The Biosphere

1
The Biosphere

• Chapter 3

2
What is Ecology?
3
Ecology

• The study of the interactions among organisms and
  between organisms their environment.

4
Biosphere

• All parts of the Earth where life can exist
  (land, water and air).

5
Biotic vs. Abiotic

• Biotic the living factors in an ecosystem

• Abiotic the nonliving factors in an ecosystem

6
Levels of Organization

• Ecosystem interactions among the community and
  abiotic factors
• Community group of interacting populations
• Population group of one species living in the
  same place at the same time

7
Energy, Producers, and Consumers
8
Autotrophs

• An organism that can make its own food.
• Use photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
• Also called producers.

9
Heterotrophs

• An organism that has to get its food from
  others.
• Also called consumers.

10
Types of Heterotrophs

• Herbivores eat only plants
• Carnivores eat only meat
• Omnivores eat both plants and meat
• Detritovores break down dead material
  decomposers
• Scavengers eat dead animals

11
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
12
Feeding Relationships

• Food chains less complex
• Food webs show all eating relationships in an
  ecosystem. BETTER!

13
Trophic Levels

• Each step in a food chain.
• As you move up trophic levels, 90 of the
  energy is lost.

14
Ecological Pyramids

• Energy Pyramid
• (kCal)

15
Cycles of Matter
16
The Water Cycle
17
Nutrient

• Chemicals an organism needs to sustain life.
• Carbon
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorous

18
Carbon Cycle
19
Nitrogen Cycle
20
Phosphorous Cycle
21
Ecosystems Communities

• Chapter 4

22
Niches Community Interactions
23
Niche

• Everything an organism does to survive.
• All physical and biological conditions.
• What it eats, where it lives (habitat), how it
  avoids predators, etc.

24
Competition

• Occurs when two organisms want the same resource
  at the same time.
• Competitive Exclusion Principle No two species
  can occupy the same niche at the same time.

25
Predation

• An interaction where one organism captures and
  feeds on another organism.
• Predator the killer
• Prey the killed

26
Keystone Species

• A species that exerts strong control on the
  structure of a community so that changes to its
  population causes dramatic changes
• Ex sea otters, honeybees

27
Symbiosis

• Any relationship in which two species live
  closely together.
• Mutualism both species benefit
• Ex bees and flowers
• Commensalism one species benefits while the
  other is not affected
• Ex barnacles on a whale
• Parasitism one species benefits, while the other
  is harmed
• Ex tapeworms- YUK!
• Examples of Symbiosis