What is Ecology? QGdH3QU

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1 Ecology

2 What is Ecology? QGdH3QU

3 Ecology The study of the interactions of different organisms (living things) between each other and with their environment (surroundings). The Greek word logos means to study. Eco comes from the Greek word oikos which means house.

4 An organism can interact between both biotic factors (living things) and abiotic factors (non-living things). Biotic Factors Abiotic Factors Bio is the Greek word meaning life.

5 There are six levels of organization in ecology: One animal or plant More than one of that individual Multiple populations Community in its environment A group of ecosystems that have a similar climate and organisms The part of the Earth that supports life (the air, earth & water)

6 Individual? Population? Community? Ecosystem? Biome? Biosphere?

7 Biomes Regions of the world with similar climate (weather, temperature) plants and animals. Biomes can be either terrestrial (on land) or aquatic (in water).

8 Biomes

9 What biome did you come from?

10 Biomes AQUATIC BIOMES Freshwater Freshwater Wetlands Marine Coral Reef Estuaries TERRESTRIAL BIOMES Tundra Rainforest Grassland (savannah) Taiga Deciduous Forest Desert Alpine Chaparral

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12 Why study ecology? Understanding the interconnections between living things and their environment can help us to make more sustainable choices. Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

13 Why should we care? What are some things that all organisms need to survive? air, water, food, shelter All of these come from our environment. If our environment is not healthy, we may not be able to survive. How much of the Earth is made up of land? about ¼

14 How much of the Earth s surface has the potential to grow food? 1/32

15 What are some things we can do to help the environment?

16 Calculate your Ecological Footprint Ecological Footprint: The ecological footprint measures human demand on nature, i.e., the quantity of nature it takes to support people (how much nature can we actually use?) It is the amount of the environment needed to produce the stuff necessary to support a particular lifestyle. It helps us to determine the impact that our use of energy, food and water has on the environment. Knowing our footprint can help us start to think of ways to make more sustainable choices to leave a smaller footprint.

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18 Food Chains, Food Webs and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems

19 Every living organism has a place where it normally lives and grows. This is called its natural habitat. The unique job an organism does in its environment is called its niche.

20 An organism s job may be to produce, consume, or decompose. They do this to get the food (for energy) that they need to live. Example: Can you guess some of the roles of a rabbit in its natural environment? Watch the video and listen for the niche of a rabbit.

21 Since plants produce their own food from the sun, they are PRODUCERS. Animals cannot produce their own food. They must eat plants or other animals for energy. Therefore, they are CONSUMERS.

22 Types of Consumers Consumer What They Eat Example Picture Herbivore Only plants Omnivore Plants and animals Carnivore Only animals

23 Scavengers Scavengers are consumers that eat the bodies of larger, dead animals. Ex: Vultures, bald eagles, ravens, hyenas and some ants.

24 Decomposers (and Detritivores) Decomposers (and detritivores) decompose, or break apart, smaller dead animals, dead plants, and animal waste to get energy. This process turns the waste into the nutrients in the soil that plants need to grow. Examples: Bacteria, fungi, crabs, earthworms, wood beetles, dung beetles.

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26 Food Chains Food chains tell us what eats what. They show the movement of energy in an ecosystem. Not all energy moves on because it is used by the organisms for life processes: growth, reproduction, movement, etc.

27 Herbivores and omnivores are examples of primary consumers; Omnivores and carnivores are secondary, tertiary and top level consumers. Decomposers are found at all levels since plants and animals can die at any point.

28 Where Does Energy Come From?

29 Photosynthesis Sunlight energy is used by plants to make their own food. This process is called photosynthesis.

30 Photosynthesis Equation How do living things use oxygen and sugar to produce energy? In the reverse process called respiration.

31 The pyramid of energy shows us why food chains only have four or five steps. It s because there s not enough energy for more! This is why there are very few top carnivores.

32 Pyramid of Energy

33 Pyramid of Biomass The pyramid of biomass shows the total mass of organisms at each stage of a food chain. It takes a large number of producers to support a small number of primary consumers. These can support an even fewer number of secondary or tertiary consumers. It again shows the importance of soil.

34 Food Webs Food webs show all possible paths for energy to flow in an ecosystem. They are made up of lots of food chains. Let s trace some of the food chains within this food web.

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37 Food Web Activity WeavingTheWeb.pdf

38 You try! Write down 3 food chains within this aquatic food web.

39 Components of a Food Chain Add the following terms to the food chains you created: Tertiary Consumer Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Producer Where do the arrows go? ( ) Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore What is missing from these food chains?

40 Review for Quiz Work on Worksheets Know the meaning of these words: Producer - Herbivore - Habitat Consumer - Carnivore - Ecosystem Scavenger - Omnivore - Ecology Decomposer - Niche - biome Primary Consumer - Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer - Top Consumer Explain what happens to the energy as it moves through the food chain Write the equation for photosynthesis in words

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42 Species Interactions Our web activity helped us to see that no organism exists in isolation. Individual organisms live together in an ecosystem and depend on one another. In fact, they have many different types of interactions with each other, and many of these interactions are critical for their survival.

43 Recall: Population means all the organisms of the same species that live in a certain area. Population Dynamics

44 Population growth depends on several things. The four factors affecting population size are: (natality) (mortality)

45 What factors are involved in the reproduction and death of a species? (What kind of things can change the population?) Food supply Disease Birth control Climate Job availability War/predation Availability of space Natural disasters * These are called limiting factors. They can be characterized in two categories.

46 Limiting Factors can be characterized in two categories: 1. Density Dependent Factors that can change the population because of the amount of organisms that live in that population.

47 2. Density Independent Factors that can change the population regardless of the amount of organisms that live in that population. Human activity

48 Competition -/- Competition within an ecosystem occurs when organisms seek the same limited resource for survival and population growth (such as food, water or shelter).

49 If the niches for two different species contain the same food item or the same living space, then members of those species will be in conflict with one another for those parts of their niches. The greater the population, the greater the competition.

50 Competition can occur: against one s own species (intraspecific) And between different species (interspecific).

51 Natural Occurrences

52 Human Activity

53 Predation +/- This is when one organism kills and eats another organism. Predator (hunter) hunts and kills other animals for food Prey (the hunted) animals the predator hunts

54 Parasites **Not in notes

55 Parasitism +/- One organism benefits, the other is harmed Some live within the host Tapeworms Heartworms Bacteria Some feed on the external surface of the host Ticks Fleas Mistletoe Most do not kill their host (at least not quickly)

56 Fly worksheet

57 Population Curves These show changes, growth, decline and limits of a population. They are useful to determine how healthy a population is in an ecosystem. Is it possible to have infinite population Houseflies Pop. Growth growth?

58 slow growth: only a few able to reproduce; the population adjusts to environmental conditions 2 rapid growth: many are able to reproduce; the steepness depends on limiting factors

59 zero growth: the population growth is stable and at its maximum. The population has reached its carrying capacity 4 decline: the population decreases from lack of resources, predation, human activity, etc.

60 *Carrying capacity the largest population of a species that a particular ecosystem can support

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62 Sustainability Can the Earth support this population increase?

63 Thoughts?

64 Predator-Prey Graph

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66 Whose atoms are you made of? Biotic elements Abiotic elements

67 Remember: Law of Conservation of. Matter - Matter is never lost or gained; It is used over and over again in different forms. Energy - Energy cannot be created or destroyed; It is changed from one form into another.

68 u/resources/natural-water-cycleinteractive#evaporation

69 The Water Cycle transpiration

70 Biogeochemical Cycles This means that the same nutrients have been recycled over and over again through organisms and the environment since the beginning of the Earth! This means all living things are deeply interconnected with each other and their environment! These cycles are called biogeochemical cycles. (bio = living, geo = Earth) Nutrients that are used by organisms in large quantities are hydrogen, oxygen, (water), carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous.

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72 The Carbon Cycle part 1 When organisms die, some of the carbon gets buried in the earth

73 Carbon Cycle Producers use the sun s energy to take carbon dioxide from the air and convert it to sugar (photosynthesis). Carbon moves through the food chain when consumers eat plants and animals. The carbon is released when plants and animals use the food to produce energy (respiration) When plants and animals die, decomposers break down their bodies and also produce carbon dioxide through respiration.

74 The Carbon Cycle part 2 Combustion:

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77 The carbon cycle is a natural process. It is a way for the Earth to keep itself balanced. Have humans interfered with this process? What is the effect?

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79 Carbon cycle game: mate/teachingclimate/carbon_cycle_game.pdf

80 Deforestation destroys plants that would normally have helped to remove carbon from the atmosphere Burning fossil fuels releases more carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. This means it absorbs and reemits heat energy. More CO 2 in the atmosphere has caused the global temperature to change.

81 Extra CO 2 is also being absorbed into the ocean. Since CO 2 is acidic, scientists are researching how this is affecting this ecosystem.

82 Climate Change As you watch the video 1. What are three effects of climate change? 2. Who is most responsible for climate change? 3. Who is most effected by climate change? 4. How can we stop climate change? Video: