Ecology Unit Review

1. Ecology UnitReview

2. Ecology- • the study of interactions between • organisms and organisms • organisms and their environment

3. Factors that effect us: 1. Abiotic Factors Moisture Wind/Air currents Light Temperature Soil

4. A- stands for non • Bio- stands for living • Abiotic Factors- nonliving factors

5. 2. Biotic Factors: living things

6. What is the organization of Ecological Study? Organism Population Community Ecosystem Biosphere

7. Levels of Organization • Individual- one organism (living) • Ex a moose

8. Levels of Organization • Population- groups of individuals that belong to the species and live in the same area. (living-living same species) • Ex many moose

9. Levels of Organization • Community- groups of different populations (more than one population or different groups of species) Ex many groups of moose beavers, trees, grass (all living)

10. Levels of Organization • Ecosystem- all organisms in a particular area along with the nonliving. (living and nonliving) Ex many groups of moose beavers, trees, grass, rocks, water, mountains

11. Levels of Organization • Biome- group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities • Biomes: tropical rain forest, tropical dry forest, tropical savannah, temperate grassland, desert, temperate woodland and shrubland, temperate forest, northwestern coniferous forest, boreal forest (taiga), tundra, mountains and ice caps

12. Levels of Organization • Biosphere- all of the planet where life exhists, includes land, water, and, air • Life extends 8 km up and 11 km below the surface

13. Habitat vs. Niche • Habitat- an area where an organism lives • Niche- an organisms role in its environment • The Long Version  full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions. Includes where in the food chain it is, where an organism feeds • Habitat is like an address in an ecosystem and a niche is like an occupation in an ecosystem.

14. Changes to a community Biotic Factor Abiotic Factors What is Succession & what causes it?

15. 2 Types of succession • Primary • From nothing • Even the soil must be “created” • Secondary • From soil • Disaster can strike and make it start over

16. Primary Succession

17. Secondary Succession

19. Pioneer Species • Species that colonize barren habitats • Lichens, small plants with brief life cycles • Improve conditions for other species who then replace them

20. Climax Community • Stable array of species that persists relatively unchanged over time • Succession does not always move predictably toward a specific climax community; other stable communities may persist

21. The trend of Succession Pioneer stage     Climax Community

22. Producers- make their own food Consumers- get energy from consuming producers Energy Flow (Trophic Levels)

23. Producers • Producers- capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use the energy to produce food. • Producers are autotrophs- they make food from their environment

24. One type gets energy from the sun-by photosynthesis Another type gets energy without light- by chemosynthesis 2 main types of autotrophs

25. Consumers • Consumers are heterotrophs- get energy from other organisms

26. Types of Consumers • Herbivores- eat only plants • Carnivores- eat animals • Omnivores- eat both plants and animals • Detritivores- eat dead matter (plants and animals)

27. Feeding Relationships • Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction from: • 1. the sun or inorganic compounds • 2. To autotrophs (producers) • 3. To heterotrophs (consumers) • Decomposers get energy from decomposing dead organisms

28. Food Chain- a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating or being eaten. Food Web- A network of feeding relationships. (More realistic that a food chain)

29. Food Web

31. They can become very complex!

32. Trophic levels • Each step in a food chain or a food web is called a trophic level. • Producers are the first trophic level • Consumers are the second, third, or higher trophic level • Each trophic level depends on the one below for energy

33. Energy Pyramid • Only part of the energy stored in one level can be passed to the next- most energy is consumed for life processes (respiration, movement, etc., and heat is given off) • Only 10% of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to organisms in the next trophic level

34. Biomass Pyramid • Biomass- the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level. • A biomass pyramid represents the amount of potential food available for each trophic level in an ecosystem.

36. Energy Losses • Energy transfers are never 100 percent efficient • Some energy is lost at each step • Limits the number of trophic levels in an ecosystem • Energy flow is a one way path! (not a cycle)

37. G 1-3: List at least three things that will happen to the energy an animal consumes. 4. What percentage the consumed energy can be used for growth? 3 1 2 Energy Transfer

38. All Heat in the End • At each trophic level, the bulk of the energy received from the previous level is used in metabolism • This energy is released as heat energy and lost to the ecosystem • Eventually, all energy is released as heat

39. Biogeochemical Cycles(Matter moving through the environment) • All living organisms need certain elements/compounds for life processes • Ex: your cells need C,H,O,P,N & S in order to live and reproduce (make more cells) • Cycles in nature keep these elements “moving” from organisms to organism (and sometimes into the atmosphere)

40. Biogeochemical Cycles(Matter moving through the environment) • The flow of a nutrient from the environment to living organisms and back to the environment • Main reservoir for the nutrient is in the environment • Transfer rates to and from reservoir are usually lower than the rates of exchange between and among organisms. • Matter is recycled through an ecosystem – not one way flow

41. Three Categories • Hydrologic cycle • Water • Atmospheric cycles • Nitrogen and carbon • Sedimentary cycles • Phosphorus and sulfur

42. CYCLES IN NATURE

44. Carbon Cycle • Carbon moves through the atmosphere and food webs on its way to and from the ocean, sediments, and rocks • Sediments and rocks are the main reservoir

46. volcanic action photosynthesis TERRESTRIAL ROCKS weathering Carbon Cycle diffusion Atmosphere Bicarbonate, carbonate Terrestrial Rocks Land Food Webs Marine food webs Soil Water Peat, Fossil Fuels Marine Sediments

47. Carbon in the Oceans • Most carbon in the ocean is dissolved carbonate and bicarbonate • Ocean currents carry dissolved carbon

48. Carbon in Atmosphere • Atmospheric carbon is mainly carbon dioxide • Carbon dioxide is added to atmosphere • Aerobic respiration, volcanic action, burning fossil fuels, decomposition of organic materials • Removed by photosynthesis

49. Nitrogen Cycle • Nitrogen is used in amino acids and nucleic acids (all living organism need nitrogen to make proteins) • Main reservoir is nitrogen gas in the atmosphere • Decomposers are vital to convert ammonia into: • usable nitrites & nitrates for plants (nitrogen fixation) • nitrogen gas (denitrification = puts it back into the atmosphere)