Ecology
Ecology • Ecology:
– The study of how organisms exist in their
environment
• Ecosystem:
– where an organism lives within the
environment.
Ecology
• Abiotic factors:
– non-living things found in an ecosystem.
Abiotic factors include water and temperature.
• Examples: light, temperature, water, soil, non
living structures (rocks)
• Biotic factors:
– living things found in an ecosystem.
• Biotic factors include plants, animals, fungi,
bacteria (any living thing)
• The biotic factors need the abiotic factors to
live.
Activity
• Nature Walk
– Make a list of 6 abiotic factors & 6 biotic
factors
Ecology
• Adaptation:
– organism’s ability to tolerate change in its environment
How have animals adapted?
• Body Shape
• Color
• Diets
• Habitats
How do animals use color?
How do animals use color?
Pheasants
Robins
Butterflies
Deer-Fawn
Fish
Artic Hare
Ptarmigon
Adaptation to Weather
• Hibernation- reduce
Metabolic rate to preserve
energy
• Migration- regular seasonal
journey to an area with more
resources
Natural Selection
Is the survival of organisms that are best adapted to their environment.
• Survival of the most fit.
– Darwin Awards
AFV
Variation
• Individuals have different characteristics
Fitness
• The ability to survive and produce
offspring.
Adaptation
• If an animal is not able to adapt, it will not
increase in fitness
Stabilizing Selection
• Individuals with the AVERAGE form have the ADVANTAGE – Example – lizards that are small are not
fast enough to avoid predators; lizards that are large cannot hide easily from predators; those of average size are both fast enough to get away from predators and small enough to hide – giving them the selective advantage.
Directional Selection
• Individuals with one of the EXTREME forms have the ADVANTAGE – Example – Peppermoth in Great Britain during
the industrial revolution – “melanistic” (dark colored) moths had the selective advantage after trees where covered in coal soot. After air quality improved, the selection advantage returned to the lighter colored moths.
• Kristen will you go to homecoming?
» -Raul
Directional Selection
• Peppermoth – find two moths per picture
As the ants dig deeper, anteaters with longer tongues
have the adaptive advantage – survive to reproduce.
Disruptive Selection
• Individuals with either of the EXTREME forms have the ADVANTAGE – Example: a shellfish living in shallow ocean water is
preyed upon by a bird. Originally those with the neutral color (sand colored) had the advantage because they were camouflaged in the sand. As the birds fed on the shellfish and left their feces behind in the water, the ocean floor became white in color. Those shellfish that were sand colored are now easily found while the lighter colored shellfish are able to blend in, as are the darker colored shellfish if they are found on the darker rocks.
• Succession:
– is the replacement of one community by another.
Ecology
• Communities:
– are collections of organisms that live
together.
– Aquatic Communities:
• Communities that occur in the water
– Terrestrial Communities:
• Communities found on the land are called
Ecology
• Population density: – measure of how crowded organisms are in their
environment.
• Population growth is determined by: – Immigration:
• is the act of an organism moving into a habitat.
– Emigration: • is the act of an organism moving out of a habitat.
– Natality: • is the production of new individuals in a habitat.
– Mortality: • is the death rate in a population.
Ecology
• Competition:
– is the use of the same resources by different
organisms to live
• Predation:
– is one living organism serving as food for
another organism.
Ecology
• Herbivore
– is an animal that eats only plants for food. • Examples of herbivores include
– Bison
– Cattle
– Sheep
• Carnivore
– is an animal that eats only animals for food. – Examples of carnivores include:
– Hawks
– Mountain Loin
Ecology
• Omnivores
– are animals that eat both plants and animals. – Examples of omnivores include
– Bears
– Catfish.
• Biome
– is an area made up of a distinct combination
of plants and animals.
Ecology
• Terrestrial Biome:
– tropical forests, temperate forests,
grasslands, savannas, tundra and deserts.
• Aquatic Biome:
– lakes and ponds, streams, oceans, and
wetlands
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