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Ecological Principles

Ecological Principles. Interactions among animals and the environment. What is Ecology?. A combination of biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic Predator-prey interactions Symbiotic relationships Competition Species interactions. Abiotic Salinity Temperature Pressure

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Ecological Principles

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  1. Ecological Principles Interactions among animals and the environment Ecological Principles

  2. What is Ecology? • A combination of biotic and abiotic factors Biotic Predator-prey interactions Symbiotic relationships Competition Species interactions Abiotic Salinity Temperature Pressure Non-biological factors In the real world these factors are not easily separated Ecological Principles

  3. Key Ecology Terms • Species: natural group of interbreeding individuals, which are reproductively isolated from other groups • Population: all the species in a given area • Community: several populations, which occur in an area • Ecosystem: a series of communities and the surrounding environment Ecological Principles

  4. How Populations Grow • Resources • Carrying capacity • Limiting resource • Self-regulating Ecological Principles

  5. Competition • Competition: refers to the interaction between organisms for a necessary and limiting resource • Intraspecific • Interspecific Barnacle and mussels compete for space Ecological Principles

  6. The Results of Competition • Natural selection: production of offspring by the best-adapted individuals in a population • Evolution: a change in the genetic makeup of a population • To be successful a species must find the right balance between specialization and generalization • Niche: the role a species plays in the community Ecological Principles

  7. Predation • Predation is the act of one animal eating another • Coevolution- the predator evolving in response to adaptations of the prey, or vice versa Ecological Principles

  8. Living Together • Symbiosis • Commensalism • Mutualism • Parasitism • Ectoparasites • Endoparasites Ecological Principles

  9. Flow of Energy • Autotrophic: organisms which capture energy to make organic matter • Producers • Heterotrophic: organisms that capture energy by eating • Herbivores - eat strictly producers • Carnivores or piscivores- eat meat or fish • Omnivores - generalists • Apexpredators - top predators Ecological Principles

  10. Trophic Structure Ecological Principles

  11. Ghost crab Sandy Shoreline Community • Soft bottom communities are found in areas where sediment has accumulated • Dominate the east coast of the U.S and the gulf coast • Due to the environmental conditions most animals bury themselves in the substrate. Ecological Principles

  12. Environmental Conditions • Wave action is the most important physical factor and correlates directly with beach slope and grain size Ecological Principles

  13. Living in the Sediment • Aerobic Respiration • Anaerobic Respiration • Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) • Anoxic Ecological Principles

  14. Sandy Beach Zonation

  15. Coquina clams Fauna Composition • Noticeably absent are the plants, due to lack of stable substrate • Crustaceans, bivalves, and polychetes dominate sandy beaches • Predators? • Feeding strategies? Ecological Principles

  16. Sandy Beach Food Web Ecological Principles

  17. Mole Crabs Ecological Principles

  18. Locomotion • Bivalves use a muscular foot for locomotion • Mole crabs and other arthropods use appendages for burrowing • Sea cucumbers and worms both feed and burrow at the same time Ecological Principles

  19. Meiofauna Ecological Principles

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