Ecology
What is a biosphere?
The
part of the Earth that supports living
organisms
Includes the topmost crust, the water and
the surrounding atmosphere.
What is ecology?
The
study of interactions that take place
among organisms and the interactions
between organisms and the physical
features of the environment.
Define Abiotic factors
Non-living
physical features of the
environment.
What are the different abiotic
factors?
Water
Soil
Sunlight
Temperature
Air
Why is water important?
All
living things are made up of about
50-95% water.
Important part of the cytoplasm
Processes such as respiration,
photosynthesis and digestion cannot take
place without water.
Why is soil important?
Helps
determine what kind of plants are
going to grow in an area
Also going to help determine what kind
of animals are going to be living in an
area
Why is light important?
Light
is needed in photosynthesis
Determines what plants lives where and
where algae can live based on the
availability of sunlight.
Why is temperature important?
The
warmer the area, the more plants
and animals there will be
Define biotic factors.
Living
organisms in the biosphere.
What are the levels of biological organization
for an organism?
 Cell
 Tissue
 Organ
 Organ
system
 Organism
 Population
 Community
 Ecosystem
 Biosphere
What is a population?
Organisms
of the same species that live
in the same place and can produce
young.
What is special about members of a
population?
They
compete with each other for food,
water, mates, and space
How the organisms use the resources
that are available will determine how
large the population can get.
What is a community?
Groups
of populations that interact with
each other in a given area.
What is special about members of a
community?
Populations
depend on each other for
food, shelter and other needs.
What is an ecosystem?
Made
up of the biotic communities
and the abiotic factors that affect it.
Another thing that might affect a
population is another population.
How do you think this might be?
What is an example of a predator-prey
relationship?
There are three kinds of ways that
organisms can live together. They can
have what is called symbiotic
relationships.
Symbiosis: any close relationship
between two or more different species.
One relationship is Mutualism: a
symbiotic relationship that benefits
both species.
Another relationship is
commensalism: symbiotic relationship
that benefits one partner and does not
harm or help the other.
And the last one is parasitism:
symbiotic relationship that benefits the
parasite and does harm the host.
What is the physical place where an
organism lives?
It’s habitat!!
What is the role of an organism in an
ecosystem?
It’s niche!! This can be what a species
eats, how it gets its food, and how it
interacts with other organisms.
In every ecosystem there is a flow of
energy from one individual to another.
Firstly you need to know about a few
more things before we start talking
about energy.
Food chain: simple way of showing
how energy from food passes from
one organism to another.
There are usually 3 or 4 animals that are
in one food chain.
There is a portion of energy lost as you go
from one part of the food chain to another.
Plants are going to have the most energy
and as you go up the food chain, the
amount of energy that the animal gets is
cut in half.
Example:
Food web: series of overlapping food
chains
The food web works the same way as far
as energy is concerned.
An ecological pyramid: shows the
transfer of energy.
Example:
Energy pyramid: shows the
availability of each level of a food
chain in an ecosystem.
Cycles of matter:
Water is cycled through the
environment.
Water cycle: involves the processes of evaporation,
transpiration, condensation, and run off. The heat
from the sun makes the water in lakes, streams, and
oceans evaporate (liquid to gas). The water
molecules that evaporate then travel upwards into the
sky. When the molecules reach a certain height, the
air temperature gets cooler causing the molecules to
condense (gas to liquid). This is when clouds form.
When the clouds are full of water, precipitation
happens in the form of rain or snow. When there is a
lot of water, run off occurs back into the lakes,
streams and oceans.
Climate:
There are certain things that can
determine what kind of climate an
area has.
Temperature: sun supplies heat.
Temperature is regulated by how
much sun a region gets. This is
determined by elevation and latitude.
Latitude: the closer you get to the
North or South poles, the less energy
the region gets from the sun and the
colder the climate. Season changes
also have to do with latitude.
Elevation: the higher you go the
thinner the atmosphere (Earth’s
insulation) so heat escapes easily so
the climate is colder.
Precipitation: the amount of water
that condenses and falls in the form of
rain, snow, sleet, hail or fog.
Others: Mountain ranges can effect
how much rain falls. Will rain on one
side of a mountain and not on the
other. Deserts are usually found on
one side of a mountain.
What is a biome?
 Large
geographic areas with similar climates and
ecosystems.
 Examples: Grasslands, Deserts, Tundra, Taiga
What is a tundra?
 Cold,
dry, treeless biome, with a short growing
season.
Where is a tundra found?
 North
Pole and South Pole and high elevations
How long are the winters in a tundra?
 6-9
months
Tell me about the sun in the tundra.
 In
winter, you do not see it.
 In summer, it is out all the time.
Plants in the tundra
 Lichens,
grasses, mosses, and wild flowers
Animals in the tundra
 Caribou,
reindeer, Arctic wolves, polar bear and
brown bears.
What is a taiga?
 Largest
Biome
 Long cold winters
Where is a taiga found?
 South
of the tundra
Climate in taiga vs. tundra
 Both
have long cold winters but taiga is a little
warmer and wetter.
Plants found in taiga
 Balsam
fir, white spruce, paper birch
Animals found in taiga
 Black
bear, bald eagle, gray wolf, canadian lynx
What is a temperate deciduous forest?
 Biome
that has 4 seasons
What are the 4 seasons?
 Summer,
Fall, Winter, Spring
Where is this biome found in the US?
 North
eastern United States
Plants in the Temperate Deciduous
Forest
 White
birch, White oak, lady fern, carpet moss
Animals in the Temperate deciduous
Forest
 White
tailed deer, chipmunks, coyote, and squirrels
What is a Temperate Rainforest?
 Forests
full of trees with needlelike leaves
Climate in Temperate Rainforest
9
degrees to 12 degrees Celsius
 200 to 400 centimeters of rain
Where is it found?
 New
Zealand, Southern Chile, and Pacific
Northwest
Plants in a temperate rainforest
 Douglas
Fir, western red cedar, western hemlock
Animals in a temperate rainforest
 Elk,
gray wolf, mountain lions
What is a Tropical Rainforest?
 Most
Diverse Biome
Climate in a tropical rainforest
 Around
25 degrees Celsius
 Around 200 to 600 centimeters
Where is it found?
 Parts
of South America and Africa
Plants in a tropical rainforest
 Mangrove
forests, jambu, bengal bamboo
Animals in a tropical rainforest
 Monkeys,
cobras, Toucans
What is a desert?
 Driest
Biome
 Not a lot of organic matter in the soil
Climate in a desert
 Less
than 25 centimeters of rain
 Hot days and cold nights
Where is it found?
 Parts
of almost every continent
Plants found in a desert
 Cactus,
Yucca, brittle bush
Animals found in a desert
 Armadillo,
kangaroo rat, eastern diamondback
What is a grassland?
 Considered
Temperate and tropical
Climate in a grassland
 Have
a dry season and a wet season
Plants in a grassland
 Cornflowers,
Rye, corn
Animals in a grassland
 Bison,
Zebra, Giraffe, Prairie Dogs
What is a flowing freshwater
environment?
 Rivers,
Streams, Creeks and brooks
Nutrients and plant growth in a water
biome
 Nutrients
get into the water from the surrounding
land. The moving water washes them in the water.
 Very high plant growth
Animals in river and stream biomes
 Leeches
and minnows
Lakes vs. Ponds
 Lakes
are larger and deeper than ponds
 Lakes have less plant life
 Lakes are colder but sometimes do not freeze
What is a wetland?
 Land
region that is wet most or all of the year.
Plants in a wetland
 Cattails,
water)
Grasses (that have adapted to a lot of
Animals in a wetland
 Beavers,
alligators, Bog turtle
Zones of the open ocean
 Lighted
zone
 Dark zone
Foundation of the food chain in open
ocean
 Plankton
What is a coral reef?
 Diverse
ecosystem formed from the calcium
carbonate shells secreted by corals.
Does a seashore have fresh water or
salt water?
 Saltwater
What is an intertidal zone?
 Part
of the shoreline that is under water at high tide
and exposed to the air at low tide.
What is an estuary?
 Extremely
fertile area where a river meets an
ocean; contains mixture of freshwater and
saltwater and serves as a nursery for many species
of fish.
Plants on or in an estuary
 Mosses,
Grasses
Animals in an estuary
 Snails,
worms, fish