Review: What are the 5 levels of Organization in Ecology?

Ecosystem Organization• Biosphere • Ecosystems• Communities

– Many different populations in given area• Populations

– Genetic diversity• Species

– Groups of organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, and genetic make up

– Sexual vs Asexual reproduction– Production of viable offspring in nature– 1.5 million named; 10-14 million likely

• Organisms– Made of cells– Eukaryotic vs Prokaryotic

Fig. 4.2, p. 66

BiosphereBiosphere

Ecosystems

Communities

Populations

Organisms

4 Characteristics of Community/Ecosystems

• Physical Appearance sizes & stratification of

its species (ex- height diffs – rainforest layers)

• Niche Structure #of niches, how they are similar

or different from each other

• Specie Diversity # of different species

• Specie Abundance # of individuals of each specie

HOW & WHY DO COMMUNITIES CHANGE?

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

•Define: All communities & ecosystems are gradually & constantly changing in response to

changing environmental conditions (especially vegetation)

•Natural Competition: continual struggle with species to make adaptations or compete to

obtain food, light, space, protection and other resources

Where did you see evidence of succession at ROBBINS PARK?

• Was CREEPY POND always the way it looks today?

• Do you remember any changes at the pond or the park from your trips- Compare …

1st grade? 5th gr? 10th gr? 1999, 1991, 198?

• What did you observe in the back field this fall?

Creepy Pond

Primary Successional Plant SpeciesoDeveloping a biotic community in a lifeless area, initial colonization -bare ground, rock or eroded land (no soil), abandoned parking lot, new roadsides, newly formed lava, retreating glaciers.o Pioneer Species - microbes, mosses, lichens THEN replaced by grasses & herbs - r-strategist-new, large, quick & low growing, spread seeds far & wide- often in harsh conditions, usually short lives, Generalist, mainly producers -Rabbit, quail, Dove, gopher o How do they get there? Wind dispersal, water bourn, inlets, soil spread , insects pollinating , animal droppings, locomotion

Mid successional Plant Species

o After 100 years, soil becomes deeper and nutrient rich to support growth of grasses & low shrubs THEN replaced by treesoDeer, grouse, Bluebird

Midsuccessional--Transition

Midsuccessional

Late Successional Plant species

= Stable, complex forest community (old growth) after150-200+ years-Mostly trees adapted to the areas climate & soil -Some replaced with shade tolerant species-k-strategist, specialist, low reproduction, high diversity, food websTurkey, Squirrel, fox, oak tree Wilderness species- bear, owl, mountain lion

What is SECONDARY SUCCESSION?

• Takes place in an area where already established, natural vegetation has been disturbed, removed or destroyed (recolonized)—natural or human caused

• Such as abandoned farmlands, burned or cut forests, heavily polluted streams, damned rivers, large tree falls, overgrazed….

• Example pg 153 (NC-Piedmont)• CHANGES affect food and shelter therefore

depending on the stage of succession—different patterns of diversity, trophic levels, energy flow, nutrient cycling, and changing adaptations will exist

Photo examples-primary or secondary succession?

• http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/74955749znOeRc

• http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/76685203wHvtof

How do they replace one another?3 Factors of how & what rate:

• Facilitation-in primary succession, the pioneer species build up the soil by adding nutrients

• Inhibition- more so in secondary succession, early species hinder other species growth & establishment (interference/exploitation competitions)– Horseweed vs aster plants

• Tolerance- late successional plants tolerate (and go unaffected by) plants of earlier stages. Mature communities can still thrive without eliminating those early plants

Video Clips- Primary or Secondary Succession?

• Kentucky’s Blanton Forest – http://pbs-afg.onstreammedia.com/vss-bin/vss_SR/

pbs_afg/search?template=search.tmpl&query=Blanton+Forest&query2=Ecosystems&query3=&search=Search

Crater Lake National Parkhttp://pbs-afg.onstreammedia.com/vss-bin/vss_SR/

pbs_afg/search?template=search.tmpl&query=Crater+Lake+National+Park&query2=Ecosystems&query3=&search=Search

POND SUCCESSION

PUT IN ORDER OF SUCCESSION?

FIELD-FOREST SUCCESSION

DESCRIBE EACH STAGE OR NUMBER

Your TaskOBJECTIVES:•Recognize natural environments are continually changing; Organisms compete & cooperate in an ecosystem; Resources may be limited•Discuss the concept of succession•Apply your understanding by drawing a series of pictures showing the stages of pond or field succession

DIRECTIONS: 1.Find your partner using the blue card2.Draw 3 stages of succession in either a pond-forest or field-forest exemplifying the changes. Use a trifold or separate sheets3.Label the general time frame, add possible plant & animal species, add a written paragraph of what changes are taking place below the picture or on the back.

4.HW- Research on line, write a paragraph describing how your model would change if an intense forest fire burned the trees. What would follow after the fire?

Helpful questions?• Today-first stage-

– What kinds of plants and animals live-in the water? Shoreline? Surrounding area?

• 200 years-second stage– What changes in the environment have taken place? How

will it look now? What lives in the water now that it is shallower, or along shorelines or species in the field/forest?

• 500 years- third stage– Is the pond filled in? forest mature? Will different animals

live there now? How does this succession change the surroundings? Or environment?

Homework clues

• Will fire affect succession of different environments or not?

• Would a pond silt faster? Is there a source of seeds to recolonize the area? Does it matter how hot the fire was? How does fire affect the species that lived in the area?

FOREST FIRES

• http://pbs-afg.onstreammedia.com/vss-bin/vss_SR/pbs_afg/search?template=search.tmpl&query=Forest+Fires+&query2=Ecosystems&query3=

• http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/slidefile/fire/index.htm