Principles of Ecology Whats the BIG IDEA Energy

Principles of Ecology

What’s the BIG IDEA? Energy is required to cycle materials through living and nonliving systems.

Organisms and their Relationships • MAIN IDEA: Biotic and abiotic factors interact in complex ways in communities and ecosystems.

Word Origins (Don’t copy) Word Part ABio. Com- or co. Eco. Sym- Meaning not life With, together Environment nature With, together Example Abiotic Biotic Community Ecology symbiosis

What is Ecology? • Study of interactions between organisms, their environments, and different species • Organisms are observed in their own environments • Effects of biotic and abiotic things are studied

Ecologists (Don’t copy) • 1866 – Ernst Haeckel introduced the word ecology • Since then, national government has worked to protect the environment: – National parks – Damage to environment studied – Laws to protect the environment

What Do Ecologists Do? (Don’t copy) • What are important things in the environment people might study? • Why are they important?

The Biosphere • Thin layer around Earth that supports life • Extends several km above Earth’s surface, and several km below the ocean’s surface • Includes any place where life is found • Includes biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) things

Biosphere

Levels of Organization (Hierarchy) • Simplest complex: organism, population, biological community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

Population • Organisms of the same species in the same location at the same time • Ex: the goose population in Nomahegan Park in 2007 • Members compete for the same resources • If becomes too large, some may die until the environment can support it again

Community • All the populations in the same area at the same time • Example? • Populations can interact and sometimes compete for the same resources

Ecosystem • Community + all abiotic factors that affect it • No size limit or boundaries; can be large or small (Watchung Reservation or a puddle) • some overlap (ocean and shoreline)

Biome • Large group of ecosystems with the same or similar climate, characteristics, and communities • Ex: desert, rainforest, ocean

Biosphere • Largest level of organization • Includes ALL of the biomes • Most complex

Create! • Make a diagram, structure, rhyme, song, etc. to show the levels of organization. Include a specific example. • Work in a small group. • You will present your creation!

4 Main Characteristics of Ecosystems 1. Organisms interact with each other and abiotic factors. 2. Energy flows by being transferred through organisms. 3. Nutrients and other materials are cycled. 4. Ecosystems change.

Factor 1: Interactions • Interactions occur within ecosystems and communities.

Community Interactions • Organisms interact for survival. • Types of interactions: – Competition – Predation – Symbiotic

Competition • More than 1 organism uses a resource at one time • May compete for food, sunlight (plants), water, mates, etc. • Competition – fierce when resources are limited • Weaker organisms may die or leave area

Types of Competition (DON’T COPY) • Interspecific – between different species – Ex: snail and river turtle compete for tape grass. • Intraspecific – within one species – Deer competing for limited resources as their land shrinks due to development by humans

Predation • Eating another organism • Predator – usually an animal; exception is the venus fly trap • Prey – can be plants or animals • What are some adaptations of predators and prey?

Predator/Prey Adaptations • Camouflage (cryptic coloration) • Warning coloration – poisons, stingers • Chemical defenses – poisons, toxins • Mimicry – resemble distasteful models (butterflies, wasps and bees)

Plant Prey Protection • Morphological (structural) – thorns, spines, plant hairs, etc • Chemical defenses- may be poisons or other toxins • Some herbivores have adapted to be able to eat these

Symbiotic Relationships • Close relationship – organisms live together 1. Mutualism 2. Commensalism 3. Parasitism Page 93

Mutualism • Both organisms benefit from the relationship – Ex: birds, insects, bats and flowering plants – Lichens (alga and fungus – food/moisture) – Grazing animals and birds (cattle and egrets)

Commensalism • One benefits, the other is not helped or harmed – Ex: barnacles attach to whales for a ride and protection from predators, new food resources, water circulation, spread of genes to new areas for variation – Shark and remoras

Parasitism • One benefits (parasite), the other is harmed (host) • Host is often indirectly killed because it becomes so weak • External – lice • Internal – eggs often laid in other species and feed off of them (heartworm, tapeworm, strongyles) • Parasitic plant (dodder) obtains food from host plant b/c no chlorophyll

Ecosystem Interactions • Interactions occur between organisms and their environment. • A habitat is an area where an organism lives. • A niche is the role or position that an organism has in its environment. – Ex: requirements for space, food, temperature, etc.

Importance of a niche (Don’t copy) • Niche of one bird species is to eat beetles, while another bird species can eat spiders in the area. • Only one type of organism occupies its niche in a community. Competing species often have slightly different food sources, predators, or hunting times, for example. • This helps to eliminate competitive exclusion in nature. (Resources are partitioned to all members of a community)

What about you? • What is your habitat? • Describe your niche.

Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem • MAIN IDEA: Autotrophs capture energy, making it available for all members of a food web.

Word Origins WORD PART MEANING EXAMPLE Auto- self Autotroph Carne- meat Carnivore Herbi- plant Herbivore Hetero- different Heterotroph Omni- all Omnivore Troph- nutrients Autotroph Vore- eat carnivore

4 Main Characteristics of Ecosystems 1. Organisms interact with each other and abiotic factors. 2. Energy flows by being transferred through organisms. 3. Nutrients and other materials are cycled. 4. Ecosystems change.

DO NOW • Can energy be created or destroyed? Where is energy stored so living things can use it? • Make a food web connecting the following: A mouse eats oak acorns, but is eaten by a snake and a hawk. The hawk and snake both eat a smaller bird, and the snake also eats a salamander. The salamander and small bird eat insects, which eat pine cones. All organisms are broken down by fungus and bacteria.

Energy in an Ecosystem • Energy cannot be created or destroyed • Energy CAN be stored in matter – chemical energy in food • Energy flows through ecosystems, from sun producers consumers

Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs (Don’t copy) • Different organisms – different sources of energy • Autotrophs – make own food; producers • Basis of all ecosystems; make energy available for ALL organisms – Photosynthetic – use sun’s energy – Chemosynthetic – uses chemical energy • Heterotrophs - consumers

Types of Heterotrophs (Don’t copy) • Herbivores – only eat plants – Ex: cow, horse, rabbit • Carnivores – eat other heterotrophs (meat) – Ex: cat, dog, lion • Omnivores – eat plants and animals – Ex: bear, human

Types of Heterotrophs cont’d • Detritivores – eats dead, organic matter (detritus – waste, dead organisms, etc) and makes nutrients available for other organisms – Ex: worms, some insects • Decomposers – break down dead organisms compounds and nutrients – Ex: fungi, bacteria

Models of Energy Flow • Show energy movement from one trophic level (step in food chains/webs) to the next • 1 st trophic level = autotrophs • All other levels = heterotrophs • Organisms in one trophic level get their energy from level before them

Food Chains/Webs • Food chain – Simple model of energy transfer • Ex: grass zebra lion • Arrows point FROM food TO what eats it • Starts with autotroph, ends with heterotroph

Food Chain

Food Chains/Webs • REALLY – organisms eat more that one other organism, and are eaten by more than one organism • Food web – interconnected food chains, showing all energy pathways in a community

Image from: http: //weedeco. msu. montana. edu/

Food Webs • Keep # of organisms in balance • Each organism vital in keeping others balanced in community • Reproduction and death – important in balancing populations

Checkpoint • What is the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph? • Why are autotrophs important to a community? • How are food chains and food webs related?

Inefficiency • Transfer of energy – inefficient • Only SOME energy is transferred from one level to the next

Why Only SOME of the Energy? • Organism uses energy to – Grow – Reproduce – Life processes • Energy escapes as heat (not usable) • Energy contained in wastes (used by decomposers) • Energy not destroyed, but lost from community; need constant source - SUN

Ecological Pyramids • A diagram that can show the relative amounts of energy, biomass, or numbers of organisms at each trophic level in an organism

Practice • Make an energy pyramid using the food web you made at the beginning of class today. Place all organisms in the correct level. • If the producers have 4000 kcal of energy, how much energy is at each of the other trophic levels?

Cycling of Matter • MAIN IDEA: Essential nutrients are cycled through biogeochemical processes. • Bio = life • Geo = Earth • Chemical = matter, compounds

4 Main Characteristics of Ecosystems 1. Organisms interact with each other and abiotic factors. 2. Energy flows by being transferred through organisms. 3. Nutrients and other materials are cycled. 4. Ecosystems change.

Law of Conservation • Matter cannot be created or destroyed. • It CAN be reused. • Unlike energy, which FLOWS, matter CYCLES.

Cycles in the Biosphere • Nutrients – matter needed by organisms to survive – building blocks of cells – needed for structure and function – absorbed by plants from air, soil, and water – pass through food web; recycled by decomposers and detritivores

Biogeochemical Cycles • Water cycle • Carbon cycle • Nitrogen cycle • Phosphorus cycle NOTE: matter is broken down and reconstructed throughout cycles; same exact molecules are not cycled

Your Turn! • Start in “expert groups” to – Draw and explain each step of the cycle. Describe the processes throughout, and the importance of it. – Explain how people may affect it. • Join with people from other groups. Each must explain their cycle to the group. • Fill in your packet.

DO NOW • You have 10 minutes to… –Take out your homework –Fill in your project plan sheet –Finish your presentation

Water Statistics • 97% of Earth’s water is in the oceans or seas. • 3% is freshwater, 69% of which is in icecaps and glaciers • 90% of water vapor is from oceans; 10% from plants • Why are oceans salty?

Carbon Facts • Carbon and oxygen – in all living things; cycles rather quickly • Buried organic matter – eventually makes fossil fuels • Carbon – trapped in fossil fuels, limestone (shells, coral, clams, etc. ) until burned (fuels), or weathered and eroded (limestone)

Nitrogen Info • • Nitrogen – in proteins Atmosphere = 70% nitrogen Can’t use nitrogen gas! Nitrogen enters food webs when plants absorb it from the soil • Nitrogen returns to soil by urination, death; ammonia converted to Ncompounds by organisms

Phosphorus Info • Phosphorus – needed for growth and development • Short-term: phosphorus in soil producers consumers • Long-term: phosphorus trapped in rocks; must go through weathering and erosion

DO NOW • Complete “Study Guide” worksheet for section 2. • Row by row, add your answers to pg. 49 #1 -4 to the board.

Ecosystems Change • Changes may be… – Natural – Caused by humans • What might cause changes in ecosystems?

Primary Succession • Establishment of a community where there is no topsoil • Can be on solid lava, on the side of a cliff • How do organisms grow with no soil?

Pioneer Species • Pioneer species – 1 st species to grow • Include lichens, mosses, etc. • Help break down rock by secreting chemicals • Decaying organisms – add to soil

Thin Topsoil Allows for… • Small weeds, insects, fungi, etc. • After they die – more soil! • Seeds carried by wind, insects, etc. germinate (usually light seeds – dandelions) • Shrubs and trees start to grow

Secondary Succession • Soil is present • Usually occurs in abandoned land, a pond; or occurs after a disturbance to land, like a forest fire • Smaller plants fill in, and over time larger plants begin to grow

Climax Community • When mature ecosystem is reached • Succession stops • Ecosystem no longer changing with time

Checkpoint • What is the difference between primary and secondary succession? Which most likely occurs faster? • What is meant by a climax community? Do you think they really exist? Explain.

Do Now: • Get a textbook • Read section 3 -2 (pages 67 -73) and pay special attention to the vocabulary • We will be playing a game to review these definitions afterwards!

*AUTOTROPH *PRODUCER *PHOTOSYNTHESIS *CHEMOSYNTHESIS *HETEROTROPH *CONSUMER *HERBIVORE *CARNIVORE *OMNIVORE *DETRITIVORE *DECOMPOSER *FOOD CHAIN *FOOD WEB *TROPHIC LEVEL *BIOMASS *ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID

*LIPID *MEIOSIS *HOMOZYGOUS *CHLOROPLASTS *GENOTYPE *PROTEIN *CELL *OMNIVORE *MITOCHONDRIA *CARBOHYDRATE *MITOSIS *MUTATION *NUCLEIC ACID *HETEROZYGOUS *PHENOTYPE *ATOM

Ecology Quiz! • You have 5 minutes to review your notes on ecology • Separate your desks and put everything away! • You may write on the sheet, with either pen or pencil • Good luck