Ecology

WHAT IS ECOLOGY?

Ecology- the scientific study of

interactions between organisms and
their environments, focusing on energy
transfer
Ecology is a science of relationships
 WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY
ENVIRONMENT?
The environment is made up of two factors:
• Biotic factors- all living
organisms inhabiting the Earth

• Abiotic factors- nonliving parts

of the environment (i.e.
temperature, soil, light,
moisture, air currents)
 Biosphere

Ecosystem

Community
Ecological
Population
Organization:
Organism
Organism - any unicellular or
multicellular form exhibiting all of the
characteristics of life, an individual.
•The lowest level of organization
 POPULATION
✓ a group of organisms of one
species living in the same
place at the same time that
interbreed
✓Produce fertile offspring
✓Compete with each other for
resources (food, mates,
shelter, etc.)
Community - several interacting
populations that inhabit a common
environment and are interdependent.
Ecosystem - populations in a community
and the abiotic factors with which they
interact (ex. marine, terrestrial)
Biosphere - life supporting portions of
Earth composed of air, land, fresh water,
and salt water.
•The highest level of organization
An ecosystem is self-sustaining if the following requirements are met:

1. A constant source of energy and a living system capable of

incorporating this energy into organic molecules.

2. A cycling of materials between organisms and their environment.

•In all
environments,
organisms with
similar needs may
compete with
each other for
resources,
including food,
space, water, air,
and shelter.
Abiotic factors:
• those physical and chemical factors which affect the ability of organisms
to survive and reproduce
Some Abiotic Factors:
1. intensity of light
2. range of temperatures
3. amount of moisture
4. type of substratum (soil or rock type)
5. availability of inorganic substances such as minerals
6. supply of gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen
7. pH
 Habitat vs. Niche
Niche - the role a species plays in a
community; its total way of life

Habitat- the place in which an

organism lives out its life
 Habitat vs. Niche
A niche is determined by the tolerance
limitations of an organism, or a
limiting factor.

Limiting factor- any biotic or abiotic

factor that restricts the existence of
organisms in a specific environment.
 Habitat vs. Niche
Examples of limiting factors -

•Amount of water
•Amount of food
•Temperature
•Amount of space
•Availability of mates
** Each of the prior listed (slide 13) abiotic factors varies in the environment
and, as such, may act as a limiting factor, determining the types of organisms
that exist in that environment.
Some examples:
1.A low annual temperature common to the northern
latitudes determines in part the species of plants
which can exist in that area.
2. The amount of oxygen dissolved in a body of water
will help determine what species of fish live there.
3. The dry environment of desert regions limits the
organisms that can live there.
 Carrying Capacity
•the maximum number of organisms the resources of
an area can support
•The carrying capacity of the environment is limited
by the available abiotic and biotic resources, as well
as the ability of ecosystems to recycle the residue of
dead organisms through the activities of bacteria
and fungi.
•Steady State - this occurs when the
population remains relatively
constant over a number of years.
This will occur when the number of
births equals the number of deaths.
 Biotic factors:
• all the living things that directly or indirectly affect the
environment
• ** Thus, the organisms, their presence, parts,
interaction, and wastes are all biotic factors.
 Nutritional Relationships:
A. Autotrophs: can synthesize their own food from inorganic
compounds and a usable energy source

B. Heterotrophs: can NOT synthesize their own food and are dependent
on other organisms for their food
Types of Heterotrophs:

Saprophytes: include those heterotrophic plants, fungi, and bacteria

which live on dead matter - AKA decomposers
Herbivores: plant-eating animals
Carnivores: meat-eating animals
Omnivores: consume both plants and meat
 Types of Carnivores:
• Predators: animals which kill and consume
their prey

• Scavengers: those animals that feed on

other animals that they have not killed
 Symbiotic Relationships
Symbiosis- two species living together

3 Types of
symbiosis:
1. Commensalism
2. Parasitism
3. Mutualism
 Symbiotic Relationships
Commensalism-
one species benefits and
the other is neither
harmed nor helped
Ex. orchids on a tree

Epiphytes: A plant, such as a tropical orchid or a

bromeliad, that grows on another plant upon which it
depends for mechanical support but not for nutrients.
Also called xerophyte, air plant.
 Symbiotic Relationships
Commensalism-
one species benefits
and the other is
neither harmed nor
helped
Ex. polar bears and
cyanobacteria
 Symbiotic Relationships
Parasitism-
one species benefits (parasite) and the
other is harmed (host)
•Parasite-Host relationship
 Symbiotic Relationships
Parasitism- parasite-host
Ex. lampreys,
leeches, fleas,
ticks, tapeworm
 Symbiotic Relationships
Mutualism-
beneficial to both
species

Ex. cleaning birds

and cleaner shrimp
 Symbiotic Relationships
Mutualism-
beneficial to both species

Ex. lichen
Type of Species Species Species
relationship harmed benefits neutral
Commensalism

Parasitism

Mutualism

= 1 species
 Feeding Relationships
Producer- all autotrophs
(plants), they trap energy
from the sun
•Bottom of the food chain
 Feeding Relationships
Consumer- all heterotrophs: they
ingest food containing the sun’s
energy
➢Herbivores
➢Carnivores
➢Omnivores
➢Decomposers
 Feeding Relationships

CONSUMERS
1. Primary consumers
•Eat plants
•Herbivores
•Secondary, tertiary …
consumers
•Prey animals
•Carnivores
 Feeding Relationships
Consumer
Carnivores-eats meat
•Predators
•Hunt prey
animals for food.
 Feeding Relationships
Consumer-
Carnivores- eats meat
•Scavengers
•Feed on carrion,
dead animals
 Feeding Relationships

Consumer –
Omnivores -eat both plants
and animals

Omnivores may be
primary or
secondary
consumers.
 Feeding Relationships

Consumer-
Decomposers
• Breakdown the complex
compounds of dead and
decaying plants and
animals into simpler
molecules that can be
absorbed

** Through decomposition, chemical substances are

returned to the environment where they can be
used by other living organisms.
 Trophic Levels

•Each link in a food chain is known as a

trophic level.
•Trophic levels represent a feeding step
in the transfer of energy and matter in
an ecosystem.
 Trophic Levels
Biomass- the amount of organic matter
comprising a group of organisms in a
habitat.

•As you move up a food chain, both available

energy and biomass decrease.
•The decrease of energy at each successive
feeding level (trophic level) means that less
biomass can be supported at each level.
Biomass:

•Energy is transferred upwards but is

diminished with each transfer.

•Thus, the total mass of carnivores in a

particular ecosystem is less than the total
mass of the producers. (A pyramid of
biomass illustrates this.)
Trophic Levels
E Tertiary
consumers- top
carnivores
N
Secondary consumers-small
E carnivores

R Primary consumers- Herbivores

G
Producers- Autotrophs
Y
Energy Flow:

•Energy flows through ecosystems in one

direction, typically from the Sun, through
photosynthetic organisms, including green
plants and algae, through herbivores, to
carnivores, and finally decomposers.

•There is a decrease in the overall energy in

each level as you move up the food web.
Energy Flow:

•Also, this means that there is more energy

at the primary consumer level than at the
secondary consumer level.
•Each consumer level of the food pyramid
utilizes approximately 10% of its ingested
nutrients to build new tissue.
•This new tissue represents food for the
next feeding level.
•The remaining energy is lost in the form of
heat and unavailable chemical energy.
Eventually, the energy in an ecosystem is lost
and is radiated from the earth.

•Thus, an ecosystem can not survive without

the constant input of energy from the sun.
Food Chains and Webs:

•If an ecosystem is to be self-sustaining it

must contain a flow of energy.

•Those life activities that are characteristic

of living organisms require an expenditure
of energy.
•The pathways of energy through the living
components of an ecosystem are
represented by food chains and food webs.

•Producers convert the radiant energy of the

sun into the chemical energy of food.
Trophic Levels
Food chain- simple model that shows
how matter and energy move
through an ecosystem
Trophic Levels

Food web- shows all possible feeding

relationships in a community at each
trophic level

•Represents a network of
interconnected food chains
Food chain Food web
(just 1 path of energy) (all possible energy paths)