1. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships

2. Ecology - study of the interactions between living things and their surroundings.

3. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Levels of Organization Biosphere Ecosystem Community Population Organism

4. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Biosphere The portion of earth that supports life Extends from the lower atmosphere to the bottom of oceans Supports diverse array of organisms and wide range of climates

5. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Organism Population Community Ecosystem An ecosystem/biome - all of the living and nonliving things in a given area (climate, soil, water, rocks).

6. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Earth has six major biomes.

7. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Community All the populations of different species that live in the same place at the same time. Example –Forest community Flowers, bushes, trees, snakes, frogs, birds, squirrels, deer, etc…

8. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Population A group of organisms, of one species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time. Example –Population of bullfrogs in Jackson Bog

9. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Organism An organism - individual living thing, ex: alligator.

10. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships KEY CONCEPT Every ecosystem includes both living and nonliving factors. 13.2 Biotic and Abiotic Factors

11. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Abiotic factors are nonliving things. –moisture –temperature –wind –sunlight –Soil Not constant (always changing) moisture sunlight 13.2 Biotic and Abiotic Factors

12. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Biotic Factors Living components of the environment 13.2 Biotic and Abiotic Factors

13. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships A keystone species is a species that has an unusually large effect on its ecosystem. keystone 13.2 Biotic and Abiotic Factors

14. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Indicator species provide a sign of an ecosystem’s health. –amphibians –top predators 16.3 Water Quality13.2 Biotic and Abiotic Factors

15. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Producers provide energy for other organisms in an ecosystem. autotrophs - make their own food. 13.3 Energy in Ecosystems

16. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Almost all producers obtain energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis Chemosynthesis – produce energy from chemicals carbon dioxide + water + hydrogen sulfide + oxygen sugar + sulfuric acid 13.3 Energy in Ecosystems

17. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Measuring productivity Gross primary productivity – rate at which producers capture E Biomass – organic material in an ecosystem –Only E stored as biomass is available to other organisms in the ecosystem 13.3 Energy in Ecosystems

18. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Consumers are organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources. heterotrophs 13.3 Energy in Ecosystems

19. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Herbivores – eat producers Carnivores – eat other consumers Omnivores – eat both producers and consumers Detritivores – feed on the “garbage” of an ecosystem 13.3 Energy in Ecosystems

20. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships A food chain is a model that shows a single chain of consumers within an ecosystem. DESERT COTTONTAIL GRAMA GRASS HARRIS’S HAWK 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs arrows point in the direction that energy flows

21. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships A food web - interrelated food chains in an ecosystem 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

22. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Energy Flow moves from producers to consumers Trophic level – indicates the organism’s position in the sequence of energy transfers Producers – 1 st trophic level Herbivores – 2 nd trophic level Predators of herbivores – 3 rd trophic level 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

23. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Quantity of Energy Transfers 10% of the total E consumed in one trophic level is incorporated into the organism in the next level E is used to maintain body T, to move, etc. E is lost when organisms escape being eaten –decomposer return their E to the lower trophic levels E is lost in parts of the organism that can not be broken down by the predator –bones, teeth, hair 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

24. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships

25. energy transferred energy lost An energy pyramid shows the distribution of energy among trophic levels. Higher trophic levels contain less energy support fewer individuals 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

26. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Biomagnification - accumulation of toxins in the food chain. Pollutants move up the food chain. –predators eat contaminated prey Top consumers (humans) are most affected. DDT- Birds of prey 16.3 Water Quality13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

27. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Species Interactions Predation Predator – captures, kills, and consumes prey –Influences where and how species live by determining their relationship in the food web –Regulates population size Natural selection favors adaptations that improve the efficiency of predators at finding, capturing, and consuming prey Natural selection favors adaptations for prey to avoid, escape, or otherwise ward off predators 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

28. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

29. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Natural selection of plants has favored adaptations that protect them from being eaten Thorns, sticky hairs, tough leaves Chemical defenses (secondary compounds) –Strychnine, nicotine, poison ivy –May also have medicinal uses – codeine, morphine 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

30. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Parasitism – one individual is harmed (host) while the other benefits (parasite) Does not usually result in the immediate death of the host 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

31. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Ectoparasite – external parasites – do not enter hosts body Ticks, fleas, lice, leeches, mosquitoes Endoparasite – internal parasite – live inside host Disease causing bacteria, protists, tapeworm Affect the health and reproduction of the host Stimulates evolution of defenses in hosts Tough skin & chemically defended openings –eyes-tears –mouth-saliva –nose-mucus 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

32. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Natural selection favors adaptations that allow a parasite to efficiently attack host Specialized anatomically –Mouth parts and Physiologically –Body chemistry to survive different environments etc. 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

33. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Competition The use of a limited resource by 2 or more species Types –Intraspecific- competition between organisms of the same species –Interspecific- competition between 2 or more different species of organisms 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

34. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Competitive Exclusion one species is eliminated from a community Natural selection favors differences between potential competitors – character displacement 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

35. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Resource Partitioning Organisms “divide” resources Adaptations allow for use of resources in different ways or at different times Examples –Diurnal vs. Nocturnal 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

36. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Mutualism Cooperative relationship in which both species benefit Some relationships are so close that neither species can survive without the other Ex: pollination 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

37. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Commensalism Interaction in which one species benefits and the other is not affected 13.4 Food Chains and Food Webs

38. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Niche -Role of a species in its environment (Job) Types: –Fundamental- ideal; absence of competition –Realized- natural; competition and other constraints 14.1 Habitat and Niche

39. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Specialists are consumers that primarily eat one specific organism or a very small number of organisms. Generalists are consumers that have a varying diet. 14.1 Habitat and Niche

40. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships Generalist vs. Specialist Broad niche Tolerate variety of resources and conditions Example –raccoons Narrow niche Very specific adaptations Example –Koalas 14.1 Habitat and Niche

41. 13.1 Ecologists Study Relationships A habitat is all aspects of the area in which an organism lives. –biotic factors –abiotic factors 14.1 Habitat and Niche