What is Ecology

1
Chapter 3

• What is Ecology?

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Chapter 3 Vocabulary Words

• Ecology
• Environment
• Biosphere
• Abiotic Factors
• Biotic Factors
• Population
• Community
• Ecosystem
• Terrestrial
• Aquatic

• Scavengers
• Decomposers
• Food Chain
• Trophic Level
• Food Web
• Ecological Pyramid
• Water Cycle
• Carbon Cycle
• Phosphorous Cycle

• Habitat
• Niche
• Symbiosis
• Commensalism
• Mutualism
• Parasitism
• Autotrophs
• Heterotrophs
• Carnivore
• Omnivore
• Herbivore

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3.1 Concept Map
Ecology
Biosphere
Species
Biome
Ecosystem
Communities
Populations
Nutrient Limitation
Primary Productivity
Limiting Nutrient
Algal Bloom
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Chapter 3.2-3.3 Concept Map
Heterotroph
Autotroph
Herbivore
Omnivore
Consumer
Producer
Carnivore
Scavenger
Food chain
Decomposer
Photosynthesis
Trophic level
Ecological pyramid
Food web
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Chapter 3.3 Concept Map
Biogeochemical Cycles
H2O Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
nitrogen fixation
evaporation
denitrification
transpiration
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Organisms and their Environment

• Ecology The study of organisms, their
  environment, and how they interact with each
  other.
• Includes studying things living and non-living,
  but is still a large part of Biology.

http//www.nps.gov/ever/eco/gator.htm
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Organisms and their Environment

• Biosphere The part of the Earth that sustains
  life.
• All living things on Earth are found in the
  biosphere.
• If you shrank the Earth to the size of an apple,
  the biosphere would be the thickness of the peel.
• Includes from high in the sky to deep in the
  oceans.

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Organisms and their Environment

• Interactions
• Species A group of organisms so similar to each
  other they can mate and produce offspring
• Populations Group of organisms in the same
  species that live in the same place and
  interbreed.
• Community Many groups of different populations
  (different species as well)
• that live together.
• A collection of interacting populations

http//animals.mongabay.com/crabs.html
http//www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/
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Organisms and their Environment

• The interactions between organisms and the
  abiotic factors around them forms an ecosystem.
• Different ecosystems
• Terrestrial
• Aquatic
• Marine
• Freshwater

• Biomes a group of ecosystems that have a climate
  and dominant communities

http//www.oceanfutures.com/gallery/gallery_archiv
e.aspoctober
http//www.borealforest.org/world/world_management
.htm
http//www.cfra-nc.org/acfrb.htm
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Nutrition and Energy Flow

• There are many different ways an organism can
  obtain the energy that it needs to survive.
• First, some organisms can use the suns energy OR
  chemicals in the environment to produce energy
  for themselves Photosynthesis
• These organisms are called autotrophs.
• Some autotrophs produce food in the absence of
  light chemosynthesis
• They use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates

http//eebweb.arizona.edu/herb/plantphotos.html
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Nutrition and Energy Flow

• Second, there are organisms that must obtain
  energy from ingesting (eating) other organisms.
• They are called heterotrophs.
• Heterotrophs can eat plants, animals, or fungi in
  order to get energy.

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Heterotrophs

• Come in many forms.
• Carnivore
• Ex. Lions, Dogs
• Scavenger- What would the Earth look like if
  there were no scavengers?
• Herbivore
• Ex. Cows, Wildebeests
• Omnivore
• Ex. Humans, Raccoons, Opossums
• Decomposers
• Ex. Bacteria, Fungi
• Detritivores
• Ex Mites, Earthworms

http//www.photohome.com/photos/animal-pictures/wi
ldlife/lion-3.html
http//www.jpbutler.com/tanzania/travelogue-06800.
html
http//www.art.com/asp/sp.asp?PD10000662RFID571
189AffCONF
http//www.personal.u-net.com/chilton/fungi.htm
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Matter and Energy Flow

• Everything we eat is made up of atoms (we will
  discuss later) or matter (material).
• If it was once living, it required and still
  possesses some energy.
• Ex. Apple- when you eat it, you are consuming the
  very material it is made of, as well as the
  energy it has trapped from the apple tree leaves
  over time.

http//van.hep.uiuc.edu/van/qa/section/new_and_exc
iting_physics/what_atoms_look_like/920424670.htm
http//www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0015-
0309-0919-5215.html
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Matter and Energy Flow

• A food chain is a model scientists use to
  illustrate the flow of energy through an
  ecosystem.
• Ex. Grass Cow Human orAlgae Carp Heron
  Lion
• Food chains usually have no more than five steps.
• ? ? ? With each step the amount of energy
  transferred decreases ? ? ?

http//www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm
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Matter and Energy Flow

• In a food chain, each organism represents a
  different trophic level.
• The word trophic is from the Greek tropho and
  basically means food.

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Matter and Energy Flow

• The first trophic level usually consists of
  producers.
• Producers are autotrophs that produce their own
  energy from sunlight or chemicals.
• The second level are the herbivores which eat the
  producers.
• The third level are carnivores which eat the
  herbivores.
• The fourth are the carnivore eaters, and so on...

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An Ecological Pyramid
Top level - carnivores
3rd level - carnivores
Energy, Mass, Pop. Size Decreasing
2nd level - the herbivores
1st level- the producers/autotrophs
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Matter and Energy Flow

• An ecological pyramid can describe the flow of
  energy (as seen on the last slide) or it can
  describe the amount of biomass that exists at
  that trophic level.
• Biomass is the actual weight of all of the
  organisms at that trophic level.

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Matter and Energy Flow

• As you can see on the ecological pyramid, the
  amount of energy retained decreases as you go up
  to the top.
• With every passing level, 90 of all energy is
  lost!
• Only 10 of the producers energy actually makes
  it into the herbivores system!
• Only 10 of the herbivores energy actually makes
  it to the first carnivore in the chain!
• And so on ? ? ?

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Matter and Energy Flow

• The energy is lost in many different ways.
• The food must be digested
• Body tissues must be built (muscle, skin, etc.)
• Some is given off as waste
• Some as heat
• The only energy the eater gets is that which is
  found in the body tissues!

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Matter and Energy Flow

• In order to survive, a hawk eats 30 pounds of
  lizards in a month. In that same month in order
  to survive, those lizards have to eat 300 pounds
  of crickets. How many pounds of grass do those
  crickets have to eat in order to survive?

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Matter and Energy Flow

• There is 9000 pounds of grass in one particular
  habitat.
• How many crickets can this habitat sustain?
• How many lizards?
• Hawks?

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Matter and Energy Flow

• A food chain is not that complicated, but in real
  life, feeding involves more than just a simple
  food chain.
• A food web is more involved, and describes all of
  the possible feeding situations that can occur in
  an ecosystem.
• See p. 53

http//www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica20fact20
file/wildlife/whales/food20web.htm
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Important Study Tips!

• Ecology/Ecosystem/Biosphere
• Biotic/Abiotic Factors
• Population/Community
• Niche/Habitat
• Symbiosis
• Parasitism/Commensalism/Mutualism
• Heterotrophs/Autotrophs
• Producers/Consumers
• 1st, 2nd, 3rd Order heterotrophs
• Carnivores/Omnivores/Herbivores/Scavengers/Decompo
  sers
• Food Chain/Food Web
• Water/Carbon/Nitrogen/Phosphorous Cycles
• ENERGY PYRAMIDS!

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REFERENCES Alligator Pictures http//www.nps.gov/
ever/eco/gator.htm Vultlure Pictures
http//www.theragens.com/photos/Turkey_Vulture_Pho
tos.htm Soldier Crab Pictures http//animals.mong
abay.com/crabs.html Forest Picture
http//www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/ Tree Picture
http//www.borealforest.org/world/world_management
.htm Shark/Ocean Picture http//www.oceanfutures.
com/gallery/gallery_archive.aspoctober Cape Fear
River Picture http//www.cfra-nc.org/acfrb.htm De
forestation Picture http//www.locatelli1.net/the
ma/picture.php?refbre021lgen Bee and Flower
Picture http//necsi.org/projects/evolution/co-ev
olution/symbiosis/co-evolution_symbiosis.html Span
ish Moss Picture http//www.acclaimimages.com/_ga
llery/_pages/0010-0301-2004-5140.html
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REFERENCES Ant and Acacia Tree Picture
http//waynesword.palomar.edu/acacia.htm Tick
Picture http//www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegallery/t
icks/iscapm.html Tape Worm Picture
http//www.micrographia.com/specbiol/helmint/platy
hel/cest0100.htm Flower Picture
http//eebweb.arizona.edu/herb/plantphotos.html Li
on Picture http//www.photohome.com/photos/animal
-pictures/wildlife/lion-3.html Wildebeest
Picture http//www.jpbutler.com/tanzania/travelog
ue-06800.html Raccoon Picture http//www.art.com/
asp/sp.asp?PD10000662RFID571189AffCONF Fungi
Picture http//www.personal.u-net.com/chilton/fu
ngi.htm Atom Picture http//van.hep.uiuc.edu/van/
qa/section/new_and_exciting_physics/what_atoms_loo
k_like/920424670.htm Apple Tree Picture
http//www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0015-
0309-0919-5215.html
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References Food Pyramid http//www.vtaide.com/png
/foodchains.htm Food Web http//www.coolantarctic
a.com/Antarctica20fact20file/wildlife/whales/foo
d20web.