Principles of Ecology
Chapter 2
September 23, 2010




Updated grades posted
Up Close and Personal – observations
Go get a leaf! Preferably one on the
ground or at least some of you..
Finish reading 2.1 and define
Vocabulary in your own words in your
glossary with a picture….
September 24, 2010

Finish up Vocabulary 2.1 in your
glossary, own words and a picture
(Chapter 2 in book, section 1)

Notes 2.1, 2,.2

Problem Solving Lab 2.1

Couche’s Spadefoot Toad of
Sonoran Desert






Lies Dormant 11/12
months
Sensors that detect
vibrations of violent
rainstorms
Emerges from sand
Males call Females
Egg Laying occurs in
pools of water
Frogs return to sand
for protection
against sun
Organisms & their environment
What is Ecology??
 Scientific study of interactions
among organisms & their
environment
 Living & nonliving, using all
fields, math, chemistry, physics,
geology
 Scientific research by
descriptive & quantitative
methods

Aspects of Ecological Study
Biosphere – portion of
earth that supports
life from the air that
supports birds to the
bottom of the ocean
 It is widely diverse –
desert to rain forest

http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Organisms in Ecosystems






Habitat
A place where an organism lives out its life
Niche
How the organism lives its life
How each species meets its needs for
food, shelter, survival, reproduction –
all interactions between biotic & abiotic
(humming bird/polar bear)
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Abiotic Factors
 nonliving part of an organisms environment
factors include:
 Air current, temperature,
 moisture, light, soil
Biotic Factors
 all the living organisms
that inhabit an environment
All organisms depend on others for food,
Shelter, protection, reproduction
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Abiotic or Biotic?
Abiotic
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Abiotic or Biotic?
Biotic
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
1st Level of Organization

Organism:
An individual
living thing that is
made of cells,
uses energy,
reproduces,
responds, grows,
and develops
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
2nd Level of Organization
•
Population:
A group of
organisms, all of the
same species, which
interbreed and live
in the same place at
the same time.
Compete for resources
such as food/water
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
3rd Level of Organization

Biological
Community:
All the
populations of
different
species that live
in the same
place at the
same time.
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
4th Level of Organization

Ecosystem:
Populations of plants
and animals that
interact with each
other in a given area
with the abiotic
components of that
area. (terrestrial
or aquatic)
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Ecosystems

Three major kinds of
ecosystems:
 Terrestrial – land, forest,
meadows, desert
 Freshwater – lakes
 Marine or saltwater – 75 %
Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem
•Begins with the
SUN
•Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight & chlorophyll
C6H12O6 + 6O2
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology

Photosynthesis
Chemical reaction where green
plants use water & carbon dioxide
to store the sun’s energy in glucose
 ENERGY is stored in glucose
 Glucose is stored as starch in plants

http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Producers use most
of the energy they
make for
themselves.
PRODUCERS
Organisms that
can make
glucose during
photosynthesis
Producers use most
of the energy they
make for
themselves.
Producers use cellular
respiration to supply
the energy they need
to live.
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
CELLULAR
RESPIRATION is
the chemical
6O2 + C6H12O6 -->>
reaction that 6H2O + 6CO2 + energy
releases the
energy in glucose.
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
The energy that is not
used by producers can be
passed on to organisms
that cannot make their
own energy.
CONSUMERS
Organisms that cannot
make their own energy
Consumers eat
producers to
get energy:
Herbivores- eat
plants
Omnivores – eat
Plants and animals
Carnivores – eat
animals
Most of the energy
is used by the
consumer but some
of the energy
moves into the
atmosphere as
heat.
Predators-Consumers
that hunt & kill other
consumers
Prey - animals that are
hunted & killed
Scavengers
consumers that eat
other dead
consumers
October 4, 2010







Write 2 test questions from your notes..
Summarize notes
Get out your food chain/food web
worksheets from Friday so I can see
where you are
Left side ??? Of the day:
Differentiate between a food chain and a
food web in terms of energy flow
Finish up Food Chain/Food Web wkst
Notes for Chapter 2 – Quiz Wednesday
Gazelle




Ingenious cooling
system – cool brain
Runs at speeds up to
50 mph
Hundreds of small
arteries that pass
through a large pool
of blood in the nasal
passages
Inhaled air cools
nasal blood in small
arteries like a heat
exchanger
October 5, 2010

Quiz on Chapter 2
WED! Tomorrow



Make sure table
of contents up to
date~

PS Lab 2.2
Grade Food Chain
and Food Web
Worksheet
Finish Notes…
October 6, 2010





Differentiate between:
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism
And give an example
plz!

Grade Food
Chain/Web
worksheet

Finish up Notes
Draw out Cycles

Go over PS Lab 2.2

Food Webs:
Are
interconnected
food chains
 They show the
feeding
relationships in
an ecosystem

FOOD CHAIN – shows the
transfer of energy from the sun
to producer to primary consumer
then to higher order consumers
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Food Chains Show Available
Energy
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Ecological Pyramids
Graphic Representations Of
The Relative Amounts of
Energy or Matter At Each
Trophic Level
May be:
Energy Pyramid
Biomass Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers
Energy Pyramid
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Energy
Pyramid




http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Amount of available energy
decreases for higher
consumers
Amount of available energy
decreases down the food
chain
It takes a large number of
producers to support a
small number of primary
consumers
It takes a large number
of primary consumers to
support a small number of
secondary consumers
Human Energy Pyramid
Biomass Pyramid
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Pyramid of Numbers
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/biology
Carbon Cycle



Carbon is the basic building block for all
living organisms
It is moved through the atmosphere by
plants/animals in CO2/O2 exchange
through breathing and photosynthesis
Large carbon deposits exist in the
oceans and soil from dead organisms
Carbon Cycle
www.windows.ucar.edu/.../images/carboncycle.jpg
Water Cycle



Water is stored in all three states of
matter
It is released into the atmosphere by
evaporation and from plants through
transpiration
It is cycled through precipitation and
runoff
http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/102/wcycle.gif
Nitrogen Cycle



Although the atmosphere is >70% organisms
cannot utilize nitrogen in that form
Nitrogen is essential for plant growth,
obtained through soil
Nitrogen can be found in all waste products
of animals
Nitrogen Cycle
www.windows.ucar.edu/.../images/nitrogencycle.jpg
Phosphorous Cycle



Phosphorous is stored in rocks and soil
Phosphorous is then moved through the
rock and water cycle
Plants and animals take in phosphorous
Phosphorous Cycle
http://www.ikzm-d.de/abbildungen/59_phosphoruscycle.gif
Communities




Limiting Factors
Anything (biotic or
abiotic) that restricts
the organisms
population, existence,
distribution
Range of Tolerance
How long an organism
can tolerate changes in
biotic and abiotic
factors (ex.: catfish vs
bass)
Primary Succession – first species in
the area (climax community)
Secondary Succession- growth and
changes to the area a after major
upheaval, either natural or human,
fire, deforestation, earthquake
(soil is present already)
Biodiversity- variations in living
organisms