Principles of Ecology

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Principles of Ecology

• Unit 2Chapter 2

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What is ecology?

• Ecology study of interactions that take place
  between organisms and their environment

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Biosphere

• the portion of the Earth that supports living
  things
• Ex ocean, forest, atmosphere.

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Abiotic vs. Biotic factors

• Abiotic nonliving parts of the environment
• Ex light, air, temperature, soil
• Biotic living parts of the environment
• Ex bacteria, protist, fungus, plant, animal

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Levels of organization from smallest to largest

• Individual
• Population
• Community
• Ecosystem

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Individual

• made of cells, uses energy, reproduces, responds,
  grows, and develops

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Population

• group of organisms all of the same species, which
  interbreed and live in the same area at the same
  time

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Community

• interacting populations in a certain area at a
  certain time

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Ecosystem

• interacting communities and abiotic factors

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Habitat vs. Niche

• Habitat place where organism lives
• Niche role or position a species has in its
  environment

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Habitats are capable of changing.
What can lead to changes in habitats?
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Symbiosis interactions between two species

• Mutualism both benefits
• Commensalism one benefits, the other unaffected
• Parasitism one benefits, one is harmed

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Mutualism
Clownfish is protected, while providing a lure
for the anemone. Some say that this relationship
can be commensalistic.
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Commensalism
Volcano sponge using the crinoid sponge as a
lift for increased filtration but the crinoid
sponge is unaffected.
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Parasitism
Head lice
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How organisms obtain energy

• Autotroph (producer) photosynthetic or
  chemosynthetic, makes own food
• Heterotroph (consumer) eat other organisms,
  cannot make own food
• Decomposer breaks down dead or decaying
  organisms, recycles matter

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Autotroph
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Heterotrophs - scavengers

• Scavengers feed off of dead or decaying living
  things but do not recycle matter back into the
  ecosystem

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Heterotrophs - herbivores

• consume only vegetative matter
• mostly primary consumers.

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Heterotrophs - carnivores

• obtain energy from eating other consumers
• Secondary and tertiary consumers

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Decomposers
Typical examples fungus and bacteria
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Food chain

• shows how matter and energy move through an
  ecosystem (one route)

berries ? mice ? black bear
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Food web

• shows interactions between organisms (all
  possible routes)

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Energy pyramid
Pyramid of Energy
Heat
0.1 Consumers
1 Consumers
Heat

• Shows how much energy is available at each
  trophic (energy) level

10 Consumers
Heat
Heat
Parasites, scavengers, and decomposers feed at
each level.
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Autotrophs
Third-order heterotrophs
Second-order heterotrophs
First-order heterotrophs
Decomposers
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Four cycles in nature

• Water cycle
• Carbon cycle
• Nitrogen cycle
• Phosphorus cycle

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Water cycle
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Carbon cycle
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Nitrogen cycle
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Phosphorus cycle