A Unit on Ecology

1. A Unit on Ecology Portions of chapters 40-43

2. Ch40 Health of a species, one population at a time • The healthier each population is, the healthier the species is as a whole • A healthy population • _______________ • _______________ • Birth and death rates _________________and equal

3. ch40 How do you characterize a population? • Size: number of individuals ___________________________________________(can be difficult… take into account that you cant catch everyone) • Age Structure: pre-reproductive, reproductive, post-reproductive • _____________: number of individuals per area (depends on the size of the area) • Distribution: ______________ _______________throughout their area • ____________ in herds • Clumped near good resources • Random/even (very rare)

4. ch40 Arrivals, departures and limits… • Population size is affected by individuals who enter (immigration) and leave (emigration). • Population size is ________ _______________________ • Carrying capacity is the maximum number an environment can sustain indefinitely… _________ ________________________________________________________________________________

5. Ch40 Humans… defying all odds • Everything that should limit population growth has been ‘beaten’ by humans • Resources… _____________ _______________________ • Disease… _____________ • Birth-rate, death-rate… ________________ • Reproduction… ___________ • Our resources should eventually be limited by something… what will it be?

6. Ch41 Community: populations living together • Combination of the living species in an area… • Based on 5 factors • ______________________ • Kinds and amount of resources • Adaptations/ niches of individual species • Species interactions (_____ _____________________________________________) • Pattern of population size (is a population growing, or waning)

7. Ch41 Interactions between species shape a community : symbiosis • Symbiosis is a long standing interaction between two populations/ species… it can be: • Mutualism: an interaction that _____________________(pollinator with a flower, lichen, anemone fish and anemone) • ______________: an interaction were one member benefits and the other is hurt/harmed in some way. (tapeworms, ticks) • Commensalism: an interaction where ___________________ ____________________________one way or another. (scavengers ‘cleaning up’ a lion kill, barnacles on attached to a whales' skin)

8. Competition is an interaction too. • Competition: the using of the same resources by multiple species… when one is successful, the other is not • Interference: _________________________ _______________________… blocking them from living there in the first place (aromatic compounds in plants) • Exploitative: equal access ________________ ________________ at using it, so does better and the other leaves. • Reactions/ results of competition • Competitive exclusion: Where nutrient requirements overlap so greatly that the two species cannot coexist… _________________ _____________________________________ • Resource partitioning: Where similar resources are divided among lines that are not crossed… like fruit size, ___________________________ ______________________________________

9. Predator- Prey interactions • Different than competition because it is necessary that the prey not leave altogether (____________________) • __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • If the predator doesn’t figure out a way/ evolve to counter the new feature they will die. • If the number of prey rise, that increases food supply for predators, • Predators increase as the food supply is available, causing a drop in prey, followed by predators • Can include another factor… food for the prey

10. ch41 Prey Adaptations Coral snake • Prey adaptations: • _______________: hard to spot (the kind depends on the keenness of the predators vision) • Warning color: prey that defend themselves with poison advertise it so they will be skipped not eaten • _______________ where certain species try to take on the color, without spending the energy on the toxin… smart!! King Snake

11. Predator Adaptations • Predator Adaptations: • _________________: learn how to thwart the problem (find antidotes, or eat only the palatable portion) • Burst of speed: __________ ______________________________________… they can’t be both. Or really fast and short bursts or kind of fast over longer bursts. • __________________: to lay in wait for unsuspecting prey

12. Threats to communities/ diversity (Humans) • Once communities have been established new species, human attack or disruption of habitat can quickly destroy what it took thousands of years to create. • Invasive species: ________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________Unchecked these species grow out of control… killing everything in their path. (rabbits in Australia) • Hunting/ Poaching • Habitat Loss and _________________________ Ch 41/42

13. Endangered Species • Hunting and poaching: Humans are predators and proud of it. Our ________________________________________________________ • Black market poaching etc is still a HUGE problem for the most endangered (__________ __________________________________________________) • Habitat loss: even worse than hunting them is ______________. Most _______________________ ________________________________________________________. • As we move in, they move out… when they get squished into small areas, they kill each other, or they try to come back and we kill them

14. How can we conserve and sustain current diversity Ch 41/42 • Conservation Biology: think about the natural species before you build. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Identifying at risk areas: _______________________________________ __________________________________(easier said than done) • Work with new communities to preserve what at risk species require: • ____________________________… limit production, deforestation or building to allow for the area to recover between attacks.

15. Everything is a cycle ch42 • All matter and all energy are conserved… so _________________ ___________________________________________________________. • _________ cycle… lake/ocean cloud rain river lake/ocean • __________ Cycle… disruptions lead to global warming • ___________ and _____________ also have cycles

16. Global warming • Too much production and not enough absorption of carbon dioxide throws off the cycle • ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • This causes an increase of temperature over time, and the heating of the earth… which means melting polar ice caps • We must stop the cycle… produce less CO2 and absorb more (with plants)

17. Ch 43 All the populations fit together into the biosphere • Biosphere is the sum of all the planets ecosystems • An ecosystem are all the biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) things in a certain area • The are generalized as ______ • Biomes have specific/ recognizable features • Salt water biomes: ocean (coral reefs, wetlands, intertidal zones, deep ocean etc) • Freshwater biomes: lakes, ponds, rivers, streams • Terrestrial biomes: _________ ___________________________________________________________________________

18. Ch 34 Kinds of Terrestrial Biomes Reflect the climate of the earth… • Tropical Forest: Constantly ____ _____________________, warm temperatures, 12 hour days. Tons of diversity and vegetation • Savannas: Think Lion King. Lots of grass, grazing animals and their predators • Deserts: __________________ ___________________… can be hot and dry, or cold and dry. Very little vegetation

19. More Biomes • Spiny Shrubs/Chaparral:_______________________________________________. This is our usual vegetation • Temperate grassland: prairies, depending on the location can have long or short grass (good soil!) • Temperate deciduous forest: __________________, color changing, cold winters, hot summers • Coniferous forest/ taiga:______________, moderate summers • Tundra:________________