Ecology And Environment What is an environment? • Everything that affects an animal makes up its environment - where it lives, the weather and all the living things it comes into contact with. • Every living thing, including people, has an effect upon the environment. Animal Adaptation • All living things have to be suited to their environment if they are to survive. • Fish have streamlined bodies, fins and specially shaped tails to help them move quickly and easily through the water. • Squirrels have sharp, strong claws for gripping tree trunks and branches and strong teeth for eating nuts. How is the seal adapted to its environment? Streamlined shape. Forward-facing eyes for clear vision ahead. Strong teeth to catch fish. Hind legs have evolved into a a strong rudderlike tail. Flippers to help it swim. Thick layer of body fat to keep it warm. Homes and Habitats • The place where an animal lives is called its habitat. • An animal lives where it can find food, water, shelter and a mate. Living things • All living things (organisms) need food (nourishment) to live. • Living things in an ecosystem depend on each other for food. Intro to Ecology Study of how organisms INTERACT with each other and their environment TEKS 8.6 (C) Describe interactions within ecosystems. Life Levels and Organization Biosphere The biosphere is the outermost part of the planet’s shell — including air, land, suface rocks, and water — within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. Biome a biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the region's physical natural environment, latitude, elevation, and terrain. Examples of biomes include the desert, rain forest, artic tundra, grassland, coniferous forest, decidious forest, and oceans. Ecosystems All the biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors that will INTERACT with each other in some subset of the biosphere. Abiotic factors: soil, water, temperature, elevation, and location on the earth. Coral Reef Ecosystems Yellowstone National Park Ecosystem Community Groups of many different species of organisms interacting in a particular area (predator prey relationships) Only the biotic factors that interact between different species of organisms Population A group of organisms of ONE species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time. A population of aliens A Population of Aliens What is a food chain? • A food chain is “a sequence of organisms, each of which uses the next, lower member of the sequence as a food source” Important facts about food chains • In a food chain each organism obtains energy from the one at the level below. • Plants are called producers because they create their own food through photosynthesis • Animals are consumers because they cannot create their own food, they must eat plants or other animals to get the energy that they need. Primary Producers • Primary producers are “organisms capable of producing their own food” • We can also say that they are photosynthetic, use light energy. • Examples of primary producers include algae, phytoplankton, and large plants. • Primary producers are eaten by primary consumers (herbivores) Producer (autotroph) • Producers (autotrophs) are always at the base of the chain. Producers are organisms that make their own food. Plants are producers. Primary Producers of NJ Marshes Marsh Mallow Cattails Marsh Fern Blue Flag Iris Four types of consumer • Herbivores: animals that eat only plants • Carnivores: animals that eat only other animals. • Omnivores: animals that eat animals and plants. • Detritivores: Animals that eat dead materials and organic wastes. Other Ways to Classify Consumers 1. Primary Consumers: Herbivores. 2. Secondary Consumers: Carnivores that eat herbivores. 3. Tertiary Consumers: Carnivores that eat other carnivores. Primary Consumers in Marshes Muskrat (eats mostly Cattails) http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/graphics/muskrat1.jpg http://www.advancedwildlifecontrolllc.com/images/muskrat.jpg Primary Consumers in Marshes • Wood Duck eats seeds like those of the Swamp Marsh Mallow and Blue Flag Iris http://dsf.chesco.org/ccparks/lib/ccparks/wood_duck_pair.jpg Primary Consumers in Marshes • Glassy-winged Toothpick Grasshopper – eats leaves of plants like cattail and pickerelweed http://bugguide.net/node/view/41662 Secondary Consumers • Black Rat Snake eats eggs of animals like wood duck Secondary Consumers • Swamp Sparrow eats seeds but also insects like the toothpick grasshopper Tertiary Consumers • Eat other animals in marsh including snake and sparrow Osprey Herbivore • Herbivores are animals that only eat plants. A cow and a deer are herbivores. Omnivore • Racoon eats seeds, fruits, insects, worms, fish, and frogs… and pretty much anything else they can get their paws on! http://abouttitusville.com/BobPaty/Animals/images/Racoon.jpg Omnivore • An omnivore eats both plants and animals. Humans and bears are omnivores. Carnivore • Animals that eat meat are carnivores. A lion and a wolf are carnivores. Detritivores • A decomposer eats dead or dying organisms. Detritivore • Worms are common detritivores in many ecosystems including marshes Producers and Consumers So…producers make their own food (e.g., photosynthesis) and consumers don’t. Is a dog a producer or a consumer? Is a termite a producer or a consumer? Food Chain The simplest feeding arrangement in an ecosystem. Food Chain A food chain is the flow of energy from one organism to the next. Describe the Food Chain Describe the Food Chain Describe the Food Chain Energy Flow •Sun major supplier of the earth’s energy. •Most of the energy released is lost in the form of heat. The Flow of Energy Producers - Plants capture the sun’s energy and store it in food Primary Consumers (herbivores) - Animals that receive their energy directly from plants Secondary Consumers (carnivores) - Consumers that feed on primary consumers Energy flows from the sun to the producer, then to the primary consumer, then to the secondary consumer, third level consumers, forth level consumers, etc... Pyramid of Numbers Carnivore populations are smaller in comparison to the rest of the ecosystem. They require more food to sustain their lives than the lower organisms. The amount of useable energy that is transferred from trophic level to trophic level only 10%. Let’s Practice How many trophic levels are present? 5 Determine the amount of useable energy for the different trophic levels. Level 2: 35 J Level 3: 3.5 J Level 4: 0.35 J Level 5: 0.035 J Food Webs Many food chains interacting with each other. The arrow always points away from the organism being eaten to the organism doing the eating. Shows the movement of energy and matter in an ecosystem. What is a food web? A food web is “an interlocking pattern of food chains” Thank You For Bearing BY Bhavik Kartik Digvijay Nitin Karan
