Levels of
Organization
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BrainPOP
• http://www.brainpop.com/science/matteran
dchemistry/bodychemistry/
• What does this have to do with
ecosystems?
– Ecology
• The study of the interactions of organisms with one
another and with their physical environments
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Levels of Organization
• Ecologists have organized the
interactions an organism takes part
in into different levels according to
complexity.
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What are the Simplest Levels?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Atom
Molecule
Cell
Tissue
Organ
Organ System
Organism
4
5
7th Level of Organization
• Organism:
An individual
living thing that is
made of cells,
uses energy,
reproduces,
responds, grows,
and develops
6
8th 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.
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9th Level of Organization
• Biological
Community:
All the
populations of
different
species that live
in the same
place at the
same time.
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10th 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)
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11th Level of Organization
• Biosphere:
The portion
of Earth
that
supports
life.
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What level of organization?
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What level of Organization?
12
What level of Organization?
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What level of Organization?
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Ecosystems
Ecosystem: a community of organisms and
their environment (living and nonliving)
Abiotic – non living
Biotic – living or once alive
Ecosystems contain many diverse organisms.
Biodiversity – the variety and number of organisms in a
given area.
Biodiversity in a Rainforest
Producers and Consumers
Producer – (Autotrophs) capture energy from the sun or
inorganic sources and make energy-storing molecules.
-Plants, algae, and some bacteria and protists
Consumer – (Heterotrophs) an organism that
consumes other organisms to obtain energy.
- Animals and some bacteria and protists
Producers
(AUTOTROPH)
Plants
Algae
Bacteria
Consumers
(HETEROTROPHS)
Herbivore: eats plants.
These are primary
consumers.
Carnivore:
• eats primarily meat.
• Secondary and
tertiary consumers
Omnivore:
eats both plants
and meat.
Decomposer:
• break down dead
organisms causing
them to rot..
Decomposers
• Feed on dead
organisms
• Decomposers feed
on all levels:
producers, primary
consumers,
secondary
consumers, and
tertiary consumer
• The energy is taken
by the producers
Role of Decomposers
• Energy is lost
through heat and
cell respiration (ATP
production)
• Decomposers
consume dead
• Decomposers put
nutrients back into
the soil for
producers
Detritivores:
• help recycle dead matter on the planet;
(decomposers and scavengers)
Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
• Almost all energy originates from the sun.
• Energy flows through the trophic levels and
between organisms and their physical environment.
Photosynthesis
• process in which light
energy is converted into
organic compounds.
Cellular
Respiration:
• metabolic process that
uses energy in food to
make ATP
Food chain:
• route for the transfer of matter and energy (food)
through an ecosystem.
Food Web:
• ALL the possible feeding relationships in a
community.
• There are several food chains in a food web:
~ Grass  mouse 
owl
~ Grass  mouse 
snake  fox
Energy Flow Pyramid
• Producers: organisms
that produce energy
• Primary Consumers:
those that consume
producers
• Secondary Consumers:
organisms that consume
primary consumers
• Tertiary Consumers:
organisms that consume
secondary consumers
Tertiary
Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
Energy Pyramids
- Each trophic level is a
block
- Size of block = amount
of energy.
Only 10% of the energy goes from one level to the
next
Examples of Pyramids
Tertiary
Consumers
Secondary
Consumers
Primary
Consumers
Producers
Amount needed for
carnivores
Amount needed for
herbivores
BioGEOchemical Cycles
• Nutrients cycle between organic and inorganic
compartments
– They cycle among organisms the physical environment.
• Water Cycle
– Global-driven by solar winds
• Nitrogen Cycle
– mostly by organisms in soil and water
• Carbon Cycle– Photosynthesis   Cellular Respiration
• Phosphorous Cycle
– Cycles locally in the ground
The Water Cycle:
• Water has the greatest influence out of all the nonliving
components of an ecosystem.
The Carbon Cycle:
Carbon cycles
between living
and nonliving
things in the
environment.
The Nitrogen Cycle:
The nitrogen cycle is
complex and has
several stages:
1.Assimilation
2.Ammonification
3.Nitrification
4.Denitrification
N2 Makes up 80%
Atmosphere!
Organisms need nitrogen and phosphorus to build
proteins and nucleic acids.
The Phosphorus Cycle:
• Phosphorus is
an important
component in
ATP and DNA.
• Phosphorus
dissolves in water
and then absorbed
by the roots of
plants.
Nonrenewable Resources - those
that either take a very long time to
replace or cannot be replaced at all
(coal and oil)
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Resource Use
• Renewable Resources - natural
resources that can be replaced in
a relatively short amount of time
(sun, wind, rain …)
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BIOMES
Major Biological communities that
occur over a large area of
land/water.
Climate and biomes
• The typical weather patterns
over a long period of time is the
climate.
Biomes are a group of ecosystems
with similar climates (temperature
and rainfall) and organisms.
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Biomes of the world
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Rainforest
Grassland
Savannah
Deciduous Forest
Coniferous Forest
Temperate Rain
Forest
7. Desert
8. Tundra
9. Taiga
10. Freshwater Biomes:
Lakes, ponds,
streams, rivers
11. Marine Biomes
12. Estuaries
• Climate effects where species live.
- Temperature: organisms are adapted
to live in a certain range of temperatures
- Moisture: all
organisms require water.
What Biome is this?
What Biome is this?
What Biome is this?
What Biome is this?
Aquatic Biomes
Adaptations
• Each organism had to evolve for different
biomes:
– Physiologically (metabolism, homeostasis)
– Anatomically (claws, scales, teeth)
– Behaviorally (courtship, calls, migratory)
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Ecological succession
Primary succession – in an area of newly exposed land that
has NEVER been occupied by a living (biotic) community.
Secondary succession - takes place where a community has
been removed (cut forest, forest fire)
• r-strategists: disturbed or transitionary habitats are typically
populated by rapidly growing species. (r-strategists). Seeds
(preennials, grasses, wildflowers) are usually the first to colonize a
habitat. r-strategists: short life spans, short generation times, large
numbers of offspring, have efficient means of dispersal. Given time
other slower growing organisms will follow.
• K-strategists
When a habitat is populated with a diverse collection of organisms
competing with one another the advantage shifts K-strategists. The
species will benefit most by a close adaptation to the conditions of
its environment. K-strategists : found in stable habitats, long life
span, long generation time, small numbers of offspring, take care of
their young.
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gh19/b1510/comeco1.htm
http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/examining_stages_successi
on.html
Limiting Factor:
• A single factor that limits the growth, abundance, or
distribution of a population.
– Ex: Humans, natural occurrences, and predators
• Density Dependent- the denser the populations,
the more slowly it grows
• Density Independent- population growth is
limited by factors other than population density
– Fire, drought and natural disasters
Carrying Capacity
• the maximum number of individuals a
habitat can support
Ecosystem stability
• How does the oil spill, radiation leaks,
green house effect, deforestation or the
growth in El Paso affect ecosystem
stability?
II. How Organisms
Interact
Habitat & Niche
• Habitat is the
place a plant or
animal lives
• Niche is an
organism’s total
way of life
NICHE
HABITAT
COMMUNITY
59
Competition
• Each organism has it’s own niche, when two species use
the same resource they are competing for that resource.
Competition
influences the
makeup of
communities.
Predation
• One organism is
killing another
for food.
Symbiosis
Living Together
Types of Symbiosis
• Mutualism
• both species benefit
• Commensalism
• one species benefits, the other is unaffected
• Predation
• one species benefits, the other is killed
Types of Symbiosis
• Parasitism
• one species benefits, the other is harmed
• Competition
• Two or more organisms seek the same resource at the
same time and they fight for the food/living space/and
other resources they need to survive
Mutualism
• Both organisms benefit from the
relationship
Otters and
Kelp
The otters help the
kelp by eating the
sea urchins which
endanger it. The kelp
provides an anchor
for the otters while
they sleep.
Lichen
• Lichen is really two organisms: algae and
fungus. The fungus needs food but cannot
make it. The algae makes food but needs
some way to keep moist. The fungus forms a
crust around the algae which holds in
moisture. Both organisms benefit.
The Chital and the Treepie• The tree-pies help
the chital by stripping
the dead velvet from
the antlers. This
provides them with
nourishment
Therefore both
species are benefiting
from this symbiotic
behavior.
Cleaner Fish and the Moray
Eel
• The cleaner fish
eats parasites and
food bits out of the
inside of this moray
eel. It gets a meal
and is protected
from predators by
the fierce eel.
Yucca Plants and Yucca Moths
• Each type of Yucca plant
can only be pollinated by a
specific kind of Yucca
moth.
• That moth can only live on
that kind of Yucca.
Swollen Thorn Acacia Tree and
Ants
• The tree provides a
nursery for the ants
in the thorns and
makes special food
for the ant babies.
• In return the ants
sting and attack any
other plants or
insects that try to
invade the tree.
Commensalism
• One species benefits while the other is
uneffected
The cattle egret and
cows
The cattle help the egret
who look for grasshoppers
and beetles that are raised
by the cows. Now and then
they sit on the back of a
cow, looking for ticks and
flies. This does not effect
the cattle in any way.
Barnacles and
Whales
• Barnacles need a place
to anchor. They must
wait for food to come
their way. Some
barnacles hitch a ride
on unsuspecting
whales who deliver
them to a food source.
This does not effect the
whale in any way.
Oak Gall Wasps and Oak Trees
• The oak gall wasp
stings the oak tree.
• the tree then grows
a GALL which is a
nest for the wasp’s
babies.
• When the larva
hatch, they eat their
way out of the gall.
• Does not help or
hurt the oak tree
Parasitism
• One species benefits while the other is
harmed
Mistletoe is an aerial
parasite that has no roots
of its own and lives off
the tree that it attaches
itself to. Without the tree
it would die. It slowly
chokes out the life of the
host tree.
Bedbugs
•
Bedbugs are small,
nocturnal parasites
that come out of hiding
at night to feed on
unsuspecting
humans. They feed
exclusively on
blood! Their bites
often result in an
allergic reaction.
Tapeworms
• The definitive host of the
cucumber tapeworm is a dog
or a cat (occasionally a
human). Fleas and lice are the
intermediate host. the dog or
cat becomes contaminated
when the eggs are passed in
the feces, and the flea or louse
ingests the eggs. The dog or
cat (or human) is infected
when they ingest a flea or
louse. Hence the importance
Which type of symbiosis is
it?
• Mutualism, commensalism, parasitism
Fleas/dogs
Lice/humans
Clownfish/sea anemone
Crocodile bird/crocodile
Joshua tree/pronuba moth
VIDEO ACTIVITY
• Overview Video
• You will watch the videos about
ecological relationships.
• You will predict which relationship is
being depicted.
• Finally, you will confirm which
relationship was demonstrated.
Organismal Behaviors
1. Fight or Flight
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Organismal Behaviors
2. Territorial Displays
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Organismal Behaviors
3. Circadian Rhythms
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