ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

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ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

• CHAPTER 19

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What is Ecology?

• The study of interactions between organisms and
  the living and non-living components of their
  environment.
• Root oikos (household), same as economics
• economy of nature

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BIOSPHEREthin film of life covering an
otherwise lifeless planet
http//www.planet-earth.org/images/bluemarble.jpg
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ECOSYSTEMIncludes all of the organisms (biotic)
and the non-living factors (abiotic) of an
environment found in a particular place
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Biotic factors

• All living things that affect the organism
• Shelter (Cover from plants)
• Competition
• Predation
• Parasites
• Available food supply (plants and animals)
• Symbiotic relationships (partnerships)

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Abiotic factors

• All non-living things that affect the organism
• Oxygen concentration
• Precipitation
• Humidity
• Temperature
• pH
• Amount of sunlight
• Available nitrogen
• Pollutants

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COMMUNITYAll of the interacting organisms living
in an area (biotic factors)
danny.oz.au/travel/ new-zealand/p/1266-estuary.jpg

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POPULATIONAll of the members of a species that
live in one place at one time
http//www.bionet.nsc.ru/booklet/images/imagesLabo
ratories/Kushnir3Big.jpg
http//www.buddycom.com/animal/special/elephant/el
ephwater.jpg
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ORGANISMSimplest level of organization that
focuses on individual adaptations (variations in
a group that make the individual MORE FIT!)
http//131.183.60.23/brenda/brazil/organisms.jpg
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BIOSPHERE
ECOSYSTEM
COMMUNITY
POPULATION
ORGANISM
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Interconnectedness and Disturbance
http//www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/images/big05.gif
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Ecological Niche (NICH)

• Where it lives?
• When is it active?
• What it eats?

www.vancouver.wsu.edu/.../ holbrook06-2003.html
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Niche

• The range of environmental conditions in which an
  organism can survive.
• There are two kind
• Fundamental Niche
• Realized Niche

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Niche Types

• Fundamental Niche
• What the organisms is able to do
• What it could eat
• Where it could live
• When it could be active

• Realized Niche
• What the organism actually does
• Due to competition
• Due to preference
• Due to a lack of options
• Usually Most highly adapted to

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The Competitive Exclusion Principle

• What do you think this term means?
• No two organisms can occupy the same niche
• One organism will out-compete the other
• Those organism which are more poorly suited will
  either die or have to find a new niche where they
  can survive

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Niche Differences

• Generalists
• Broad niches
• Tolerate a wide range
• of conditions
• Able to adjust easily to disturbances
• Jack-of-all-trades

• Specialists
• Narrow niches
• Very specific needs
• Vulnerable to disturbances
• Really good at what they do