1. Ecology

2. Ecology - the study of the interaction between living things and their environment

3. What is the Biosphere? The portion of the earth in which all living things exist Only about 20Km of total diameter of earth From 11km below oceans surface (hydrosphere) to about 8Km above earth’s surface (atmosphere)

4. Consists of two types of factors Biotic and Abiotic What’s the difference? What are some examples of each?

5. Biotic Factors Abiotic Factors Plants Animals Fungi Protists Bacteria Habitat Lakes, Oceans, Rivers Desert Mountains Shade, sun Rocks Climate Precipitation, Temperature

9. Oxygen Cycle three reservoirs: atmosphere (air), biosphere (the global sum of all ecosystems), lithosphere (Earth's crust).atmosphere biospherelithosphere Water can have areas of hypoxia (insufficient oxygen) The main driving factor of the oxygen cycle is photosynthesis, which is responsible for the modern Earth's atmosphere and life.photosynthesis

10. Oxygen Most free oxygen is in the atmosphere (O2) BUT…most of oxygen mass is found in the rocks! (It is bound to other things) Most atmospheric oxygen comes from photosynthesis

11. Oxygen Loss Most free oxygen loss is due to –Respiration and Decay –Oxygen is taken in and released as CO2 (note the water in usually = the water out)

13. Also depicted by Energy pyramids 100,000J 10,000J 1,000J 100J

14. Niches Eubacteria/Archaebacteria –Found in all environments –Recycle carbon, nitrogen and sulfur –Decomposers, Pathogens, Nitrogen fixation, Sulfur cycle, Carbon cycle (methanogens) Protists –Found in all environments –Help to make soil, PS (make O2) –Parasites, diseases

15. Niches Fungi –All environments, decomposers –Weathering rocks, soil production Plantae –Photosynthesis, production of O2 –Store food and water Animalia –Make nests, protect offspring, produce detritus, storage of food and water, nutrient cycling

16. Biosphere Where all living things are found

17. Organized into a hierarchy: Population: all individuals of a certain species within a certain area Community: all the populations of different species within a specific area

18. Many subcategories Ecosystem: includes a community and its physical environment –Includes both biotic and abiotic

19. Many subcategories Biome: includes all the ecosystems in a particular climate –Examples:

20. Individuals have a habitat and a niche Habitat: where an individual organism lives; its home – where is yours? Niche: the role that organism plays in its ecosystem –What is yours?

21. Relationships between organisms Competition: if two individuals occupy the same niche they will compete –Limited resources like? –Only one will win

22. Relationships between organisms Symbiosis: two organisms living in close association –Three types: mutualism, commensalism and parasitism

23. Relationships between organisms Mutualism: both species benefit Example? Why?

24. Commensalism: one benefits; the other is neither hurt nor helped Relationships between organisms

25. Parasitism: one species benefits at the other’s expense Relationships between organisms

26. Predator-Prey Relationship Predator: organism that eats another organism; Receives energy Prey: organism that is eaten; donates energy An organism can be both!

27. To examine ecosystems and biomes we must add in some abiotic components

28. All organisms require Energy As one organism eats another energy moves through ecosystem Forms food chain Many food chains make food web

29. Food Chain

30. Food Web

31. Energy Pyramid

32. Producers/Autotrophs: make food from sunlight or other inorganic molecules – examples: plants, algae and bacteria

33. Energy Pyramid Primary consumers: eat producers –Herbivores –Examples: rabbits, plankton

34. Energy Pyramid Secondary consumers: eat primary consumers – Omnivores

35. Energy Pyramid Tertiary (High order) consumers: eat secondary consumers – carnivores –Larger animals –Top, or Apex, consumers are not eaten by anyone

36. Where does the energy go then ? Decomposers: bacteria; break down dead organisms and return nutrients (nitrogen) back to the soil for producers to use After the decomposers are done, all the energy absorbed by the original producers has been released as heat!

37. Additionally we need materials to make up living things Biogeochemical cycles! Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorous, Water All these recycle in unique ways

38. Biomes of the World

40. Succession the changes an ecosystem goes through over time –A kind of “evolution” (simple  complex!)

41. Primary Succession Begins with rocks Pioneer species: Moss and Lichens

42. Primary Succession Primary succession begins in barren areas, such as the bare rock exposed by a retreating glacier. First inhabitants are PIONEER SPECIES –lichens or mosses –grown on bare rock –convert the rock into soil that can support simple plants such as grasses. GRASSES : further modify the soil, which is then colonized by other types of plants. –Each successive stage modifies the habitat by altering the amount of shade and soil composition. CLIMAX COMMUNITY: Stable final stage that can endure for hundreds of years..

43. Secondary Succession Occurs after a disturbance

44. Secondary Succession After a major disturbance, –fire or flood. –Farmland that has been plowed Secondary succession is similar to primary succession –one important difference: primary succession always begins on a barren surface, –secondary succession begins in an area that already has soil.

45. –Climax community is the goal, but is rarely reached –Disturbances can set the ecosystem back Fires, logging, flood,etc.

46. Climax community

47. Limits to an Ecosystem

48. Thomas Malthus Plants and animals produce far more offspring than can survive, Man too is capable of overproducing if left unchecked. Unless family size was regulated, man's misery of famine would become globally epidemic and eventually consume Man.

49. Carrying Capacity An ecosystem has only enough resources to support a certain number of organisms –This number is the ecosystem’s Carrying Capacity – Non-renewable resources – Renewable resources

50. CC controlled by competition immigration emigration catastrophic events seasonal fluctuations in food, water (available resources) hiding places, and nesting sites (shelter and “family homes Population Densities

51. Stable or Not?

52. STABLE! There will always be “fluctuations” around the average

53. What happens as we approach the carrying capacity?

54. Competition Survival of the fittest –Numbers cannot go higher because there are limited resources. –If an invasive species is present, could result in extinction or severe lowering in the numbers of other species due to lack of predators for the invasive species!

55. Don’t forget the Human Impact slides!