1. Unit #17 - Ecology
On the following slides, the green sections are the most important.
Underline words = vocabulary!
Background Image from National Geographic; Photograph by Stephen Toner/Getty Images

2. Ecology Scavenger Hunt
Search for and find pictures that match 3 of the following vocabulary terms:
autotroph, heterotroph, consumer, producer, decomposer, parasite, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore
Staple and label the terms on your strip of paper.

3. Who is Who?
Consumer
Producer

4. Who is Who? Predator Prey

5. Autotroph Primary Consumer

6. Herbivore
Carnivore
Omnivore

7. The ice and steam in Iceland’s landscape (background slide) is an example of a specific environment.

8. Intro. To Ecology Textbook Reference pg. 36
Different parts of the world have different in environments.
Everything on Earth [air, water, plants and animals] is connected.
In this unit, we will study the interdependence and interactions between organisms and their environment; better known as ecology.
Background Image from National Geographic; Photograph by Stephen Toner/Getty Images

9. Factors of Ecology Textbook Reference pg. 37-38
Abiotic Factors – non-living things in an environment; EX soil, water, light, temperature, wind and space.
Biotic Factors – living things in an environment; EX plants & animals.

10. The Biosphere Textbook Reference pg. 39-40
The Earth is divided into different spheres.
The biosphere (“bio” meaning life) includes all living things; a biological community including life on land, in water, and in air.
That community is grouped in various levels of organization.

11. Levels of Organization Textbook Reference pg. 40
A species is group of similar organisms that can reproduce with each other.
Population – groups of the same species that live together in the same area.
EX Bison (the species) in Montana (the population)
Photograph by Sam Abell

12. Levels Cont. Textbook Reference pg. 40
A community is the different species living in a specific area.
An ecosystem is a collection of all organisms living within their environment.
EX the coral reef in the picture includes fish and non-living rocks, etc.; It’s an ecosystem.

13. Bellringer
Identify the appropriate terms for the following: Field Mouse; Grasshopper; Red-tailed Hawk

14. Energy Flow 1. 4. 3. 2.

15. Producers/Autotrophs Textbook Reference pg. 46
“Self feeding “ organisms that capture energy from sunlight are called autotrophs (they automatically make their own food)
EX plants & bacteria
AKA producers.
All other organisms somehow depend on the producers for food.

16. Consumers/Heterotrophs Textbook Reference pg. 47
“Feeding” organisms that have to eat are called heterotrophs (AKA consumers).
Types of consumers include:
Herbivores – obtain energy by eating plants. (cows, deer, caterpillars)
Carnivores – obtain energy by eating animals. (snakes, tigers)

17. Cont.
Omnivores – obtain energy by eating both plants and animals (humans, bears)
Saprobes:
Detritvores – obtain energy by eating dead organisms (vultures, buzzards)
Decomposers – obtain energy by breaking down organic matter (bacteria, fungi)

18. Which vocabulary term am I?
Hawk
Holly
Wheat
Shark
Chimpanzee

19. Energy Flow Textbook Reference pg. 48-50
Food chains show the pathway for the transfer of energy.
A producer always starts a food chain.
Arrows show the movement of energy (from the grass, to
the grasshopper)

20. Energy Flow Cont. Textbook Reference pg. 50-51
Food webs are the interconnected food chains in a community.
They usually show more detailed relationships.
Snakes eat how many types of organisms? (Follow Arrows)
Many organisms in a food chain can eat more than one type of food.
Many organisms are also food for more than one organism.

21. Pyramid of Energy Textbook Reference pg. 52
Energy pyramids show how energy moves through an ecosystem.
Producers are always at bottom (with the most energy, most biomass).
Animals gain only a partial amount of energy from the food they eat – most is lost as heat.
In this example, tertiary consumers are at the top – they have the least amount of energy available in the system.

22. Pyramid of Energy Cont. Textbook Reference pg. 52
1st Trophic level – at the bottom; producers, closest to the sun, most amount of energy (100%)
2nd Trophic Level – primary consumers, herbivores (10% of the energy)
3rd Trophic Level – secondary consumers, (1% of the energy)
4th Trophic Level – tertiary consumers, (0.1% of the energy)
Each level of the pyramid represents a trophic level.

23. Symbiosis Textbook Reference pg. 44-45
When two species interact closely together it is called symbiosis (which means “living together”).
In mutualism, both species benefit from the relationship. The butterfly and the flower are helped.
In commensalism, one member benefits and the other isn’t helped nor harmed.
In parasitism, one organism harms another.
In predation, one species benefits and the other is killed.
Photograph by Anne Morrison Smyth

24. Recycling the Biosphere Textbook Reference pg. 52
The nutrients of the Earth are constantly being recycled.
There are specific cycles necessary for life on Earth to exist:
The Water Cycle
The Carbon Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Phosphorous Cycle
Photograph courtesy NASA

25. The Water Cycle Textbook Reference pg. 53-54
Let’s examine the graphic and gauge our prior knowledge.
The water cycle is defined as the movement of water through different reservoirs on Earth in any phase (solid, liquid, gas).
#2 = Condensation
#3 = Evaporation
#4 = Precipitation
Sketch/label the graphic within your notes.

26. Water Cycle Definitions
Condensation – water in the atmosphere cools to form clouds
Precipitation – water returns to Earth’s surface in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail
Evaporation – water changes from a liquid to a gas
Transpiration – water evaporating from the leaves of plants

27. The Carbon Cycle Textbook Reference pg. 54
Carbon is an important element found in living tissues – the carbon cycle is the movement of carbon through the Earth.
You can find calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in your bones.
Humans and other animals breathe out carbon dioxide (CO2).
Plants need CO2 for photosynthesis.

28. Follow the arrows to show where the carbon goes within the cycle.

29. The Nitrogen Cycle Textbook Reference pg. 56
The nitrogen cycle moves nitrogen from the soil into organisms; you can also find nitrogen in water and in the atmosphere.
The nitrogen is another important element for life; it is involved in building proteins which are found in all organisms.

30. Habitat
The type of environment in which a particular species lives is its habitat; or the place where an organism lives out its life.
Penguins only naturally live in a specific habitat.
Photograph by Maria Stenzel;

31. Biomes Textbook Reference pg. 70-83
Biome - ecosystems that have the same climate and similar organisms.
There are many different biomes of the world.
Some examples are below:
Desert
Tropical Rainforest
Tundra

32. What is a limiting factor? Textbook Reference pg. 65-66
Factors that limit the number of organisms in an ecosystem is a limiting factor; it can abiotic or biotic.

33. Ecological Succession Textbook Reference pg. 67-69
The natural changes that take place in a community over time is called succession.

34. Succession Cont. Textbook Reference pg. 67-69
Primary Succession – when the first [initial] organisms to colonize barren land [EX pioneer species lichen, mosses]

35. Comparison photos showing the decline of Pedersen Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. In addition to the decline of the glacier itself, the lagoon in front of the glacier has also shrunk allowing an expansion of the surrounding grassland.
Image

36. Succession Cont. Textbook Reference pg. 67-69
Secondary Succession – the changes in a community after it is damaged [EX forest fire].

37. Succession Cont. Textbook Reference pg. 67-69
When the community of organisms becomes stable, it is a climax community.

38. Unit Conclusion
Humans inhabit the world and interact with other organisms and the planet; we affect the survival of our species and many others.
Humans impact the rate of extinction more than any other species on the planet.
Understanding how organisms interact (ecology) allows us to fight for change and protect future generations of endangered species.