Principles of Ecology

1. Principles of Ecology

2. What’s the BIG IDEA? What’s the BIG IDEA? Energy is required to cycle materials through living and nonliving systems.

3. Organisms and their Relationships • MAIN IDEA: Biotic and abiotic factors interact in complex ways in communities and ecosystems.

4. Word Origins (Don’t copy)

5. What is Ecology? • Study of interactions between organisms, their environments, and different species • Organisms are observed in their own environments • Effects of biotic and abiotic things are studied

6. Ecologists (Don’t copy) • 1866 – Ernst Haeckel introduced the word ecology • Since then, national government has worked to protect the environment: • National parks • Damage to environment studied • Laws to protect the environment

7. What Do Ecologists Do? (Don’t copy) • What are important things in the environment people might study? • Why are they important?

8. The Biosphere • Thin layer around Earth that supports life • Extends several km above Earth’s surface, and several km below the ocean’s surface • Includes any place where life is found • Includes biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) things

9. Biosphere

10. Levels of Organization (Hierarchy) • Simplest  complex: organism, population, biological community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

11. Population • Organisms of the same species in the same location at the same time • Ex: the goose population in Nomahegan Park in 2007 • Members compete for the same resources • If becomes too large, some may die until the environment can support it again

12. Community • All the populations in the same area at the same time • Example? • Populations can interact and sometimes compete for the same resources

13. Ecosystem • Community + all abiotic factors that affect it • No size limit or boundaries; can be large or small (Watchung Reservation or a puddle) • some overlap (ocean and shoreline)

14. Biome • Large group of ecosystems with the same or similar climate, characteristics, and communities • Ex: desert, rainforest, ocean

15. Biosphere • Largest level of organization • Includes ALL of the biomes • Most complex

16. Create! • Make a diagram, structure, rhyme, song, etc. to show the levels of organization. Include a specific example. • Work in a small group. • You will present your creation!

17. 4 Main Characteristics of Ecosystems • Organisms interact with each other and abiotic factors. • Energy flows by being transferred through organisms. • Nutrients and other materials are cycled. • Ecosystems change.

18. Factor 1: Interactions • Interactions occur within ecosystems and communities.

19. Community Interactions • Organisms interact for survival. • Types of interactions: • Competition • Predation • Symbiotic

20. Competition • More than 1 organism uses a resource at one time • May compete for food, sunlight (plants), water, mates, etc. • Competition – fierce when resources are limited • Weaker organisms may die or leave area

21. Types of Competition (DON’T COPY) • Interspecific – between different species • Ex: snail and river turtle compete for tape grass. • Intraspecific – within one species • Deer competing for limited resources as their land shrinks due to development by humans

22. Predation • Eating another organism • Predator – usually an animal; exception is the venus fly trap • Prey – can be plants or animals • What are some adaptations of predators and prey?

23. Predator/Prey Adaptations • Camouflage (cryptic coloration) • Warning coloration – poisons, stingers • Chemical defenses – poisons, toxins • Mimicry – resemble distasteful models (butterflies, wasps and bees)

25. Plant Prey Protection • Morphological (structural) – thorns, spines, plant hairs, etc • Chemical defenses- may be poisons or other toxins • Some herbivores have adapted to be able to eat these

27. Symbiotic Relationships • Close relationship – organisms live together • Mutualism • Commensalism • Parasitism Page 93

28. Mutualism • Both organisms benefit from the relationship • Ex: birds, insects, bats and flowering plants • Lichens (alga and fungus – food/moisture) • Grazing animals and birds (cattle and egrets)

30. Commensalism • One benefits, the other is not helped or harmed • Ex: barnacles attach to whales for a ride and protection from predators, new food resources, water circulation, spread of genes to new areas for variation • Shark and remoras

33. Parasitism • One benefits (parasite), the other is harmed (host) • Host is often indirectly killed because it becomes so weak • External – lice • Internal – eggs often laid in other species and feed off of them (heartworm, tapeworm, strongyles) • Parasitic plant (dodder) obtains food from host plant b/c no chlorophyll

35. Ecosystem Interactions • Interactions occur between organisms and their environment. • A habitat is an area where an organism lives. • A niche is the role or position that an organism has in its environment. • Ex: requirements for space, food, temperature, etc.

36. Importance of a niche (Don’t copy) • Niche of one bird species is to eat beetles, while another bird species can eat spiders in the area. • Only one type of organism occupies its niche in a community. Competing species often have slightly different food sources, predators, or hunting times, for example. • This helps to eliminate competitive exclusion in nature. (Resources are partitioned to all members of a community)

37. What about you? • What is your habitat? • Describe your niche.

38. Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem • MAIN IDEA: Autotrophs capture energy, making it available for all members of a food web.

39. Word Origins

40. 4 Main Characteristics of Ecosystems • Organisms interact with each other and abiotic factors. • Energy flows by being transferred through organisms. • Nutrients and other materials are cycled. • Ecosystems change.

41. DO NOW • Can energy be created or destroyed? Where is energy stored so living things can use it? • Make a food web connecting the following: A mouse eats oak acorns, but is eaten by a snake and a hawk. The hawk and snake both eat a smaller bird, and the snake also eats a salamander. The salamander and small bird eat insects, which eat pine cones. All organisms are broken down by fungus and bacteria.

43. Energy in an Ecosystem • Energy cannot be created or destroyed • Energy CAN be stored in matter – chemical energy in food • Energy flows through ecosystems, from sun  producers  consumers

44. Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs(Don’t copy) • Different organisms – different sources of energy • Autotrophs – make own food; producers • Basis of all ecosystems; make energy available for ALL organisms • Photosynthetic – use sun’s energy • Chemosynthetic – uses chemical energy • Heterotrophs - consumers

45. Types of Heterotrophs(Don’t copy) • Herbivores – only eat plants • Ex: cow, horse, rabbit • Carnivores – eat other heterotrophs (meat) • Ex: cat, dog, lion • Omnivores – eat plants and animals • Ex: bear, human

46. Types of Heterotrophs cont’d • Detritivores – eats dead, organic matter (detritus – waste, dead organisms, etc) and makes nutrients available for other organisms • Ex: worms, some insects • Decomposers – break down dead organisms  compounds and nutrients • Ex: fungi, bacteria

47. Models of Energy Flow • Show energy movement from one trophic level (step in food chains/webs) to the next • 1st trophic level = autotrophs • All other levels = heterotrophs • Organisms in one trophic level get their energy from level before them

48. Food Chains/Webs • Food chain – Simple model of energy transfer • Ex: grass  zebra  lion • Arrows point FROM food TO what eats it • Starts with autotroph, ends with heterotroph

49. Food Chain

50. Food Chains/Webs • REALLY – organisms eat more that one other organism, and are eaten by more than one organism • Food web – interconnected food chains, showing all energy pathways in a community