Ecology The interactions between organisms and their environment

Ecology The interactions between organisms and their environment.

Part One General Ecological Concepts

Biotic & Abiotic Factors Biotic Factors Abiotic Factors Living Organisms Nonliving Things Examples:

Biotic & Abiotic Factors

Relationships Between Humans and Ecosystems. . . Ecosystem Humans

Levels of Organization Organelle Cell Tissue Organ System Organism ? ? ?

Levels of Organization Species: a group of organisms with similar characteristics that can reproduce successfully (example: jellyfish) Population: groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area (example: Australian jellyfish) Community: all of the populations living in one area (example: jellyfish, coral, seaweed, sharks, other fish, etc. in ocean in Australia)

Levels of Organization Ecosystem: community plus nonliving things (biotic and abiotic factors) (example: the entire Ocean in Australia) Biosphere: anywhere living organisms exist (example: earth)

Put the levels of organization in order from smallest to largest! Ecosystem Cell Organelle Community Tissue Organ System Organism Biosphere Population Organ

HOW DID YOU DO? 1. Organelle 6. Organism 2. Cell 7. Population 3. Tissue 8. Community 4. Organ 9. Ecosystem 5. Organ System 10. Biosphere

Food, Water, Space R E ME MB E R !!! T h e re a l i mi t e d n u mb e r o f resources availible for organisms to use.

Carrying Capacity: the amount of organisms the Earth can hold Limiting Factor: limit the carrying capacity (the reason only a certain number of organisms can survive) Disease, oxygen, food, water, space

Carrying Capacity

Niche: an organism’s role/position in its ecosystem Food Shelter Predators Reproduction

Niche

Part Two The Pyramid of Energy & Biomass

Types of Nutrition Autotrophic: make own food Producers Plants Photosynthesis (chloroplasts) Heterotrophic: eat organisms to take in food Consumers Animals The ORIGINAL source of all of the energy on Earth is the SUN.

Types of Organisms Producers: make food using energy from the sun (example = grass) Consumers: have to eat other organisms in order to obtain nutrients (example = bear) Scavengers: eat weak/dead animals (example = vulture) Decomposers: recycle nutrients back into soil (example = bacteria, mushrooms, worms)

Types of Consumers Herbivores: eat only plants Carnivores: eat only animals (meat) Omnivores: eat anything

Levels of Consumption 1. Primary Consumer Mostly herbivores 2. Secondary Consumer All carnivores and omnivores 3. Tertiary Consumer Mostly carnivores and some omnivores ***Think big predators***

Levels of Consumption

The Pyramid of Energy & Biomass Shows how energy is transferred within an ecosystem Shows the amount of biomass on each level Biomass: amount of organic material present High Biomass = Large Population

How to Read The Pyramid Producers at bottom Responsible for converting energy from sun into a form all organisms can use (photosynthesis) Consumers make up the remaining levels Amount of Energy decreases as you go further up the pyramid At each level, only 10% of the material ingested is available to the organism The other 90% is lost as heat Less energy = Less Biomass

Least / Smallest Most Energy, Most Biomass, Largest Population