ECOLOGY The study of how living organisms and nonliving things interact with one another in their environment

PART 1

BORING TERMS!!!!!

Environment Everything that surrounds and organism

Ecosystem An area where the living[biotic] and nonliving[abiotic] interact

Species A group of organisms that can breed to produce fully fertile offspring

Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

Population A group of organisms of the same species which live in the same habitat at the same time where they can freely interbreed

CommunityAll the populations of the different species living and inter-acting in the same ecosystem

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

HabitatWhere a species lives

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

Biodiversity the variety of plants and animals and other living things in a particular area or region Greater biodiversity =greater stability in ecosystemSexual reproduction genetic variation biodiversity stable ecosystem

Limiting FactorsFactors in the environment that

limits: Where organisms live The type of organisms living in an area The size of the population living in an

area

Examples of limiting factors Food Water Oxygen Energy from the sun Predators diseases

Competition When organisms fight for the things they

need to live

Carrying Capacity The maximum number of organisms of a

species that can live in a area and can survive

NicheRefers to the combination of the

animal’s: Habitat Feeding style[what it eats, where it eats

and time of day it eats] Role [the animals “job”]

Two species cannot occupy the same niche because both species would compete for the same food in the same place and one species would die off

Ecological Succession It’s when one community is replaced by

another community, over a period of time, until a stable community is reached

It happens naturally; not man-made

Types of ecological succession

Bare rocks changes to a forest

A lake community changes to a forest

Disturbance influences species diversity and composition A disturbance is an event that changes a

community, removes organisms from it, and alters resource availability

Storms and fire are significant sources of disturbance in many ecosystems

Human Disturbance Deforestation Accidental introduction of invasive species

that outcompete the native species

Regents review book June14:23,27,28,33,37,40,41,56,57,63,64 June 2013:2,23,26,29,48,49,57-60 June 2012: 3,16,17,22,26,28,54,55,64 June2011 : 12,24,26

Part 2Food relationships

Autotrophsproduces its own food

Example: Bacteria, plants, treesAlso referred to as producers

HeterotrophsEat other animals or plants for food

Also referred to as consumers

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

Types of Heterotrophs Carnivore- eats meat

Predator- cheetah Scavengers- vultures

Herbivores- eats plants Omnivore- eat plants and animals

DecomposersBreaks down dead plants and animals and releases nutrients to the environment

Prevents the build-up of dead organisms

Recycles nutrients

Examples of decomposers

Some of the most common decomposers are bacteria, worms, slugs, snails, maggots, and fungi 

Some of the other decomposers in the desert are beetles, earth worms and millipedes. 

The decomposers in the water are

freshwater shrimp, clams, crabs, lobsters and flat worms.

Food Chain A linear sequence indicating who eats

whom Sun is the main source of energy in all

food chains Energy comes from the sun and goes

directly to the producers Energy is transferred from producers to

consumers and to decomposers

The arrows in the food chain means “eats the”

The head of the arrow points to the “eater”

The wavy arrows represent the energy given off as heat

Food Pyramid A graphical representation in the shape of

a pyramid to show the feeding relationship of groups of organisms, and the distribution of energy among different trophic levels in a given ecosystem

Trophic level: A position in a Food Pyramid occupied by a group of organisms with similar feeding mode.

As you go up the food pyramid: The number of organisms decrease Energy is lost by heat The concentration of toxins[in the species]

increases in each level of the food chain; this process is called bioaccumulation

The consumers at the top of the pyramid are the ones that are MOST VULNERABLE to extinction

Food Webs A food web is a branching food chain with

complex trophic interactions

In a stable ecosystem: There should be more producers than

herbivores

There should be more herbivores than carnivores/predators

Most animals in an ecosystem are herbivores

Relationships among species Commensalism

1 benefits, other unaffected Examples: Sucker fish & sharks

Mutualism Both benefit Examples:

Bacteria on the roots of plants Protozoa in the digestive tract of termites Hippos and birds

Parasitism1 benefits, other harmed Examples:

Bacteria or virus and humansFungus on humansTapeworm and some animals

Regents review

June 2013: 25,32,33,34

June 2014: 7,26,31,32,65,66

Part 3Recycling of materials

Carbon Dioxide-Oxygen Cycle

Carbon-Released by animals & factory-Consumed by plants

Oxygen-Released by plants-Consumed by animals

Nitrogen Cycle

A

B

C

D

E

F

Nitrogen Cycle Bacteria of decay converts dead material

into ammonia The other bacteria changes ammonia into

nitrate The plants take in the nitrates which is

used to make plant proteins

Water Cycle Water is

evaporated from lakes forming water vapor

The water vapor condenses forming clouds

The water comes down as rain, snow or hail

What makes an ecosystem stable? Constant supply of energy from the sun Recycling of materials between

organisms and their environment Biodiversity There should be more producers than

herbivores There should be more herbivores than

carnivores/predators

Part 4How humans affect the

environment

Limited resources Renewable resources can be replaced in

a reasonable amount of time Examples:

Sun Water Animals and plants Wood[from cutting down trees] food

Nonrenewable resources cannot be replaced in a reasonable amount of time

Examples: Fossil fuels[coal, petroleum, oil, natural gas] Minerals [iron ore, aluminum, silver]

What can we do to preserve our resources?

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Human activities that are Harmful to the environment: 1. deforestation

2. direct harvesting: destroying or removing a species from its habitat

3. importing species from one environment to another

4. Land use to build more

5. Disrupting food chains by killing off species

6. erosion

Information you need to answer parts B and C on the regents 1. What is the best way to control pests

without using pesticides?

Biological control which uses living organisms instead of chemicals to control pests

Examples of biological control are:

a. increasing the population of the native organism

b. using parasites or predators c. trapping insects d. releasing sterilized male insects e. using selective breeding or genetic

engineering June 2011 #44

2. how does Nuclear energy[ electricity generated by a nuclear reactor] benefit the ecosystem? It does not use up fossil fuels It produces very little air pollution Does not produce carbon dioxide Does not cause acid rain

3. what are the harmful effects of Nuclear energy? Wastes from nuclear reactors are radioactive

Accidents and fires in reactors can give off dangerous levels of radioactivity

4. power plants use fossil, nuclear, water, wind and solar energy to produce electricity[advantages/disadvantages on the next slide]

5. air pollution includes acid rain, smog, global warming and ozone depletion

Power plant use Advantages Disadvantages

Fossil fuels Can be used anywhere, anytime

Causes pollution an nonrenewable

Nuclear energy No carbon dioxide given off

Causes thermal pollution

Water No pollution Only available in certain areas

Wind No pollution Only available when the wind blows

Solar Renewable Can only be used where there is a lot of sunlight; only in the daytime

6.too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes global warming, which means the temperature of the Earth increases

7. sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides mixed with water produces acid rain

8.CFC gases destroys the ozone layer causing the thinning of the layer which lets in more ultraviolet radiation come down to Earth

CFC gases are used as coolants in refrigerators and in air conditioners

9. water pollution includes:Nitrogen and phosphorus pollutionSediment pollutionWastesThermal pollution is the act of

altering the temperature of a natural water body, which may be a river, lake or ocean environment.