Ecology

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Ecology

• Study of interactions between organisms and their
  environments.

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Biotic Factors

• Biosphere life-supporting layer of Earth
• Only about 20Km of total diameter of earth
• From ocean floor to about 8Km above earths
  surface
• Biotic factors all living organisms in a
• biosphere

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Abiotic Factors

• Nonliving factors in an environment
• Examples
• Air currents
• Temperature
• Moisture
• Light
• Soil

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There is a hierarchy

• Population all individual of a certain species
  within a certain area
• Community all the populations of different
  species within an area
• Ecosystem includes a community and its physical
  environment
• Includes both biotic and abiotic
• Biome includes all of the above PLUS a certain
  climate.
• Tundra, Rainforest, Desert

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All living things have

• Habitat- where an individual organism lives its
  home
• where is yours?
• Niche- the role that organism plays in its
  ecosystem
• What is yours?

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More on Niches

• A niche is like an organisms job, how it makes a
  living in an ecosystem
• Eubacteria/Archae bacteria- decomposers
• Protista-plant-like protists produce most of the
  atmospheres oxygen
• Plant- can be food for an herbivore
• Animal- can keep the plant pop. in check
• Fungi- decomposes dead stuff

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Organization of Life
Biosphere
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Organisms
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Relationships Between Organisms

• Competition- two individuals who occupy the same
  niche will compete with one another
• Keep in mind limited resources Food, Water,
  Territory
• Only one will win
• Symbiosis two organisms living in close
  association
• Three types mutualism, commensalism and
  parasitism

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Mutualism

• Both organisms benefit from the relationship

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Commensalism

• One organism is benefited, the other is neither
  hurt or helped

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Parasitism

• One organism benefits at the other organisms
  expense

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Symbiosis living together
Relationship Type Species A Species B
Commensalism 0
Mutualism
Parasitism -
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All Organisms Need Energy

• As one organism eats another energy moves
  through ecosystem
• Forms food chain
• Many food chains make food web

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RULE OF 10

• Only 10 of energy is transferred from one
  trophic level to the next.
• Example
• It takes 100 kgs of plant materials (producers)
  to support 10 kgs of herbivores
• It takes 10 kgs of herbivores to support 1 kg of
  1st level predator

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Energy Pyramid
Remember, Kcal is just a measure of energy!
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Feeding Relationships

• Autotrophs
• Heterotrophs
• Carnivores
• Omnivores
• Herbivores
• Decomposers

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Trophic Relationships

• Primary Producers (autotrophs)
• Primary Consumers (herbivores)
• Secondary Consumers (omnivores)
• Tertiary consumers (carnivores)
• Apex (top predators)

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Mother Nature Recycles
All essential inorganic nutrients cycle between
biotic and abiotic parts of ecosystem - Water
- Oxygen - Carbon - Phosphorus - Nitrogen
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Water cycle

• Evaporation
• Transpiration
• Precipitation
• Runoff
• Groundwater

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Water Cycle
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Carbon cycle

• Photosynthesis-Plants store carbon in
  carbohydrates or starches
• Respiration- Plants animals release carbon
  dioxide back into the air
• Decomposition- Decomposers return carbon to
  environment.
• Combustion
• Fossil fuels- burned and the smoke is emitted
  into the atmosphere

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Carbon cycle
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Nitrogen cycle

• Atmospheric nitrogen
• Runoff
• Fertilizers
• Decomposition
• Nitrogen fixing
• Synthesis of amino acids

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Nitrogen Cycle Detailed

• NITROGEN FIXATION
• Nitrogen in atmosphere N2
• Problem? Only one type of organism can take it
  OUT of the air and turn it into a usable form
• BACTERIA!
• What else to know
• Once nitrogen fixation occurs, nitrogen
  containing compounds can then move through an
  ecosystem.
• Plants can absorb use nitrates to make proteins
• Consumers eat plants get proteins containing
  nitrogen
• Decomposers break down dead organisms return
  nitrogen to the soil ? COMPOST ANYONE???

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Nitrogen Cycle
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Nitrogen Cycle
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Phosphorous Cycle

• Needed by animals to form teeth bones, and parts
  of molecules like DNA and RNA
• Slow cycle, rarely atmospheric as it hardly
  occurs in a gaseous state
• Waste from organisms
• Runoff
• Fertilizer
• Death and Decomposition

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Phosphorous Cycle
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Oxygen Cycle

• Gain through Photosynthesis
• Lost through Respiration and Decay
• Lost through formation of rust
• Oxidation
• Gain through weathering
• Calcium Carbonate shells?Limestone?oxygen when
  organisms disturb ground to get at nutrients

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Oxygen Cycle
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What We Know

• Biogeochemical Cycles
• How Energy is used and transferred through
  trophic levels
• How life is organized
• How organisms can interact

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Where we are going

• The world hasnt always been the way it is
• It has changed and is still changing
• Land formation
• Different Biomes
• Why are they different?
• Were they always where they are now?
• Climate change
• Our effect- Is it really just us?
• Limits to an ecosystem
• Bringing back Malthus baby!

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Phosphorus and Nitrogen Cycle

• ISSUES
• Sometimes we can get an excessive amount of N and
  P released into an environment
• This increase in nutrient can cause TOO much
  primary production
• EUTROPHICATION excessive primary production
  causes so much algae growth that the lake becomes
  unable to support other organisms.

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As land shifts so does sun exposure, temperature
and rainfall

• Explains the different climates in different
  biomes

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Land Formation

• 18,000 years ago glaciers retreated in the
  Northern hemisphere resulting in a rocky and
  lifeless ecosystem
• Pioneer plants emerged
• Lichens broke down rock
• Decaying lichens mixed with broken rock chips
  developed soil (long/slow process)
• Winds blew soil flew dispersed into crevices
  of rocks provided nutrients for small plants to
  grow
• Soon mosses appeared followed by grasses, then
  larger plants (shrubs trees) known as primary
  succession

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Succession and Climax Forests

• Primary succession - How temperate forests first
  emerged
• As forests continue to grow become more diverse
  
• in both plant and animal life
• Simple plants unable to compete live in the
  shade of larger plants
• Saplings unable to develop due to shade - slowly
  die out (Birch, Aspen) gives rise to middle
  stage succession
• Shade tolerant plants emerge (Maple, Hemlock) and
  dominate forests now have a climax forest

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Secondary Succession

• Secondary succession occurs quicker than primary
  succession (soils already there)
• Exception to this land cleared for development
  and agriculture
• Temperate forests dominate because of their
  resistance to fires
• Less resistant trees eventually die off leaving
  the evergreens still standing
• Fires promote evergreen growth by busting seed
  coats open and scattering them in the soil
• Deciduous forest devastated by fires
• Secondary succession only way new forest will
  dominate

people.eku.edu/ritchisong/ secondarysuccession
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Pioneer organisms-

• the first organisms to colonize a new site
• Ex lichens are the first to colonize lava rocks

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Climax community-

• A stable, mature community that undergoes little
  or no succession

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Disturbances

• Temporary change in the average condition

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Major Biomes and Their Vegetation

• Tundra no trees, lichens, grasses and shrubs
• Taiga (or Boreal Forest) coniferous evergreens
• Temperate forests include evergreens (spruce),
  deciduous forests (oaks), mixed forests, and
  temperate rain forests (sequoias)
• Tropical rain forests greatest amount of
  diversity in vegetation (vines, orchids, palms)
• Grasslands grasses, prairie clover
• Deserts cacti, small bushes

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• Major Terrestrial Biomes
• Geographic distribution of biomes are dependent
  on temperature, precipitation, altitude and
  latitude
• Weather patterns dictate the type of plants that
  will dominate an ecosystem

faculty.southwest.tn.edu/. ../ES2020we16.jpg
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desert
Prentice, C.I., Guiot, J., Huntley, B., Jolly D.
and Cheddadi, R., 1996, Reconstructing biomes
from palaeoecological data a general method and
its application to European pollen data at 0 and
6 ka. Climate Dynamics 12185-194.
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Global Distribution of Vegetation 6,000 years ago
temperate deciduous
cold deciduous
taiga
tundra
conifers
desert
grassland
woods scrub
Prentice, C.I., Guiot, J., Huntley, B., Jolly D.
and Cheddadi, R., 1996, Reconstructing biomes
from palaeoecological data a general method and
its application to European pollen data at 0 and
6 ka. Climate Dynamics 12185-194.
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Global Distribution of Vegetation - Present
taiga
tundra
temperate deciduous
cold deciduous
warm mix
grassland
tropical R.F.
Prentice, C.I., Guiot, J., Huntley, B., Jolly D.
and Cheddadi, R., 1996, Reconstructing biomes
from palaeoecological data a general method and
its application to European pollen data at 0 and
6 ka. Climate Dynamics 12185-194.
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A look at what has happened through time
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Present Day Biomes
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Limits to an Ecosystem

• What do you remember about our boy Malthus?

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Population Growth

• Every ecosystem has a limit for how many
  habitats/niches it can support. We call this
  limit the carrying capacity!

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What Effects Humans Have

• Ozone Depletion
• Gloabal Warming
• Acid Rain
• Endangered Species
• Eutrophication

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The ozone layer

• Ozone is a triatomic form of oxygen (O3) found in
  Earths upper and lower atmosphere.
• The ozone layer, situated in the stratosphere
  about 15 to 30 km above the earth's surface.
• Ozone protects living organisms by absorbing
  harmful ultraviolet radiation (UVB) from the sun.
  
• The ozone layer is being destroyed by CFCs and
  other substances.
• Ozone depletion progressing globally except in
  the tropical zone.

www.epcc.pref.osaka.jp/apec/ eng/earth/ozone_layer
_depletion/susumu.html
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CFCs

• These are found in
• Aerosols like
• Hairspray
• Perfumes
• Paints
• Air Conditioner
• Pesticides

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Global Warming

• GLOBAL WARMING is the increase of the Earths
  average surface temperature due to a build-up of
  greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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Selected Greenhouse Gases

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Source Fossil fuel burning, deforestation
• Anthropogenic increase 30
• Average atmospheric residence time 500 years
• Methane (CH4)
• Source Rice cultivation, cattle sheep
  ranching, decay from landfills, mining
• Anthropogenic increase 145
• Average atmospheric residence time 7-10 years
• Nitrous oxide (N2O)
• Source Industry and agriculture (fertilizers)
• Anthropogenic increase 15
• Average atmospheric residence time 140-190 years

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Greenhouse Effect Global Warming

• The greenhouse effect global warming are not
  the same thing.
• Global warming refers to a rise in the
  temperature of the surface of the earth
• An increase in the concentration of greenhouse
  gases leads to an increase in the the magnitude
  of the greenhouse effect. (Called enhanced
  greenhouse effect)
• This results in global warming

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What is Acid Rain

• Formed when gases, such as CO2 and SO2 react with
  the water in the atmosphere
• The pH of Rain drops
• As low as pH of 2
• Very harmful to our
• living environment

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How does Acid Rain effect us

• It kills micro-organisms
• It poisons plants
• It damages metals and limestone
• It kills fish

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Endangered Species
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Reasons for Endangerment

• Hunting
• Invasive Species
• Human Interferences