Environmental Science

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Environmental Science
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What is Ecology?
Questions What is ecology? What is the
difference between biotic and abiotic
factors? What are adaptations and how do they
help an organism?

• Ecology - the study of all living things and
  their environment
• Ecologists
• Parts of the ecosystem
• Biotic living
• Abiotic nonliving (scientists use these to
  characterize an area no what lives there)

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Levels of Organization

• Biosphere The area of earth where life is found
• Ecosystem ALL living and nonliving elements in
  an area
• Community All the living organism in an area
  that are adapted to live in that area
• Population A group of organisms of the same
  species that have the ability to reproduce
• Organism a single living thing in an ecosystem

Questions Explain the differences in the levels
of ecological organization.
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Movement of Energy in Organisms
Questions What is the difference between a food
chain and a food web?

• Food Chains show one path of energy transfer
• Food Web shows the energy transfer paths

SC.912.L.17.9 Use a food web to identify
producers, consumers, and decomposers. Explain
the pathway of energy transfer through trophic
levels and the reduction of available energy at
successive trophic levels.
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Organisms

• Herbivore eats plants
• Carnivore eats animals
• Omnivore eats plants and animals
• Scavengers eat dead organisms
• Decomposers microscopic eaters of dead organism

Questions What are the different types of
organisms in a food chain?
SC.912.L.17.9 Use a food web to identify
producers, consumers, and decomposers. Explain
the pathway of energy transfer through trophic
levels and the reduction of available energy at
successive trophic levels.
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Food Chain
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Food Web
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Ecological Pyramid
10 of energy goes to the next level The rest
is used for life functions or given off as heat
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Water Cycle

• The movement of water from the ground to the
  atmosphere and back again
• Water gets to the atmosphere by evaporation and
  transpiration and sublimation
• Water leaves the atmosphere by condensation and
  precipitation

Questions How does the water cycle move matter
throughout the ecosystem?
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Carbon Dioxide Oxygen Cycle

• Plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere for
  photosynthesis and release O2
• Changes solar energy into chemical energy
• Animals remove O2 from the atmosphere for
  cellular respiration and release CO2
• Convert chemical energy in plants to usable energy

Questions Explain the Carbon dioxide oxygen
cycle and its importance to all living things.
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Nitrogen Cycle

• Nitrogen fixing bacteria convert atmospheric
  nitrogen into usable forms
• On the roots of plants and in the soil
• Denitrifying bacteria change different forms of
  nitrogen back into atmospheric nitrogen

Questions What is the difference between
nitrogen fixing bacteria and denitrifying
bacteria and why are they important?
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Summary

• What is ecology and why is it important to study?
• Compare and contrast the levels of ecological
  organization.
• What are the difference between a food chain and
  a food web?
• What are the types of living organism in an
  ecosystem and what do they eat?
• What are ecological pyramids and what do they
  show?
• Explain the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles
  and explain why they are important?

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Climates

• A climate is the average temperature and
  precipitation conditions that exists in an area
• Include
• Polar area always cold
• Temperate area have large variations in
  temperature and precipitation depending on
  distance from equator
• Deserts receive little precipitation
• Tropical always hot
• Mountains get colder with altitude and it
  usually is wet one side and dry on the other with
  snow at the top
• Water Varies with depth and location on planet

Questions What is climate? How does climate vary
on earth and what is the effect on living
organisms?
SC.912.L.17.2 Explain the general distribution of
life in aquatic systems as a function of
chemistry, geography, light, depth, salinity,
and temperature.
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Effects of season and climate on an ecosystem
Questions How do climate changes effect
organisms? Give examples. How do seasons and
climate changes differ in their effects on a
ecosystem?

• Climate change effect over long periods of time
• If it is a seasonal change - effects for a short
  period of time
• Fur changes thickness and color
• Hibernation/migration
• Leaves changing colors
• Dormancy

SC.912.L.17.4 Describe changes in ecosystems
resulting from seasonal variations, climate
change, and succession SC.912.L.17.8 Recognize
the consequences of loss of biodiversity due to
catastrophic events, climate changes, human
activity, and the introduction of invasive
non-native species.
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Other changes in the ecosystem

• Changes can be abiotic
• Temperature, salinity, oxygen levels
• Changes can be biotic
• Changes in the types of organisms that live in
  the area
• Removal or introduction or a species effects the
  entire food chain
• Numbers can be influenced by disease, food,
  water, shelter, populations, weather, etc.

Questions What are some examples of changes in
the ecosystem and what are their results?
SC.912.L.17.4 Describe changes in ecosystems
resulting from seasonal variations, climate
change, and succession SC.912.L.17.8 Recognize
the consequences of loss of biodiversity due to
catastrophic events, climate changes, human
activity, and the introduction of invasive
non-native species.
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Organisms must adapt to survive
Questions What are adaptations and what are
their effects on organisms?

• Adaptations - physical characteristics or
  behaviors that organisms have in order to survive

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Succession

• Succession - a gradual repopulation of a
  community over a period of time.
• Primary starts with no soil
• Secondary starts with soil

Questions What is succession and how does it
impact an ecosystem?
SC.912.L.17.4 Describe changes in ecosystems
resulting from seasonal variations, climate
change, and succession SC.912.L.17.8 Recognize
the consequences of loss of biodiversity due to
catastrophic events, climate changes, human
activity, and the introduction of invasive
non-native species.
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Ecological Succession
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Summary

• How are climates different around the world?
• How do climates effect an ecosystem?
• How do things like seasons and climate changes
  effect an ecosystem?
• What are adaptations and why are they important?
• What are the two types of succession and how to
  thy differ?

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Populations

• The number of each type of species in an area
• Affected by many things including
• Birth rates
• Death rates
• Immigration
• Emigration
• Limiting factors

Questions Explain how different factors affect
the size of a population and how the size of the
population effects the health of an
excosystem.
SC.912.L.17.5 Analyze how population size is
determined by births, deaths, immigration,
emigration, and limiting factors (biotic and
abiotic) that determine carrying capacity.
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Limiting Factors

• Anything in nature that affects the carrying
  capacity of an area
• Examples
• Water
• Food
• Shelter
• Mates

Questions
SC.912.L.17.4 Describe changes in ecosystems
resulting from seasonal variations, climate
change, and succession SC.912.L.17.8 Recognize
the consequences of loss of biodiversity due to
catastrophic events, climate changes, human
activity, and the introduction of invasive
non-native species.
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Relationships and Interactions

• There are many relationships that exists for
  survival
• Predator-prey
• Mutualism
• Parasitism
• Commensalism
• An introduction of a nonnative species can
  destroy an ecosystem

Questions What types of relationships exists in
an ecosystem and how does it impact an
ecosystem?
SC.912.L.17.8 Recognize the consequences of loss
of biodiversity due to catastrophic events,
climate changes, human activity, and the
introduction of invasive non-native species.
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Biodiversity

• The amount of different organisms in an
  ecosystem.
• The higher the diversity the healthier the
  ecosystem

Questions What is biodiversity and how does it
reflect the health of an ecosystem?
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Renewable verses Nonrenewable Resources

• Natural resources are materials found in the
  nature that are useful or necessary for living
  things
• Types
• Renewable - plants, animals, water, wind, sun
• Nonrenewable fossil fuels

Questions What are natural resources? What is
the difference between renewable and nonrenewable
resources and what are the pros and cons of
each?
SC.912.L.17.11 Evaluate the cost and benefits of
renewable and nonrenewable resources, such a
water, energy, fossil fuels, wildlife and
forests SC.912.L.17.13 Discuss the need for
adequate monitoring of environmental parameters
when making policies and decisions SC.912.L.17.20
Predict the impact of individuals on
environmental systems and examine how lifestyles
affect sustainability.
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Human Effects on the Ecosystem

• Air pollution
• Land pollution
• Water pollution
• Ozone depletion
• Greenhouse effect
• Causes global warming

Questions What effects are humans having on the
health of the ecosystem?
SC.912.L.17.11 Evaluate the cost and benefits of
renewable and nonrenewable resources, such a
water, energy, fossil fuels, wildlife and
forests SC.912.L.17.13 Discuss the need for
adequate monitoring of environmental parameters
when making policies and decisions SC.912.L.17.20
Predict the impact of individuals on
environmental systems and examine how lifestyles
affect sustainability.
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Effects of Chemicals
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