Intro to Ecology Biology By completing this lesson

Intro to Ecology Biology

By completing this lesson, you will learn about… • The scope of Ecology • Ecological Organization • Energy Flow • Feeding Relationships • Chemical Cycles

Studies in Ecology Concept Map Biology Ecology Conservation Ecology Community Ecology Population Ecology Ecosystem Ecology

Energy Flow Concept Map Energy Flow Chemical Cycles Feeding Relationships Trophic Levels Nitro gen Cycl e bon r a C le Cyc Wat e Cyc r le Phos phor Cycl ous e

The Scope of Ecology • Introduction • Ecological Organization • The Branches of Ecology

What is Ecology? • ECOLOGY – The study of interactions between organisms and environments.

Ecological Organization • Ecological relationships range from an individual organism to the entire biosphere.

Organism A single living thing Community A group of organisms of the same species that live together. A group of Populations that live together Ecosystem Communities and their physical environments Population Biome Biosphere A group of ecosystems that have the same climate. All the biomes on Earth. Thus, all the living areas of the planet.

Organism Population Community Ecosystem Biome Biosphere

Branches of Ecology Population Ecology Study of how populations grow Ecosystem Ecology Study of how populations interact with their physical environment Community Ecology Study of how populations interact with each other Conservation Ecology Study of how to preserve And create a healthy, Lasting biosphere

Question: Levels of Organization Match the terms on the left with the definitions on the right Population Ecology Example of a biome Biome Study of group growth Tundra Areas of same climate

Energy Flow 1: Feeding Relationships • Overview • Trophic levels • Food Webs

Overview: Energy Flow Ecosystem Most ecosystems are driven by energy from sunlight Level of ecological study that includes all organisms in a given area along with the factors with which they interact. A community and its physical environment. Energy flow and chemical cycling are two interrelated processes that occur by transfer of substances through the feeding levels of ecosystems.

Key Concept: One of the ways in which energy flows through an Ecosystem is by feeding. Different living organisms eat each other, and the food is energy moving from one organism to the next.

What is a Food Web? • The feeding relationships in an ecosystem. Also called a food chain.

Example of a food web snake mouse rabbit grasshopper grass (seeds) decomposers Bacteria & Fungus

What are Trophic levels? • Trophic level – each feeding level in a food web or chain.

Trophic level organisms: Producers are the backbone trophic level Producers are autotrophs which gets energy from the sun using photosynthesis. Plants, algae & phytoplankton

Trophic level: Consumers is a trophic level of heterotrophs Consumers are heterotrophs which eat other organisms for energy, such as snails and pigs. There are many trophic levels of consumers. Herbivores eat plants only. (cows) Carnivores eat animals only. (sharks) Omnivores eat plants and animals. (humans, mice) Decomposers break down dead, rotting remains. ( bacteria, mushrooms)

Trophic levels of food webs PRODUCERS Autotrophs Herbivores Carnivores CONSUMERS (Heterotrophs) Omnivores waste and remains decomposers detritivores

Trophic level Pyramid Tertiary Consumer Secondary Consumer Primary Consumer Heterotrophs Herbivores Producers Autotrophs Uses the sun’s energy to make its own food- photosynthesis

Trophic level Pyramid About 10% of available NRG is passed up 10 Tertiary Consumer Secondary Consumer 1000 Primary Consumer Heterotrophs Herbivores Producers Autotrophs Uses the sun’s energy to make its own food- photosynthesis

Trophic level Pyramid About 10% of available NRG is passed up 10 Tertiary Consumer The rest is lost as Heat and Waste Secondary Consumer 1000 Primary Consumer Heterotrophs Herbivores Producers Autotrophs Uses the sun’s energy to make its own food- photosynthesis

Primary Productivity The rate at which light energy is converted to the chemical energy of organic compounds by autotrophs in an ecosystem. primary productivity is limited by a variety of factors that depend on the specific ecosystem as well as change in season. Usually only about 10% of the chemical energy available at one trophic level appears at the next.

Question: Trophic Levels • What type of organisms consume wastes? 1. _______ 2. _______ The food web is organized by _____ levels.

Question: Trophic Levels • What type of organisms consume wastes? 1. Detritivores 2. Decomposers The food web is organized by Trophic levels.

Energy Flow II: Chemical Cycles • • • Overview Carbon Cycle Nitrogen Cycle Water Cycle Phosphorous Cycle

Another way in which energy flows through an ecosystem is by the cycling of chemical materials. Chemical materials are energy, which move as they cycle from one location to another.

Overview: Chemical Cycles Biogeochemical cycles_________ The various material circuits, which involve both the nutrient and physical components of an ecosystem. Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Water are needed by every organism on Earth. C is needed to build organic molecules. N is needed for nucleic acids. P is needed for energy molecules. Water is needed to maintain life. How does every organism on Earth have access to these limited resources? Chemical Cycling Carbon cycle Nitrogen cycle Phosphorous cycle Water cycle

Carbon Cycle The Carbon cycle reflects the connected processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. 1. Producers convert inorganic carbon dioxide into organic molecules. 2. Consumers eat the producers. 3. Consumers breathe out CO 2 which is reused by the autotrophs. Since photosynthesis generates oxygen, the oxygen cycle is coupled with the carbon cycle.

Nitrogen cycle Certain prokaryotes fix Nitrogen in the atmosphere into ammonia which other bacteria convert into nitrites and nitrates. Nitrogen in the soil is returned to the atmosphere in the form of free nitrogen by denitrifying bacteria for prokaryotes to fix again. Plants absorb ammonia and nitrates and convert them into proteins that can be passed onto the food chain. Detritivores reduce dead plants, animals and their products into ammonia which can be reused by plants or deposited in the soil.

Phosphorous cycle Phosphorous from rocks leaks into the soil by sediment runoff. The oceans deposit the phosphorous onto rocks. Phosphorous is added to the soil as phosphate. Plants absorb the phosphate. Consumers excrete feces or decomposers break down the wastes, which drains by run-off to the oceans. Animals eat the plants.

Water cycle Rain precipitates water onto the Earth. Water in the air condenses into clouds Water lands into the oceans. It also lands on soil, and runs-off into the oceans after use by living things. Water from the ocean evaporates into the air. Water moving through a plant is called Transpiration

Questions: Chemical cycles Which cycle has a chemical which become deposited on rocks? Which cycle provides the basis of organic molecules? Which cycle requires the help of bacteria?

Questions: Chemical cycles Which cycle has a chemical which become deposited on rocks? Phosphorous cycle Which cycle provides the basis of organic molecules? Carbon cycle Which cycle requires the help of bacteria? Nitrogen cycle

What you have learned. . Feeding relationships circulate energy from the sun to producers to consumers. Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and environments. Ecology can be studied at the organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome and biosphere level. Chemical cycles circulate raw materials for organisms to use. Four major cycles Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Water Energy flow is how the earth circulates energy to support life. Two types of energy flow include feeding relationships and chemical cycles.