Ecology

1
Ecology Environmental Problems

• Dr. Ron Chesser
• Lecture 14 Ecosystems and Ecosystems
  Management
• Reading Chapter 6

2
What is an Ecosystem?

• The minimal collection of features that will
  support and sustain life.

3
Food Webs

• Example of a Food Web

4
Energy Flow and Food Webs
A pond Ecosystem
5
Arctic Food Web
6
The Energy Pyramid in Ecosystems
kcal/m2/year
7
Biomass Pyramid in Ecosystems
8
Pyramid of Numbers in an Ecosystem
9
Trophic Levels

• All organisms in a food web that are the same
  number of feeding levels away from the original
  source of energy (usually the sun).

10
Decomposers
Fungi play an important role in the decomposition
process converting organic matter back into basic
inorganic chemicals.