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Unit 6: Ecology Notes. Ecosystems support life: An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms (biotic factors) plus all of the abiotic factors in the area. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment and with each other. Matter cycles through ecosystems:
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Ecosystems support life: An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms (biotic factors) plus all of the abiotic factors in the area. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment and with each other.
Matter cycles through ecosystems: MATTER CHANGES FORMS – BUT IT IS NEVER CREATED OR DESTROYED as it continually cycles through ecosystems – it is all part of a never-ending circle of life!
Water Cycle: • Condensation – water vapor condenses to liquid in the atmosphere • Precipitation – water falls back to the Earth • Transpiration – plants release water back in to air • Respiration – animals release water back in to air • Evaporation – heat changes liquid water to vapor which rises and condenses…starting the process over
r Carbon Cycle: • All living organisms are carbon based (made up of carbon compunds) • Producers remove carbon from the air • Animals consume carbon by eating producers – or eating other consumers • Plants and animals release carbon during cellular respiration • Carbon contained in fossil fuels and wood is released as CO2 during combustion
Nitrogen Cycle: • Nitrogen makes up 78% of our air – all organisms need nitrogen, but this form is unusable • Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert it to a form that can be used by plants • Lightningcan also convert the nitrogen in the air for plants to use • Animals eat these nitrogen containing plants
Energy flows through ecosystems: Living things capture and release energy as either: • Producers = autotrophs • Consumers = heterotrophs • Herbivore – eat plants • Carnivore – eat animals • Omnivore – eat both plant and animals • Decomposers = special type of heterotrophs
Picturing feeding relationships: • Food chains – shows one path of the flow of energy
Picturing feeding relationships: • Food webs – BETTER picture because it shows the many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
Picturing feeding relationships: • Energy pyramid – show the amounts of energy available at each level. Energy DECREASES as you move UP an energy pyramid. Producers are the largest group at the base of the pyramid.
Biomes contain many ecosystems: Rainfall and temperature are the main factors that determine that plants and animals that can live in a particular region – thus making the biome. There are two types of biomes: • Terrestrial (land biomes) • Aquatic (water biomes) (Notes on each of the biomes will be in your Biome Passport)
Groups of living things interact within ecosystems: Habitats are like your “home” – it is where organisms live and get everything they need to survive A niche is like your “job” – it is the role an organism plays in its ecosystem.
Your environment can be organized into: • Organism • Population • Community • Ecosystem • Biosphere
Organisms can interact in different ways: Competition results when two organisms both need the same resources. Sometimes groups of organisms will cooperate with each other in order to improve their chance of survival. Predator (hunter) and prey (hunted) relationships also exist in ecosystems.
Symbiosis happens when two different species exist in a long-term relationship. There are three types: • Mutualism (good – good) • Parasitism (good – bad) • Commensalism (good – I don’t care)
Ecosystems are always changing: Populations change over time in response to food supply, predation, seasons and birth rates. The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population it can support. When you reach carrying capacity a population stops growing.
Ecosystems change over time due to succession: • Primary succession – starts with an environment empty of life (after the retreat of a glacier, new rocks after a volcano erupts). PIONEER SPECIES (lichens and mosses) move in and begin the job of creating soil
Ecosystems change over time due to succession: • Secondarysuccession – occurs when there is a small amount of life existing just below the surface (after a fire or flood)
