Transcript What is Ecology? The study of the interactions between organisms and the living and nonliving components of their environment--INTERDEPENDENCE (interconnectedness)!!

What is Ecology?
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The study of the
interactions between
organisms and the living and
nonliving components of
their environment--INTERDEPENDENCE
(interconnectedness)!!
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Ecological Models
Physical, conceptual, or
mathematical representations of
the components of an ecological
system
Used to help plan and evaluate
solutions to environmental
problems
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Levels of Organization
Ecologists have organized the
interactions in which an organism takes
part into different levels according to
complexity.
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st
1
Level of Organization
Organism:
An individual
living thing that is
made of cells,
uses energy,
reproduces,
responds, grows,
and develops
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nd
2
Level of Organization
• Population:
A group of
organisms, all
of the same
species, which
interbreed and
live in the same
place at the
same time.
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rd
3
Level of Organization
Biological
Community:
All the populations of
different species
that live in the same
place at the same
time and interact
(solely biotic in terms
of composition).
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th
4
Level of Organization
Ecosystem:
Populations of plants
and animals that
interact with each
other in a given area,
along with the abiotic
components (physical
and chemical) of that
area. [terrestrial
or aquatic]
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th
5
Level of Organization
•Earth:apple::biosphere:skin of apple
Biosphere:
Broadest, most
inclusive level, i.e.,
the thin volume of
Earth and its
atmosphere that
supports life (5 to 6
miles above surface
to deepest part of
the oceans)
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The Nonliving Environment
Abiotic factors- the
nonliving parts of an
organism’s environment.
Examples: temperature,
humidity, pH, salinity,
oxygen concentration,
nitrogen availability, soil,
and precipitation.
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The Living Environment
Biotic factors- all the
living organisms that
inhabit an environment.
All organisms depend on
others directly or
indirectly for food,
shelter, reproduction, or
protection.
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
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Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic
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Organisms in a Changing
Environment
Acclimation: Adjusting tolerance
to abiotic factors over the
course of a lifetime
Adaptation: genetic change in a
species or population that occurs
from generation to generation
over time
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Control of Internal Conditions
Conformers (Cold-Blooded): organisms that
change their internal conditions as their external
environment changes
Regulators (Warm-Blooded): Organisms that use
energy to control some of their internal
conditions
Dormancy: strategy for surviving unfavorable
conditions through reduced activity
Migration: strategy for surviving unfavorable
conditions through moving to a more favorable
habitat
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Habitat & Niche
Habitat
lives
is the place a plant or animal
Niche
is an organism’s total way of life,
to include the range of conditions that it
can tolerate, the resources it uses, the
methods by which it obtains resources,
the number of offspring it has, the time
of reproduction, and all other
interactions with the environment
– Generalist (e.g. opossum)
– Specialist (e.g. koala bear)
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Energy Transfer
•Begins with the SUN
•Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight & chlorophyll
C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2
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Energy Transfer
Producers: autotrophs that
capture energy and use it to
make organic molecules
*Photosynthesis
*Chemosynthesis
Biomass: organic material that
has been produced in an
ecosystem
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Energy Transfer
Consumers: heterotrophs that obtain
energy by consuming organic molecules
made by other organisms
*Herbivores: eat producers
*Carnivores: eat other consumers
*Omnivores: eat both producers
and consumers
*Detritivores: feed on the
“garbage” of an ecosystem
-Decomposer: a detritivore that
releases complex molecules that cause decay
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Energy Flow
Trophic Level: indicates
organism’s position in a sequence
of energy transfers
*1st trophic level = producers
*2nd trophic level = herbivores
*3rd+trophic level = consumers
-Higher trophic levels contain less energy,
so they support fewer individuals
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Food Chains and Food Webs
Food Chain: single pathway of
feeding relationships among
organisms in an ecosystem that
results in energy transfer
Food Web: Interrelated food
chains in an ecosystem
On average, only 10% of the total energy
consumed in one trophic level is
incorporated into organisms in the next
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Energy Pyramids Show :
Amount of available
energy decreases for higher
consumers
Amount of available
energy decreases down the
food chain
It takes a large number of
producers to support a small
number of primary
consumers
It takes a large number of
primary consumers to
support a small number of
secondary consumers
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Food Web
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Ecosystem Recycling
As energy and matter flow through
an ecosystem, matter must be
recycled and reused.
Substances such as water, carbon,
nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus
each pass between the living and
nonliving worlds through
biogeochemical cycles
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Carbon
Cycle
Carbon Cycle
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Phosphorus Cycle
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