Reference Modern Biology Chapter 19 - 23

1. ECOLOGY Reference Modern Biology Chapter 19 - 23

2. Words to Knowecosystem trophic levelcommunity energy pyramidpopulation biodiversityhabitat food chainadaptation biomeecology nitrification niche biomagnificationsymbiosis bioticfood web abioticproducer consumer decomposer succession

3. Big Idea • Interdependence of Organisms • All organisms affect and are affected by living and non-living components of their environment. Click on the picture to view a short video

4. Assessing Prior Knowledge • How might a constantly changing environment affect natural selection?

5. What is Ecology?

6. All the organisms in an ecosystem relate to all the other living parts, as well as all the non-living parts of the ecosystem… They have a relationship… The study of this relationship between organisms and the living and non-living things of their environment is called Ecology.

7. An environment is the collection of all the animals and plants in a specific area of land or water. Each environment has its own characteristics such as climate, soil or water content, and plant and animal life. WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENT? Some examples of environments are wetlands, deserts, grasslands, forests, and large bodies of water. Dessert Environment Polar Environment Salt-Water Environment Urban Environment

8. Biologists who study ecology - that is, populations, communities, and ecosystems - are called ecologists. They gather information by conducting fieldwork– studying living things in their natural habitats. The information can be used, for example, to determine an animal's population size, diet, territorial boundaries, and behavioral patterns. Fieldwork also includes the study of the physical factors in the environment, such as the soil, rocks, air, and water. ECOLOGISTS In addition to embarking on many research trips, ecologist Andy Dobson travels with alumni to share his expertise. While leading an alumni trip to the Peruvian Amazon, he had a close encounter with this baby tapir, an animal indigenous to the region. (photo: Peter Hudson)

9. FYI: One aspect of fieldwork is sampling a population of organisms. The technique of sampling uses a representative portion of a population to determine one particular characteristic of the entire population. ECOLOGISTS Crab Sampling Stream Sampling Marine Life Sampling

10. FYI: Because ecosystems are complex and often difficult to study, Ecological Models are often used to help them understand the environment make predictions about how the environment might change. ECOLOGICAL MODELS Global Temperature Change Effect of Climate Change & Disease Predicting Ozone Change

11. Studying Ecology will help you understand how natural phenomena (not a man-made event) and human activity can affect the balance of natural cycles and alter the living world within an ecosystem… Why is it important to study Ecology?

12. Over the past few decades, humans have altered the environment on a greater scale than ever before… Why is it important to study Ecology? Learning how to improve our effect on the environment is critical to our survival… Exploding Human Population Mass Extinction Climate Change Thinning Ozone Layer

13. http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ Today’s Environment Click on the Link Above to Access the “World Populations Clock” – How many people lived on earth in 1930? Today?

14. To understand the environment better, Ecologists organize the environment into hierarchy of levels, each with unique properties. Levels of Organization 1. Biosphere 2. Biome 3. Ecosystem 4. Community 5. Population 6. Individual Organism

15. Levels of Organization • Biosphere:thin layer of earth and its atmosphere in which life exists (all the places life can be found around earth). • In other words, a biosphere is the sum of all the ecosystems established on Earth. • It is about 13 miles thick • Extends from 6 miles above the earth’s surface to deepest parts of the ocean. • Includes: • Atmosphere-air • Lithosphere-land • Hydrosphere-water • **Most organisms are found very close to the surface of land or water.

16. BIOSPHERE

17. Levels of Organization Biomes:Ecologists divide the biosphere into large areas called biomes. Biomes are areas of land or water that have similar weather conditions. Some examples of biomes are oceans, forests, grasslands, tundras, and deserts. Biomes are made of similar smaller units called Ecosystems

18. Levels of Organization Ecosystems: Ecosystems are all of the living organisms (biotic) interacting with their non-living (abiotic) environment in a particular place. Every organism in an ecosystem interacts with, and needs each component (living & non-living) for its survival.

19. Levels of Organization FYI: An ocean ecosystem includes fish, mammals, plants, and algae. It also includes the materials that make up the ocean floor, rocks, salt water, the temperature, availability of sunlight and much more.

20. Levels of Organization

21. Levels of Organization FYI: The size of ecosystems varies tremendously. An ecosystem could be an entire rain forest, or it could be a puddle or a backyard garden. Even the body of an animal could be considered an ecosystem, since it is home to numerous microorganisms.

22. For example, this picture shows a small, decaying tree trunk ecosystem

23. This pond is an ecosystem. This forest is an ecosystem.

24. Levels of Organization The open ocean and the rocky shore line are both ecosystems. Different organisms live in each ecosystem.

25. Levels of Organization All ecosystems fall into 2 categories: 1. Terrestrial (land)- forest, desert.. 2. Aquatic (water)-lake, marsh, ocean..

26. Levels of Organization Community:This includes all the populations of organisms of different species living in a specific geographic area at one time. In the diagram below, note how populations of gold fishes, salmons, crabs and herrings coexist in a specfic location. A thriving community usually includes great biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variety of life. Let’s look at the species biodiversity within a local pond. 

27. Levels of Organization Populations:A group of individuals of a given species that lives in a specific geographic area at a given time is called a population. Populations include individuals of the same species that can breed together. Example: A group of the same type of sea otter that all live in the same place is called a population of sea otters.

29. FYI: There are many different populations in any given community. In an ocean community, there might be many populations of fish. There may also be a population of sea otters, and a population of sea turtles all living together in the same ecosystem. No population ever lives alone. All populations interact with each other in a given community.

30. Levels of Organization Individuals, species, organisms:The simplest level of organization in ecology is that of the individual organism or species. Individuals do not breed with individuals from other groups or species. Animals, unlike plants, tend to be very definite with this definition because some plants can cross-breed with other fertile plants.

31. Levels of Organization in an Ecosystem

32. A Key Theme in Ecology The key theme of Ecology is interconnectedness. No organism is isolated. To survive, an organism interacts with its environment to maintain biological stability and to survive. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

33. Environmental factors that influence an organisms ability maintain biological stability and survive include: **BIOTIC FACTORS – living parts **ABIOTIC FACTORS – nonliving parts ECOLOGY OF ORGANISMS

34. Biotic factors - The living parts of an environment. For a fish in the aquarium, the biotic factors could include other fish, snails, algae, and plants.

35. Components that involve non-living things are known as abiotic. For that same fish, the abiotic factors could include the water, air bubbles, gravel, water acidity and salinity, temperature, wind, and the sunlight amount.

36. So, all the biotic as well as the abiotic factors influence an organism ability maintain biological stability and survive AND contribute to a balanced ecosystem.

37. Abiotic or Biotic? Abiotic

38. Abiotic or Biotic? Biotic

39. Ecology of Organisms Ecosystems, when left alone, are usually balanced. Ecosystems stay in balance because organisms respond to their environment.

40. Ecology of Organisms • Organisms respond to changes in their environment: • Immediate response/migration-leave the area • Acclimation-adjust their tolerance to abiotic factors over time.

41. Ecology of Organisms • Control Internal Conditions- • Conformers: do not regulate their internal conditions – they change as their environment changes (“cold-blooded”, ectotherms). • Regulators: use energy to keep control of their internal conditions-don’t change as environment changes (“warm-blooded”; endotherms) • Dormancy/Hibernation-reduced activity during unfavorable conditions. • Adaptation-a trait that gives an organism an advantage for survival, inherited. The “adaptation” appropriate to the environment may change over time for a species – evolution.

42. Ecology of Organisms • To understand an organism's relationship to its environment we must know its role in its environment. • A species “NICHE” is its role the species play in the environment. • The niche may include: • Its “habitat” or where it lives • the range of conditions the species can • tolerate • What it eats • Needed resources • Behaviors - When it sleeps, hunts, reproduces, etc.

43. Ecology of Organisms Every organism in an ecosystem has a place to live, called a habitat. The ocean or lake is the habitat of sea turtles. The habitat of a bullfrog is a pond. The habitat of a giant anteater is open grassland. An organism's habitat is its "address” or home.

44. Ecology of Organisms For example, a spider’s NICHE includes its habitat (web) and its job of eating insects. This helps the ecosystem stay in balance by keeping the insect population down. **Only one niche can be occupied by only one species. **When 2 or more species overlap, the species will compete to get what they need.

45. If two different species of birds ate the same species of insects from treetops in the same forest, there would be competition between them. In this case, the competition between the two bird species would be intense because of the overlap in their niches. FYI ~ However, if the two bird species fed on different insects in the same treetops-or on the same insects but in different parts of the trees-there would be less overlap in their niches and reduced competition between them. The greatest competition usually occurs between members of the same species, because such individuals are more likely to share identical niches.

48. GENERALISTS- species with a broad niche; tolerate a range of conditions and use a variety of resources. Example-Virginia opossum (found across the U.S). SPECIALISTS - species with a narrow, specified niche. Example-koala (Australia)

49. Organisms can come in and disrupt niches… • Introduced species • Invasive species

50. Introduced Species: • A species brought into an area either on purpose or accidentally, that did not originally live in that area. • Disrupts relationships in ecosystems where • each species has a well-defined niche; the • new species usually has little competition. • Can become widespread. • Can cause decline or destruction of some naturally occurring species. • Ex: Zebra mussels, “killer” bees, Dandelions, Cane toads