1. ECOLOGY THE BIOSPHERE Chapter 13, 14, 15, and 16

2. Apollo 8
December 24, 1968

3. “Ecology”? = The study of interactions among organisms and
between organisms and their environment

4. Levels of Ecology: Put these in order (smallest  largest) Populations
Ecosystems
Species
Biosphere
Communities
Biomes

5. YouTube - Battle at Kruger

6. Biosphere

7. https://youtu.be/srbuqpr6jUw

8. At the core of every organism’s interaction with the environment
is its need for energy to power life’s processes
The flow of energy through an ecosystem is one
of the most important factors that determines
the system’s capacity to sustain life

9. Energy flow through an Ecosystem
Main
Source
Energy flow through an Ecosystem
“Autotrophs”
“Producers”
“Heterotrophs”
“Consumers”

10. Autotrophs/ Producers (Photosynthetic and Chemosynthetic)
Heterotrophs/Consumers (Herb-/Carn-/Omn-ivores and Decomposers)

11. Food Chains = a series of steps in which
organisms transfer energy by eating and
being eaten
Trophic Levels = each step in a food chain
or food web

12. Food Webs = links all the food chains in an ecosystem together

13. Trophic Levels?
Organisms in each level?

14. Ecological Pyramid = a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy
or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web

15. Energy Pyramids = represents the amount of energy that is transferred
from one trophic level to the next
Only about 10% of the energy available within one trophic level
is transferred to the next
What happens to the rest?
Life Processes and Heat

16. Biomass Pyramids = represent the amount of potential food that is
available for each trophic level in an ecosystem
Biomass is usually expressed in terms of grams of organic (living) matter
per unit area

17. https://youtu.be/v6ubvEJ3KGM