ECOLOGYChapters 2-5

Ecology Ecology - The study of the relationships

and interactions among living organism Habitat - an area where an organism

lives Niche - the role that an organism has in

its environment

Limiting Factors Biotic factors

A. Any living limiting factor B. Examples:

1. White-tail deer browse white pine seedlings

2. Red-tailed hawks prey upon field mice

Limiting Factors Abiotic factors

A. Any non-living limiting factor B. Examples:

1. Frost kills off mosquitoes 2. Limited sunlight promotes spindly sp

Levels of Organization 1. Atom

Smallest unit of organization Bind together to form molecules

2. Cell unit of structure and function

example: muscle cell 3. Tissue

cells working together to perform a function example: muscle tissue

Levels of Organization 4. Organ

several different tissues that function together example: heart

5. Organ System several organs that work together

example: muscular system 6. Organism

group of organ systems that work together example: snapping turtle

Levels of Organization 7. Population:

individuals of the same type that interbreed 8. Community:

interacting populations same place and same time 9. Ecosystem:

community and its physical environment 10. Biome:

large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities

11. Biosphere: the portion of earth that supports life

Interactions Symbiosis - the relationship that exists

when two or more organisms live together 1. Predator-prey

a. Definition: prey is eaten by the predator b. Example: mouse is eaten by rattlesnake

2. Parasitism a. Resembles predator-prey relationship

Similar in that a parasite feeds on a host Different in that death does not result immediately

b. Examples: fleas, ticks, leeches, tapeworms

Interactions 3.Competition

a. Definition: organisms strive for same limited resource

b. Example: intertidal zone barnacles Chthalamus can tolerate the entire intertidal zone Semibalanus can only tolerate only the lower region

4. Mutualism a. Definition: cooperative relationship, both benefit b. Example: pollination

Pollinators gain nectar (food) from the flower Flower pollen is spread by pollinators

Interactions 5. Commensalism

a. Definition: one organism benefits, other is unaffected

b. Example: cattle egrets feed on small animals stirred up by Cape buffalo foraging in grass

Relationships Autotroph - collects energy from sunlight, or

inorganic substances Heterotroph - organism that gets its energy

from consuming other organisms (consumers)

Herbivore - heterotroph that only eats plants Carnivore - heterotroph that only eats meat

(animals) Omnivore - heterotrophs that eat both plants

and animals

Relationships Trophic Level - a level in the flow of energy Biomass - the total mass of living matter

at each trophic level Food Chain - shows how energy flows

through an ecosystem Food Webs - model representing the many

interconnected food chains and pathways in which energy flows through a group of organisms

Energy Pyramid Energy/Biomass/Numbers Pyramid -

model used to show how energy flows through ecosystems

Each level shows the amount of substance that are contained in that level

Each step up in the pyramid is translates into a 90% loss

Only 10% of the energy is used in cellular processes

Energy Pyramid Another way to say this is........ When an animal eats another animal

only 10% of the energy is transferred into usable energy by the new animal, the other 90% is lost

Water Cycle

Water Cycle Evaporation -

Condensation -

Precipitation -

Transpiration -

Percolation -

Carbon Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Imaginary Ecology Side 1

Cut your Imaginary plants and animals out and put them into your imaginary habitat

You will have to draw the background of the habitat (make a scene)

Connect your Imaginary plants and animals with lines showing a food chain, on the line write out the relationship (ex. Carnivore eats herbivore, Herbivore eats producer)

Also label which are heterotrophs and which are autotrophs

MN Ecology Side 2 Left half

List of MN plants and animals and a food web diagramming how they interact

Right half top quarter MN ecology food pyramid

Right half bottom quarter Water Cycle

Populations Population Density - the number of organisms per unit area Dispersion - the spacing of a population within an area

ex. uniform, clumped, random Density - independent factor - any factor in the environment

that does not depend on the number of members in specific area usually abiotic factors like weather, water, pollution, air

Density - dependant factors - any factor in the environment that depends on the number of members in a specific area

usually biotic factors like predation, disease, parasites, competition

Population growth rate - explains how fast a given population grows

Populations Capture/Recapture Method - capture and recapture

to determine the size of the populations

Suppose the population is of size N, so that N is the number we wish to estimate. Suppose, M organisms were captured, marked (or tagged) and released back into the population. After some time that should be sufficient for organisms to mix, n organisms were captured, and m of these appeared to be marked. The proportion of recaptured organisms is assumed to be the same as the portion of marked organisms

Population Equation Equation = Marked recaptured/total

recaptured = total captured/x

Populations Carrying Capacity - maximum number of

individuals of a species that an environment can support for the long term

Think of some factors that can effect the carrying capacity of an environment

TEST Info 15 short answer questions Ecology Biotic/Abiotic Factors Habitat/Niche Community Interactions Symbiotic Relationships Autotroph/Heterotroph Food Web/Food Chain/Pyramid 10% rule Biogeochemcial processes Population Density/Population Limiting Factor Capture/Recapture method Carrying Capacity