Unit Five Ecology and Conservation Biology

1. Unit FiveEcology and Conservation Biology Communities and Ecosystems

2. Species Interactions Competition – the interactions that occur between various individuals while attempting to obtain the same resource (food, water, mates etc.) Two types: Intraspecific - occurs between individuals of the same species Interspecific – occurs between individuals of different species; less common of the two types

3. Species Interactions cont’d A “niche” is the species role in its habitat There are two types: Fundamental niche – theoretical niche of species Realized niche – actual niche of species If a species has a very specific niche it is called a specialist ex: Limpkin If a species has a very broad niche it is a generalist ex: Black Bear

4. Species Interactions cont’d Symbiotic Relationships – a relationship between two individuals of different species Species One Species Two Mutualism + + Parasitism + - Commensalism + 0 Predator/Prey + - Competition - -

5. Ecological Communities Organisms must have energy to survive Many species synthesize food to then break down that food into energy through a process called Photosynthesis Those organisms that generate their own energy are called plants = producers, autotrophs, and flora

6. Ecological Communities cont’d Organisms that cannot “make” their own food and hence must eat other living things to get energy are called consumers, heterotrophs, fauna, and animals Those species that must consume others to get energy are divided into categories based on what they eat

7. Ecological Communities cont’d The four categories of consumers are as follows: Herbivores – eat plants Carnivores – eat meat Omnivores – eat both plants and meat Decomposers – eat dead animal matter/animal byproducts

8. Ecological Communities cont’d The food consumers digest is converted into energy which is used by all cells in their bodies A food chain shows how energy moves through an ecosystem; each stage in the hierarchy of the chain is called a trophic level Producers are always at the bottom of a food chain/ they always anchor the other trophic levels

10. Ecological Communities cont’d A food web shows all the possible feeding relationships in an ecosystem, and it also shows how energy moves through the system

11. Ecological Communities cont’d Keystone Species – a species in an ecosystem that other species benefit from and/or depend on for survival Ex: Gopher Tortoise

12. Ecological Communities cont’d Ecosystems develop through a process called succession Ecosystems are not static, but rather are dynamic i.e. they are always changing There are three stages of succession 1. Primary succession 2. Secondary succession 3. Climax community

13. Ecological Communities cont’d Pioneer species such as lichens are required in order for primary succession to occur, and hence get the process of succession started

14. Ecological Communities cont’d Ecosystems are adversely affected by a variety of outside forces There are four main reasons for species and ecosystem decline: 1. habitat destruction/habitat fragmentation 2. pollution 3. overexploitation 4. exotic/non-native species

15. Ecological Communities cont’d Habitat restoration and species reintroduction programs are ways to mitigate the negative impacts humans have on ecosystems and their inhabitants Ex: Everglades Restoration Wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone Nat’l Park

16. Earth’s Biomes A biome is a large area with similar vegetative associations as the result of similar climatic characteristics; many ecosystems are contained within one biome The two most important climatic characteristics that determine the various biomes are temperature and precipitation Florida is a part of the temperate deciduous forest biome (your book states something different…. But remember the previous)

17. Biomes of the World