Essential Question How are the entities of life

Essential Question: How are the entities of life interconnected?

Four Spheres of Earth ❧ ❧Atmosphere: air ❧Lithosphere: land/ crust ❧Hydrosphere: water in all forms ❧Biosphere: all living things

Ecology ❧ ❧ = the study of how living things interact with each other AND their environment ❧Can be studied at different levels! ❧Includes: ❧ Nutrient Cycles ❧ Feeding Relationships & Energy Flow ❧ Species interactions: competition, symbiosis, & important roles

Biotic vs. Abiotic ❧ Bio: living Biotic: living organism A: no or non Abiotic: non living

Ecological Hierarchy ❧ I. Individual organism II. Population III. Community IV. Ecosystem V. Biome VI. Biosphere

Ecological Hierarchy ❧ II. Population: same species living in an area ❧ Species = group of similar organisms that can interbreed ❧ Example: all the Giant pandas in a forest III. Community: group of different populations living in same area ❧ Example: All the different plants & animals in a forest with the panda

Ecological Hierarchy ❧ IV. Ecosystem: area where living (biotic) & nonliving (abiotic) things interact ❧where plants & animals interact with each other & water, soil, wind, sunlight

Ecological Hierarchy ❧ V. Biome: Ecosystems with similar climates and communities ❧Examples: forest, desert, grassland, ocean, etc. VI. Biosphere: all ecosystems on earth

Draw your own Ecological Hierarchy ❧ Pick an organism and then draw the 5 different levels in that organism’s ecological hierarchy. Must be labeled correctly, neat, colorful, and creative!

Biogeochemical Cycles (Nutrient Cycles) ❧ ❧In terms of matter, Earth is a closed system ❧Nothing enters or leaves, just recycled ❧This is the Law of Conservation of Matter! ❧Matter is neither created nor destroyed, but recycled and reused ❧Important cycles: carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, water

Carbon Cycle = process where C is cycled b/w atmosphere, land, water, & organisms (during photosynthesis & cellular respiration) ❧Steps: Write steps into notes!

How Humans Affect the Carbon Cycle ❧ Burn fossil fuels → releases CO 2 into atmosphere ❧ More CO 2 in atmosphere causes global warming through greenhouse effect

How You Can Reduce Your Carbon Impact: ❧Use gas-efficient cars ❧Carpool/ use public transportation ❧Walk or ride bike when possible ❧Eat locally-grown food ❧Use less plastics & disposable products

Oxygen Cycle = process where oxygen is cycled b/w atmosphere, ocean, & organisms ❧ All organisms need Oxygen 1. Producers release O 2 during photosynthesis ❧CO 2 + H 2 O + sun → C 6 H 12 O 6 + O 2 2. Organisms use O 2 during cellular respiration ❧ C 6 H 12 O 6 + O 2 → CO 2 + H 2 O + energy 3. O 2 is stored: ❧Dissolved in oceans ❧Oxygen in the atmosphere: ❧ O 2 is 21% of lower atmosphere ❧ Ozone (O 3) in upper atmosphere protects us from UV rays

Nitrogen Cycle = process where nitrogen (N) is cycled b/w atmosphere, bacteria, & other organisms ❧ All organisms need N for proteins & nucleic acids (DNA) 1. N 2 gas must be changed by nitrogen-fixing bacteria: ❧ They convert N 2 into nitrates (NO 3) 2. Plants get NO 3 from soil → animals eat plants 3. Plants & animal waste puts N back into soil in form of ammonia (NH 4) 4. Other bacteria convert ammonia into nitrites (NO 2) & nitrates

Nitrogen Cycle

How Humans Affect the Nitrogen Cycle ❧Have doubled amount of N on land due to use of fertilizers & burning fossil fuels ❧Problems of too much N: ❧Rivers & lakes becoming acidic ❧Global warming

Hydrologic (Water) Cycle = path of H 2 O through environment ❧ Most H 2 O is stored in oceans ❧ Ocean H 2 O is turned to vapor (gas) by evaporation & winds push vapor around globe ❧ H 2 O vapor turns to liquid in atmosphere = condensation ❧ Liquid falls as precipitation (rain, snow, etc. ) ❧ Living organisms use H 2 O, then return it to environment through: ❧ Breathing & sweating ❧ Waste ❧ Transpiration from leaves (plants) (leaves sweating)

❧ Water Cycle ❧

How Humans affect the Water Cycle: ❧ ❧Remove H 2 O faster than nature can replace it ❧Drain wetlands → increases flooding ❧Pollution

Phosphorus Cycle = movement of phosphorus (P) between environment & organisms ❧P is important in DNA and ATP Steps: 1. Rocks erode, putting phosphate into soil and water 2. P is taken up by plants & converted to organic molecules 3. Animals eat plants 4. Decomposing plants & animals & waste return P to environment ❧How humans affect P cycle: ❧ Excess phosphate from fertilizers can cause too much algal growth in water → kills fish & other organisms

Phosphorus Cycle ❧ Excess P due to fertilizers!

Energy Flow in Ecosystems ❧Ultimate source of energy = sun ❧Plants, algae, & some bacteria capture solar energy - perform photosynthesis ❧Organelle that performs photosynthesis = chloroplast (pigment inside = chlorophyll)

Photosynthesis ❧ ❧= Carbon dioxide + water + solar energy → sugar (glucose) & oxygen ❧CO 2 + H 20 + solar energy → C 6 H 12 O 6 + O 2 Reactants Products

Photosynthesis ❧ ❧Performed by producers = an organism that makes its own food via photosynthesis* ❧Aka autotrophs

From producers to …. ❧ ❧Consumer = an organism that gets energy by eating other organisms ❧Aka heterotroph ❧ Producers & Consumers convert sugar into usable energy through cellular respiration ❧Organelle that performs cellular respiration = mitochondria

Cellular respiration ❧ ❧= Glucose + oxygen →carbon Energy dioxide & water & energy (ATP) molecule ❧C 6 H 12 O 6 + O 2 → CO 2 + H 20 + ATP Reactants Products

Consumers can be categorized by… ❧What is eats: ❧Herbivore: eats producers ❧Carnivore: eats other consumers ❧Omnivore: eats producers & consumers ❧Scavenger: eats dead large animals ❧Decomposer: breaks down dead producers & consumers (bacteria & fungi)

Consumers are Categorized by Trophic Level ❧In a food chain/ web, each step is called a trophic level ❧Producers = 1 st trophic level ❧Herbivores = primary consumers = 2 nd trophic level ❧Carnivores & Omnivores = secondary consumers – 3 rd trophic level ❧And so forth…

Trophic Level Energy Loss ❧Energy flows through environment (sun → organisms → space) ❧Energy is lost as it flows (according to 2 nd Law of Thermodynamics) ❧At each trophic level: ❧ 90% of energy from food is used for life functions (ex: movement, growth, reproduction, homeostasis) ❧ Some energy is lost as heat ❧ Remaining 10% energy becomes part of organism’s body & is available to next trophic level

Energy Pyramids ❧ Each layer of pyramid represents a trophic level ❧ Only 10% of energy makes it to next level ❧ B/c so much energy is lost at each level, there are fewer organisms as go up ❧ Loss of energy limits the # of tropic levels in ecosystems ❧ Usually have <5 Example: a single lion needs ~250 km 2 of land to hunt

Energy Pyramid Math Problems – write these in your notes! ❧ 1. If the producers in an ecosystem capture 1000 units of energy, how many units are available to the primary consumers? ❧ Answer: 100 units ❧ 1000 x 10% (0. 1) = 100 units to next level 2. If the producers in an ecosystem capture 5000 units of energy, how many units are available to the tertiary consumers? ❧ Answer: 5 units ❧ 5000 for producers → 500 for primary consumers → 50 for secondary consumers → 5 for tertiary consumers

Roles In The Environment ❧Niche = unique role of a species in its ecosystem ❧Includes: ❧What it eats & what eats it ❧If/ how it alters the environment ❧Interactions with other species**

Species Interactions Include: 1. Predator/prey 2. Competition = when individuals or populations attempt to use the same limited resource • What resources might be competed over? • Food, space, water, mates 3. Symbiosis = relationship in which 2 species live in close association

3 Types of Symbiosis: 1. Mutualism = close relationship where both organisms benefit (+, +)

3 Types of Symbiosis: 2. Commensalism = relationship where one organism benefits & the other is neither helped nor harmed (+, 0)

3 Types of Symbiosis: 3. Parasitism = relationship where one organism benefits and the other gets hurt (+, -)

Other Important Roles that Organisms Play: ❧Keystone species: have a large effect on other species & biodiversity ❧Generally = top predators ❧Loss of top predator can cause trophic cascade ❧Examples: ❧Alligator ❧Sea otter ❧Gray wolf keystone

Other Important Roles that Organisms Play: ❧Indicator species: provide early warning of damage/pollution to an ecosystem ❧ Examples: ❧ Frogs – warn of water pollution ❧ Birds & Butterflies – warn of air pollution, habitat loss ❧ Aquatic insects – warn of water pollution

Other Important Roles that Organisms Play: ❧Foundation species: create or enhance their habitats (physically), which benefit others ❧Ex: Beavers, alligators, elephants