Levels of Organization Ecology What is Ecology The

Levels of Organization Ecology

What is Ecology? The study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment (surroundings) The environment consists of living and non living things.

Biotic factors are all the living things in an area

Abiotic = Nonliving physical environment Examples: Temperature, climate, water, mountains etc.

Levels of Organization

Biosphere It is made up of the parts of the planet where all life exists This includes: Land, water, and air, or the atmosphere.

Biomes consist of Ecosystems that have similar climates and communities.

Ecosystem made up of abiotic factors (air, water, rocks, energy) and biotic factors (plants, animals, and microorganisms)

Communities Different populations that live together in the same area.

Populations Groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area.

Species-Individuals Is a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring. Fertile offspring – their babies can have babies Can their babies have babies? Same Species? Yes or no?

Energy Flow In order for organisms to interact with their environment, there is a need for energy to power life’s processes Sunlight is the main energy source for life on Earth

Autotrophs (producers) Organisms that are able to make their own food by using the energy of the Sun are called autotrophs, meaning "self-feeders“ Autotroph = producer

Photosynthesis: autotrophs use the sun to convert CO 2 and H 2 O into O 2 and sugars Producers give us oxygen and start the flow of energy on earth. On land, plants are the main autotrophs In freshwater, algae are the main autotrophs

Consumers are animals that cannot make their own food. They get their energy from consuming/eating plants and animals. Consumers are also called heterotrophs. Consumer = heterotroph

Herbivores Herbivores: obtain energy by eating plants Ex: cows, deer, horses, rabbits

Carnivores: obtain energy by eating animals, or meat (snakes, dogs, owls)

Omnivores: eat both plants and animals Ex: humans, bears crows

Decomposers: break down organic matter Ex: Bacteria and Fungus – mushrooms (mushrooms are NOT producers!!!)

Feeding Relationships Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction: sun → autotrophs (producers) → heterotrophs (consumers) Food chains: series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating & by being eaten The arrow shows who is GETTING energy!

Food webs: feeding relationships among various organisms in an ecosystem that form a network of complex interactions Each step in a food chain/web is called a trophic level Producers make up the 1 st trophic level Each consumer depends on the trophic level below it for energy.

Ecological pyramids: diagrams that show the amount of energy/matter in each trophic level in a food chain or food web; there are 3 Energy Pyramid: Part of energy stored in 1 trophic level is passed on to the next 10% of the energy available from one trophic level is transferred to organisms at the next level Some of the remaining energy is released into the environment as heat

Energy Pyramid: Shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level. 0. 1% Third-level consumers 1% Second-level consumers 10% First-level consumers Only part of the energy that is stored in one trophic level is passed on to the next level. 100% Producers Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Biomass Pyramid: Represents the amount of living organic matter at each trophic level. Typically, the greatest biomass is at the base of the pyramid. 50 grams of human tissue 500 grams of chicken 5000 grams of grass Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Pyramid of Numbers: Shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level. Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall

Ecological pyramids show the decreasing amounts of energy, living tissue, or number of organisms at successive feeding levels. The pyramid is divided into sections that represent each trophic level. Because each trophic level harvests only about one tenth of the energy from the level below, it can support only about one tenth the amount of living tissue.