1. Preserving the Animal Kingdom
Ecology
Preserving the Animal Kingdom

2. The Abiotic Environment
Ecology- the study of Animals and their relationship to their environment and other organisms
Habitat- includes all living things and non living characteristics
Environmental factors have physiological values , tolerance Range, range of optimum, and Limiting Factor
Combinations of abiotic factors are necessary for and organism to survive

3. Abiotic Factors
Energy- organisms supply their energy needs in various ways
Heterotroph- ingest other organisms, carnivores and herbivores
Autotroph- Convert energy from the sun, photosynthesis, plants- algae- some protists
Energy Budget- accounting of an animals total energy intake and how it is used

4. Tolerance Range of Organisms

6. Temperature Regulating Body temperature
Temperature determines rates of chemical reactions in a body (metabolic rate)
When food becomes scarce in winter animals must alter metabolic activity
Torpor-Bats, Hummingbirds and some rodents decrease body temp and metabolism daily
Hibernation-Small mammals (rodents), shrews and bats, decreased body temp and metabolism for weeks or months

7. Temperature cont.
Winter Sleep-larger animals, energy reserves sustain these mammals thru winter inactivity. Can awaken very quickly if disturbed
Estivation- period of inactivity to survive dry periods. Enter burrow does not eat or drink until moisture returns. invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians
Other abiotic factors include moisture, light, geology and soils

8. Population Growth
Change over time as a result of birth, death and dispersal
Survivorship curves:
Type 1 convex, humans survive to old age and die
Type 2 diagonal, constant probability of death through out life
Type 3 concave, high juvenile mortality, adults much lower mortality

9. Survivorship Curves

10. Population Growth
The potential for populations to increase in numbers is remarkable
Populations experience exponential growth but not indefinitely
Capacity for growth determined by : climate, food, space and other environmental factors
Carrying Capacity- population size that a particular environment can support

11. Logistic Growth Curve

12. Population Regulation/ Density
Density- independent factors: influence the size of a population regardless of size, weather
Density- dependent factors: influence when population is very high, competition for food, disease, predation, and parasitism
Intraspecific competition- competition between members of the same species, usually very intense because resource requirements are the same

13. Population Regulation/ Density
Interspecific competition- between members of a different species, one may be forced to move, become extinct or they coexist
Coevolution- predator prey relationships, flowering plants and insect or hummingbird pollinators
Symbiosis- two different species living in continuous intimate associations, 3 types
Parasitism, commensalism and mutualism

14. Interspecific Adaptations
Camoflage- color patterns help hide animal, stripes on zebras
Cryptic coloration- animal takes on a color pattern in its environment
Countershading- dark back and light belly
Aposematic coloration- warning coloration of poisonous or deadly animals
Mimmicry- looking like a poisonous animal

15. Cryptic Coloration

16. Cryptic Coloration

17. Camoflage

18. Countershading

19. Countershading/ Stripes to blend with sunlight

20. Aposematic Coloration

21. Aposematic Coloration

22. Mimicry

23. Mimicry

24. Mimicry

25. Communities All the populations living in an area make up a community
Species have a unique organization in the community it is not a random mixture
Keystone species control the characteristics of the community
Community Diversity (species) is determined the variety of resources, high productivity, climate stability, moderate levels of predation

26. Trophic Structure of Ecosystems
Communities and their physical environment are called Ecosystems
Ecosystems need a constant supply of energy usually in the form of sunlight, energy is not recycled
Primary production is the total amount of biomass produced in a given area
Biomass is the total mass of all organisms

27. Trophic Levels
Plants convert less than 1% of the suns energy to chemical energy,
60% of this is converted to new biomass, 40% lost to respiration, Autotroph, primary producer
Herbivores convert 10% into new biomass, 90% lost to respiration, Heterotroph, primary consumer
Carnivores convert 10% to new biomass, Heterotroph, secondary consumer

28. Trophic Levels

29. Marine Trophic Levels

30. Soil Trophic Levels

31. Marine Food Chain

32. Food Chain

33. Biogeochemical Cycles
All matter is cycled from nonliving reservoirs to living systems and back to nonliving reservoirs.
Nutrients are elements essential for life
97% of living matter is made of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen
Sulfur, phosphorous, and calcium are less abundant but also important

34. Biogeochemical Cycles cont.
The nonliving reservoir for these cycles is the Earth (atmosphere or ground)
Fixation is the process of incorporating these nutrients into living tissue
Cycling involves moving from plant to herbivore to carnivore to decomposer and back to the Earth
Ideally the rate of return equals the rate of fixation

35. Carbon cycle

36. Water Cycle