example of mutualism?

29. COMMENSALISM “Good for me, doesn’t bother you!
Example: Mosses and Trees
Mosses grow on the trunks or branches of trees. They get the light they need as well as nutrients that run down along the tree. As long as these plants do not grow too heavy, the tree is not affected.
Example: Remora and Shark
A remora attaches themselves to a shark’s body. They travel with the shark and feed on the left over food from the shark’s meals. This does not hurt or help the shark.

30. Parasitism “Good for me, hurts you!” Example: Cuckoo and Warbler
A cuckoo may lay its eggs in a warbler’s nest. The cuckoo’s young will displace the warbler’s young and will be raised by the warbler.
How would a tick and a human be an example of parasitism?

31. Review:
Bacteria that is living in your throat and is therefore making your throat sore and swollen is an example of ________________________.
PARASITISM

32. Epiphytes that live in trees in the tropical rain forest and get their water and nutrients from the air, so they don’t harm the tree they live in is an example of ________________
COMMENSALISM

33. Ecological Succession

34. Ecological Succession

35. Succession
Ecological succession- series of predictable changes that occurs in a community over time
1. primary succession- begins in areas with no soil or life
(ex- volcanic explosion)
pioneer species- 1st to colonize barren areas
-Usually simple photosynthetic plants (moss/lichens)

36. Succession
2. secondary succession- begins where soil remains after destructive event
rebuilds faster than primary
Ex: wildfire, hurricane, natural disturbance, or human activities (logging & farming)

37. Populations

38. What factors affect population growth?
Studying Growth Rate
What factors affect population growth?
Birth rate and death rate
Immigration Emigration
Density-dependent limiting factors

39. Birth Rate & Death Rate Increase population: Decrease population:
birth rate is higher than the death rate.
Decrease population:
death rate is higher than the birth rate

40. Population Age Diagrams
The higher the percentage of your population that is in reproductive years, the faster your population will grow.

41. Population Age Diagrams
What do you think will happen to the population in stage 4?
Why?

42. Immigration & Emigration
Increase population:
individuals move in from elsewhere, a process called immigration.
Decrease population:
individuals move out of the population, a process called emigration.

43. Exponential Growth:
Ideal conditions & unlimited resources, population grows exponentially
the larger a population, faster it grows
on a graph over time, a J-shaped curve
Human Population

44. Logistic Growth:
Population’s growth slows & then stops, following exponential growth.
Natural populations do not grow exponentially forever; something stops growth
On a graph, curve has an S-shape

45. Carrying Capacity
Carrying capacity- maximum # of individuals that a particular environment can support.
Where dotted line intersects the y-axis = carrying capacity.

46. Human Population Growth: Think About It!
Based on the graph, when did human population start to become exponential?
Why did human population growth become exponential?

47. Human Population Growth Centers
Based on this chart, where is most of the population growth occurring?

48. Human Population Growth: Think About It!
What could cause human population growth to become logistic?
Do you think we can maintain this type of growth forever?

49. Intro to Limiting Factors

50. Limits to Growth: Density Dependent
limiting factor- factor that controls the growth of a population
Density-dependent limiting factors -operate strongly when population density is large.
competition, predation, herbivory, parasitism, disease, stress from overcrowding
1. Competition:
Populations become crowded, individuals compete- food, water, space, sunlight,
2. Predation:
Predator population affects prey population

51. Limits to Growth: Density Dependent
3. Parasitism and Disease:
Parasites & Disease-causing Organisms:
more dense population = easier to spread
4. Stress From Overcrowding:
species fight if overcrowded; increase stress & weaken body’s ability to resist disease
Females neglect, kill, or eat own offspring
decrease births, increase deaths, & increase emigration

52. How does the wolf population affect the moose population?
Case Study
How does the wolf population affect the moose population?
Why did the moose population crash around 1995?
What density dependent factors are being illustrated? (Hint: It is more than one)

53. Limits to Growth: Density Independent
Density-Independent limiting factors- affect all populations regardless of size & density
Unusual weather- hurricanes, droughts, floods, & natural disasters- wildfires

54. Population Review
What is this graph showing? Which of the following situations MOST likely resulted in the growth pattern of the moose population shown? The moose had no natural predators The moose overgrazed the grasses After a period of time, the moose adjusted to the available food on the island. The moose contracted a new disease

55. Population Review What is this graph showing?
At which point(s) did the population hit carrying capacity?
Which explanation below is the best reason why the carrying capacity dropped as shown in the graph?
The animals began to migrate
The animals began to have fewer offspring
Competitors moved into the area
The area began to experience drought conditions

56. Biodiversity

57. What do you know?
Break the word “Bio-Diversity” down…what do you think it means? What organisms do you think ecosystems couldn’t survive without? Do you think there are any organisms that could go extinct and it wouldn’t matter?

58. Biodiversity Vocab
Biodiversity- total of all the genetically based variation in all organisms in biosphere.
Ecosystem diversity- variety of habitats, communities, & ecological processes in the biosphere
Species diversity- number of different species in the biosphere or particular area
Genetic diversity- sum total of all different forms of genetic information carried by a particular species, or all organisms on Earth.

59. Bill Nye: Biodiversity

60. Biodiversity Humans reduce biodiversity by: *altering natural habitats
*hunting
*introducing invasive/exotic species
*releasing pollution into food webs
*contributing to climate change

61. Pollution: Bio magnification

62. Pollution: Bio magnification
As you move up a food chain pollution concentrations increase
That means effects of the pollutants increase as well
Why?
If a fish has a pollutant in it, how many fish would a duck eat?
Now all of the pollution that was in all of this fish are in the duck!

63. Invasive Species Invasive species: competing with native species
Zebra mussles
Goldfish released in a pond
Ash borer

64. Invasive Species: Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)
First found in America in (Michigan)
Insect larvae chew through branch insides, cutting of branch circulation.
Brought over to America from Asia during shipping of goods

65. Releasing Goldfish Threaten trout species who need clean water.
Goldfish (carp) stir up muck in ponds that put trout at risk.
Hybridize native species.
Carry pet store disease.

66. Zebra Mussles
Zebra mussles were discovered in the Great Lakes in the late 1980’s,
They “hitched rides” to the United States on boats, trailers and equipment people transport from place to place.
The first confirmed sample in US was in 2008

67. Biodiversity
To conserve biodiversity, we must protect species, preserve habitats & ecosystems
Ecological hot spot- place where large numbers of species & habitats are in immediate danger of extinction.
Habitat fragmentation- Development splits ecosystems into pieces, leaving habitat “islands” - patch of habitat surrounded by a different habitat.
Problem:
Solution:

68. Meeting Ecological Challenges
Ecological footprint- total area of functioning land & water ecosystems needed to provide the resources an individual or population uses & to absorb the wastes that it generates.
Ecology can guide humans toward a sustainable future & have a positive impact on the global environment by:
recognizing a problem in the environment
researching the problem to determine its cause
using scientific understanding to change our behavior

69. Sustainability

70. What do you know?
What does sustainable mean? Why is it important for something to be sustainable?

71. A Changing Landscape
Sustainable development- provides for human needs & preserves ecosystems that produce natural resources.
Goods- items that can be bought & sold
Services- processes or actions that produce goods.
ecosystem goods & services- produced by ecosystems that benefit human economy.
Healthy ecosystems provide goods & services naturally & free of charge: air, water