Ecology

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Ecology
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What is ecology?

• Ecology study of house
• Study of interaction among plants, animals, and
  the environment

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Levels of Organization
Big

• Biosphere
• Part of Earth where life exists
• Biome
• Area of earth that has similar geography
  climate
• Ecosystem
• Living and non-living parts of an area
• Community
• Living part of ecosystem
• Population
• Members of the same species
• Species
• Population that reproduces in the same area

Small
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Biomes
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Biome Climate Flora Fauna
Tundra
Temperate Deciduous
Tropical Rain Forest
Taiga
Savannah
Desert
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Ecosystems

• Ecosystems- non-living living part of an area
• Abiotic non-living
• Biotic living

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Succession

• Disaster followed by increasing numbers of
  species
• Disasters Clear land, fire, tree fall, volcano
  erupts
• Pioneer organisms- hardiest organisms
• Examples Algae, moss, lichens, bacteria
• Grasses ? Shrubs ? Trees
• Climax community- maximum number of species
  sustained by ecosystem

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Abiotic Factors Nutrient Cycles

• Carbon- oxygen cycle
• Carbon released by animals
• Carbon consumed by plants
• Plants release oxygen
• Oxygen consumed by animals

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Abiotic Factors Nutrient Cycle

• Water Cycle
• Groundwater taken up by plants released into
  atmosphere via evapotranspiration
• Other groundwater flows to lakes streams
• Water in atmosphere condenses forming clouds
• Water falls from clouds back to ground
• Becomes groundwater

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Abiotic Factors Nutrient Cycling

• Nitrogen Cycle
• Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
• Legume
• Nitrogen ?ammonium (NH4)
• Decomposers/Saprophytes
• Nitrogenous waste ?ammonium (NH4)
• Nitrifying bacteria
• Ammonium (NH4) ? nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and
  nitrates (NO3)
• Denitrifying bacteria
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrates (NO3) ? free
  nitrogen

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Communities

• Communities- all the living organisms within a
  community
• Includes different species of organisms

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Communities within an Ecosystem Interactions

• Commensalism
• 1 benefits, other unaffected (/0)
• Examples Hippos birds Sucker fish sharks
• Mutualism
• Both benefit (/)
• Examples Lichens ? fungi moisture) algae (food
  water) Protazoa (digest) termites (shelter,
  food) Bacteria (converts N) roots of legume
  (makes food)
• Parastism
• 1 benefits, other harmed (/-)
• Examples Athletes foot, tapeworm

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Interactions within Communities Contd

• Competition- two species in same area require
  same food, water, and space
• Interference competition- prevent the other
  species from obtaining the resource
• Example Physical attack
• Exploitation- indirect competition in which one
  species uses up resources before the other can

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Communities within an Ecosystem Nutritional
Relationships

• Autotroph- produces its own food
• Example Bacteria, plants, chemophotosynthesis
• Also referred to as producers
• Heterotroph- consumers
• Eat other animals for food
• Example humans

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Types of Heterotrophs

• Carnivore- eats meat
• Includes predators scavengers
• Predator- cheetah
• Scavengers- vultures
• Herbivores- eats plants
• Example Caterpillar
• Omnivore- eat plants and animals
• Example Some humans, bears
• Decomposer- eats dead material
• Example Bacteria, Fungi

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Energy Flow in Ecosystems

• Sun is the main source of energy in all
  ecosystems
• Food chains- linear sequence indicating who eats
  whom
• Example Grasses ? rabbit ? fox

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Food Webs

• More realistic than food chains
• Shows more interactions among species
• 1. Producers (autotrophs/plants)
• 2. Consumers (heterotrophs)
• Primary consumer- herbivore
• Secondary and tertiary consumers- carnivores
  omnivores
• 3. Decomposers (saprophytes)
• Example fungus, bacteria

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Energy Pyramids

• Most energy biomass at the bottom of the
  pyramid
• Each step up the pyramid is about 1/10th the
  energy biomass of the step below it
• Bottom Producers
• Middle Herbivores
• Top Carnivores
• Omnivores between herbivores carnivores

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Populations

• Populations- All members of a given species
• Exponential Growth
• Represented by J-curve
• No limiting resources
• Carrying capacity
• The maximum number in a population that can be
  sustained by resources in the environment
• Limiting Factors
• Amount of nutrients and food available for
  population

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The Human Population

• Thomas Malthus
• Economist who stated food supply is the human
  limiting factor
• Other limiting factors
• War, diseases, global warming, water availability
• Solutions
• Hydroponics, crop rotation

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Species

• Species Organisms in the same area that are able
  to reproduce
• Species occupy niches
• Niche- role within the ecosystem
• Fundamental niche- where a species exists based
  on abiotic factors
• Realized niche- where a species exists based on
  biotic factors

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Biodiversity

• Biodiversity- number of species in a given area
• Greater biodiversity, greater stability in
  ecosystem

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Positive Human Impact on the Environment

• Population control
• Limit number of children
• Conservation of resources
• Plant trees, reduce soil erosion, water
• Pollution control
• Scrubbers
• Species preservation
• Refuges, national parks, state parks

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Positive Human Impact on Environment

• Use of biological controls
• Integrated pest management (IPM)
• Introduce natural predator
• State environment protection laws
• Freshwater wetland act
• Federal environmental protection laws

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Negative Human Impact on Environment

• Overconsumption
• Water, food, oil
• Adverse effects of technology
• Need for natural resources
• Water pollution
• Factories dump PCBs heat
• Air pollution
• Acid rain
• Burn coal oil
• Get sulfur dioxide
• Pesticides
• Waste

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Rank Country Electricity - consumption (billion kWh) Electricity - consumption (billion kWh)
1 United States 3,892                                                     
2 China 3,271                                             
3 Japan 1,080               
4 Russia 1,003              
5 Germany 549.1        
6 Canada 530        
7 India 517.2        
8 France 480       
9 Brazil 402.2      
10 Korea, South 385.1      
11 United Kingdom 348.5     
12 Italy 316.3     
13 Spain 276.1    
14 South Africa 241.4    
15 Taiwan 233    
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Rank Country Oil - consumption (bbl/day) Oil - consumption (bbl/day)
1 United States 20,800,000                                                     
2 China 6,930,000                  
3 Japan 5,353,000              
4 Russia 2,916,000        
5 Germany 2,618,000       
6 India 2,438,000       
7 Canada 2,290,000      
8 Korea, South 2,130,000      
9 Brazil 2,100,000      
10 Mexico 2,078,000      
11 Saudi Arabia 2,000,000      
12 France 1,999,000      
13 United Kingdom 1,820,000     
14 Italy 1,732,000     
15 Iran 1,630,000     
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Negative Human Impact on Environment

• Poor land management
• Need more cities, less sprawl
• Importation of organisms
• Bring in pests
• Example Gypsy moth, zebra mussels, kudzoo
• Exploitation of Wildlife
• Excessive hunting of furs tusks

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Result of Negative Human Impact

• Global instability reduced biodiversity
• Biodiversity number of species in a given area
• Greater biodiversity, greater environmental
  stability
• Negative impact is irreversible!

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Global Warming

• Increased carbon in atmosphere
• Caused by fossil fuels emitted from cars,
  factories, electricity
• Carbon acts as an insulating blanket

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Abiotic Results

• Shifting climate patterns
• More intense storms in one area, drier climate in
  another
• Warmer closer to the poles
• Alaska 2.4 C over last 50 years
• Ocean currents shifting
• Rising sea levels
• Caused by melting glaciers, ice caps, polar ice
  sheets

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Global Warming Contd

• Effects on organisms
• Migration north to cooler climates, or to tops of
  mountain ranges
• Migrating animals arrive to destination sooner
• Endangered extinct species

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Questions to Ask

• When will our advancing technology stop working?
• How can we take action?
• How is my generation having an impact on the
  environment?