ORGANISM → POPULATION

• a functioning creature

• Ex. One squirrel

• group of organisms

of the same species • Ex. All the wolves in

a specific area

COMMUNITY → ECOSYSTEM

• a group of different populations which interact in a particular area

• Ex. All of the squirrels, trees, birds, insects etc. in a forest

• All of the living & nonliving

factors in a particular area

• Ex. A forest (includes all the organisms & the soil, water etc.)

Community

• Groups of different populations that live in a defined area

BIOME → BIOSPHERE

• A group of ecosystems with the same climate & similar communities

• Ex. Temperate Deciduous Forest

• any where on Earth that organisms can live

Ecological Methods

1. Observing– Descriptive (observations)– Quantitative (measurements)

2. Experimenting– In lab or in the “field”

3. Modeling– Mathematical/computer

Producers (“self-feeders”)

• also known as the autotrophs

• produce their own food

• use the processes of photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Photosynthesis:

-green plants produce sugar

Chemosynthesis:

-bacteria produce ATP from inorganic substances

Consumers

• can not make their own food

• also known as heterotrophs

Types of Heterotrophs

Herbivores

• plant eating organisms

• Primary Consumers (1st to eat plants)

Types of Heterotrophs

Carnivores

• Eat other animals

• Secondary Consumers (eat the primary consumers)

Types of Heterotrophs

Omnivores

• Eat both plant & animal matter

Types of Heterotrophs

Detrivores (scavengers)

• Feed on plant & animal remains

Types of Heterotrophs

Decomposers • special heterotrophs which break down

organic matter• recyclers • Make essential nutrients available• Ex. • Bacteria & fungi

Feeding Relationships

• A food chain shows the flow of energy between the organisms in an environment

Food Webs Food Webs (interconnected food chains)(interconnected food chains)• show the directions that energy flows in an

ecosystem.

Energy Moves in a Food WebEnergy Moves in a Food Web

Plants make glucose from light

Some animals get glucose from plants

Other animals get energy from the fat and protein in other animals

Parts of a Food WebParts of a Food Web

• Producers: organisms that use light to store energy in organic compounds. – (examples: plants, algae, phytoplankton)

Parts of a Food WebParts of a Food Web

• Where are the producers in the food web below?

Parts of a Food WebParts of a Food Web

• Consumers: organisms that eat other organisms to get organic compounds that they use for energy – (examples: humans, cows, insects, birds…)

Parts of a Food WebParts of a Food Web

• Where are the consumers in the food web below?

Producer

Primary Consumer

Secondary Consumer

Tertiary Consumer

Population Impacts in a Food Population Impacts in a Food WebWeb

• If the population of organisms at any level of the food web changes, it will affect the population at other levels

• If the population of producers decreases, then the population of primary consumers will decrease if they don’t have enough food.

• If the population of primary consumers decreases, then…– The producers will increase because there are

less consumers eating them– The secondary consumers will decrease

because there is less food for them

Energy PyramidsEnergy Pyramids

• More energy at the bottom, decreases as the pyramid moves up the food web

More Energy

Less Energy

Energy Pyramid LabelsEnergy Pyramid Labels

Producers

Tertiary Consumers

Primary Consumers

Secondary Consumers

Energy Transfer in Energy Energy Transfer in Energy PyramidsPyramids

• Each trophic level of the energy pyramid supplies energy to the level above it.

• Each transfer loses 90% of the energy

• Only 10% of the energy at a level is passed to the next level up!

• 90% is “lost” - used for movement, respiration, & reproduction – lost as heat (not a useable form of energy)

Energy Transfer (percents)Energy Transfer (percents)

100%

0.1%

10%

1%

Energy Transfer (calories)Energy Transfer (calories)

1,000 calories

1 calorie

100 calories

10 calories

Biomass Pyramid

• total amount of living tissue in a trophic level

• represents amount of potential food available for each trophic level

Abiotic Factors

1. Inorganic Matter• not living, never was living• does not include carbon• ex. - rocks & minerals; water

(nonliving factors)

Abiotic Factors

2. Organic matter Carbon based Includes decomposed organisms &

waste products of organisms

Abiotic Factors

3. Physical Factors• Other factors which influence

organisms

• Ex. Temperature, amount of sunlight, rainfall etc.

Biotic factors• Humans• Bacteria• Fungus• Plants• Insects• Amphibians• Reptiles• Mammals• Birds

Abiotic factors• Water• Soil• Wind or Air• Gases

– oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen

• Temperature• Sunlight• pH

– Acid or base

What are living factors called?

Abiotic or Biotic?

• The air temperature is 45 degrees F = • The soil is made of rocks and minerals =• A bird lays eggs =• Bacteria break down dead organisms = • The pH or the water is 2 (acidic) =

abioticabioticabioticabiotic

abioticabiotic

bioticbioticbioticbiotic

Which of the following is a relationship Which of the following is a relationship between abiotic and biotic factors?between abiotic and biotic factors?

A) The rain on an open field washes away soil

B) A hawk hunts a mouse and swoops down into the forest for the kill

C) A lake has very acidic water which causes many

fish populations to die

D) A deer grazes in a field of grasses

Abiotic

Biotic

Habitats• A habitat is the place in which an organism lives.

– Made up of the soil, air, and water, as well as the plants of the area. (incl. biotic & abiotic factors)

Can you think of other examples?

Pond Thicket

Forest stream

Meadow

Marsh

Niche

• A niche is the role or job of a specific organism. – Each organism has a specific niche. – Includes how the organism uses the biotic

and abiotic conditions to survive. – Includes its role in the food web– Includes when and how reproduction occurs

• Giraffes & gazelles share habitat, not niches (they eat different food – no competition)

Predation

One organism captures and feeds on the other.

Predator – Prey-a larger organism (predator) feeds on a smaller organism (prey)

Competition

organisms of the same or different species attempt to use an ecological resource in the same place at the same time.

Purple Loosestrife (from Great Britain)

Invasive wetland plant that overtakes native plants that provide better nutrition/habitat for water fowl

Resources - Food, water, nutrients, sunlight, space, shelter

competitive exclusion principle – No two species may occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time.

• one species will always use the resources more efficiently

• that species will reproduce more

• slight advantage leads to the elimination of the weaker competitor

Ex. Intraspecific Competition:

Competition among organisms of the same species

Ex. Interspecific Competition

Competition among organisms of different species

Symbiosis

• Symbiosis: a long-term relationship between two organisms in an ecosystem.

Types of Symbiosis

1. Mutualism: both organisms benefit from their relationship

2. Commensalism: one organism benefits, and the other is unaffected

3. Parasitism: one organisms benefits, and the other is harmed

Parasitism:-a smaller organism (parasite) feeds ona larger organism (host)

Name That Symbiosis• Leeches feed off of the lamprey below,

and eventually cause it to die.

parasitism

Name That Symbiosis• A clown fish lives among the sea

anemone. The clown fish gains protection, but the anemone is neither harmed nor helped.

commensalism

Name That Symbiosis• Ox-peckers live on the heads of the ox,

eating insects and keeping the ox clean. The birds also get a place to live.

mutualism

Tapeworm Scolex – may attach to human intestines

parasitismhead with hooks and suckers

Cleaner fish

mutualism

commensalism

Shark & Remora

mutualism

Lichens (fungus & algae)