Ecology Unit Notes

Sections 3.1-3.4, 4.2-4.5, 5.1-5.2, 4.1, 6.2-6.4

Ecology – the scientific study of interactions
among/between organisms and their
environment.

 Levels of ecological organization (from smallest to largest):

 Species – group of similar organisms that breed and produce
fertile offspring.
 Population – group of individuals that belong to the same
species and live in the same area.
 Community – different populations living together in a defined
area.
 Ecosystem – all the organisms that live in a place together with
their physical environment.
 Biome – group of ecosystems that share similar climates and
typical organisms.
 Biosphere – all life on Earth and all parts of Earth in which life
exists.
Components of ecosystems

 Biotic factors – any living part of an environment

with which an organism might interact.
 Ex. Animals, plants, mushrooms, bacteria, etc.

 Abiotic factors – nonliving part of the environment

that influence the organism.
 Ex. Sunlight, heat, precipitation, humidity, wind,
water current, soil type, etc.
 Producers

 Autotrophs – organisms that capture energy from

sunlight or chemicals and convert it into forms living
cells can use.

 Producers – make their own food.

 Primary producers – the first producers of energy-rich

compounds that are later used by other organisms.
 Autotrophs are primary producers!
 Most engage in the process of photosynthesis.
 Chemosynthesis – chemical energy is used to produce
carbohydrates in dark conditions (like the deep oceans).
 Consumers

 Heterotrophs – can not make their own food; acquire energy

from other organisms by ingesting them.
 Consumers – organisms that rely on other organisms for
energy and nutrients.
 Carnivores – kill and eat other animals.
 Scavengers – consume the carcasses of dead animals.
 Decomposers – chemically break down organic matter
(bacteria and fungi are examples).
 Herbivores – eat plants.
 Omnivores – diets include both plant and animal matter.
 Detritivores – feed on detritus (small pieces of decaying
matter) by grinding them into smaller pieces (earthworms and
snails are examples). Often digest the decomposers living on
the detritus.
 Energy flows in
ecosystems
 Remember: energy flows through an ecosystem in
one direction, from primary producers to
consumers!

 Food chain – series of steps in which organisms

transfer energy by eating and being eaten.
Energy flows in
ecosystems
 Food web – Networks
of feeding interactions
involving multiple
producers, herbivores,
producers, and
consumers.
 Trophic levels

 Trophic level – each step in a food chain or food

web.
 Primary producers are always the first level;
consumers occupy the other levels.
 Trophic levels are illustrated by drawing ecological
pyramids.
 Ecological pyramids

 Ecological pyramid – shows the relative amount of

energy or matter contained within each trophic
level.
 Three types:
 Pyramids of energy
 Pyramids of biomass
 Pyramids of numbers
 Pyramids of energy

 Pyramids of energy – show relative amount of

energy available at each trophic level.
 ***On average, only 10 percent of energy available in
one trophic level is transferred to the next level! The
rest is given off as heat!***
 Pyramids of energy

 Biomass – the total amount of living tissue within a

given trophic level.

 Pyramids of biomass – illustrates the relative

amount of living organic matter in each trophic
level of an ecosystem.

 Pyramid of the numbers – shows relative number of

individual organisms at each trophic level of an
ecosystem.
 Cycles of matter

 Most living organisms are made of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen,

nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus.
 These make up life’s important compounds like water, carbohydrates,
lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.

 Matter is recycled within and between ecosystems!

 Biogeochemical cycles – loops through which elements pass as

they are recycled in ecosystems.
 Are powered by the flow of energy.

 Nutrients – needed by organisms to build tissues and carry out

life functions. Pass through organisms and environments through
biogeochemical cycles.
 Limiting nutrient – nutrient whose supply limits the productivity of
an ecosystem.
Water cycle
Carbon cycle
 Nitrogen cycle
 Nitrogen
fixation –
process where
bacteria (living
in soil or on
roots of
legumes)
convert
nitrogen gas
into ammonia.

 Denitrification
– process
where bacteria
convert nitrates
into nitrogen
gas.
Phosphorus cycle
Oxygen cycle
 Niches and community
interactions
 Niche – the range of physical and biological
conditions in which a species lives and the way the
species obtains what it needs to survive and
reproduce.
 Sometimes said to be the combination of the
organism’s habitat and “profession” in the ecosystem.
 Niche’s contain three aspects:
 Resources – necessities of life.
 Physical aspects – abiotic factors required for survival.
 Biological aspects – biotic factors required for survival
 Niches and community
interactions
 Tolerance – the ability of a species to survive and
reproduce under a range of environmental
conditions.

 Habitat – general place where an organism lives.

 Competition
 Intraspecific competition – competition for limited ecological
resources between members of the same species.

 Interspecific competition – competition for limited ecological

resources between members of different species.

 Competitive exclusion principle – states that no two species

can occupy the same niche in exactly the same habitat at
exactly the same time.
 If two species attempt to, one will be better at competing for
limiting resources and will eventually exclude the other
species.
 Species usually don’t compete for similar resources, they
usually divide them – this is called resource sharing.
 By causing species to divide resources, competition helps to
determine the number and kinds of species in a community and
the niche each species occupies.
 Mimicry – the similarity of one species to another
which protects one or both.
 Appearance, behavior, sound, scent, or location

 Secondary Plant Compounds – compounds made

for defense/prevention of competition
 Predation

 Predator – captures and feeds upon the prey.

 Can affect the size of prey populations in a community and
determine the places the prey can live and feed.

 Herbivory – occurs when herbivores feed on producers.

 Herbivores can affect the size and distribution of plant
populations in a community and determine the places that
plants can survive and grow.

 Keystone species – single species that is not usually

abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on
the structure of the community.
Symbiosis – any relationship in which
two species live closely together.

 Mutualism – type of symbiotic relationship in which

both species benefit.

 Parasitism – type of symbiotic relationship in which

one organism benefits and one is harmed.

 Commensalism – type of symbiotic relationship in

which one organism benefits and the other is
neither helped nor harmed.
Ecological succession – series
of predictable changes that occur in a
community over time.

 Ecosystems change over time – after disturbances, some

species die out and others move in.
 Primary succession – succession beginning in an area
with no remnants of an order community.
 Ex. After a volcanic eruption.
 Pioneer species – first species to colonize a barren area.

 Secondary succession – succession in an area that has

been disturbed but not completely destroyed.
 Faster than primary because soil has survived and
vegetation can regrow rapidly.
 Ex. After a wildfire or hurricane.
 Ecological succession

 Climax community – a biological community of

plants, animals, and fungi which, through the
process of ecological succession, have reached a
steady state.
 Following natural disturbances, secondary succession
in healthy ecosystems often reproduces the original
climax community.
 Following human-caused disturbances, ecosystems
may or may not recover a climax community.
 Population growth

 Factors can affect population size:

1. Birthrate – populations grow when more individuals
are born than die in any period of time.
2. Death rate – populations shrink when the death rate
is greater than the growth rate.
3. Immigration – populations grow if individuals move
into its range from elsewhere.
4. Emmigration – populations may decrease in size if
individuals move out of the population’s range.
 Population growth

 Exponential growth – occurs

under ideal conditions with
unlimited resources.
 Population growth

 Logistic growth – occurs

when a population’s
growth slows and then
stops, following a period of
exponential growth.
 Carrying capacity –
maximum number of
individuals of a particular
species that a particular
environment can support.
 Limits to growth

 Limiting factor – factor that controls the growth of a

population.
 Limiting factors determine the carrying capacity of an
environment for a species.
 Density dependent limiting factors – operate only
when population density reaches a certain level.
 Ex. Competition, predation, herbivory, parasitism,
disease, stress from over-crowding.
 Density independent limiting factors – affect all
populations in similar ways, regardless of population
size or density.
 Ex. Natural disasters.
 Climate

 Climate – defined by a region’s year after year patterns

of temperature and precipitation.
 Microclimates – environmental conditions vary over small
distances.

 Three factors influence global climate:

1. Solar energy and the greenhouse effect – greenhouse gases
trap heat in the atmosphere.
2. Latitude and solar energy – climate zones are produced by
an unequal distribution of the sun’s heat on the Earth’s
surface.
3. Heat transport in the biosphere – the unequal distribution
of heat across the globe creates wind and ocean currents,
which transport heat and moisture.
 Earth’s resources

 Soil erosion – when soil is washed away and

eroded, carrying away organic matter and minerals
that make it fertile.
 Desertification – occurs when farming, overgrazing,
and drought can turn farmland into desert.
 Deforestation – when trees are removed reducing the
quality of soil due to erosion.
 Earth’s resources

 Air pollution – occurs when the quality of Earth’s

atmosphere is reduced leading to respiratory illnesses
and global climate pattern changes.
 Forms of air pollution include:
1. Smog – haze formed by chemical reactions among the
pollutants released into the air by industry and vehicle
exhaust. Ozone is produced.
2. Acid rain – occurs when fossil fuels are burned releasing
nitrogen and sulfur compounds into the air which
combine with water vapor in the air.
3. Greenhouse gasses – burning fossil fuels releases carbon
into the atmosphere – accumulations contribute to global
warming and climate change.
4. Particulates – microscopic particles of dust and ash
released by industry.
 Biodiversity

 Biodiversity – the total of all the genetically based

variation in all organisms in the biosphere.
 Occurs on the ecosystem, species, and genetic levels.
 Humans threaten biodiversity by: altering habitats,
hunting, introducing invasive species, releasing
pollution into food webs, and contributing to climate
change.
 Ecological challenges

 Ecological footprint – the total area of functioning

land and water ecosystems needed both to provide
the resources an individual or population uses and
to absorb and make harmless the wastes an
individual or population generates.
 Take into account the need to provide resources
(energy, food, water, shelter) and to absorb wastes
(sewage, greenhouse gases).
 Are used by ecologists to estimate the biosphere’s
carrying capacity for humans.
Biomes and ecosystems
Biomes and ecosystems
Biomes and ecosystems
Biomes and ecosystems
 Biomes and ecosystems

 Freshwater ecosystems:
1. Rivers/streams – water has dissolved oxygen near the
source but little plant life. Downstream, sediments build
up and plants flourish. Animals here depend on terrestrial
plants and animals that live along their banks for food.
2. Lakes/ponds – plankton, algae, and plants occur. Water
flows in and out and circulates heat, oxygen, and
nutrients.
3. Freshwater wetlands – water covers the nutrient rich,
highly productive soil. Purify water by filtering pollutants
. Include freshwater bogs, freshwater marshes, and
freshwater swamps.
 Biomes and ecosystems

 Estuaries – special wetlands formed where a river

meets the sea.
 Serve as spawning and nursery grounds for many
species.
 Are shallow and allow plants to conduct
photosynthesis.
 Contain a large amount of biomass – examples
include mangroves like the Florida Everglades.
 Biomes and ecosystems

 Marine – ocean is divided into zones based on depth

and distance from the shore.
 Intertidal zone – organisms are in sea water at high
tide and exposed to air and sun at low tide. Ex.
Barnacles, seaweed.
 Coastal ocean – from low tide mark to shallow border
that surrounds the continent. Water is brightly lit and
supplied with nutrients from freshwater runoff. Ex.
Coral reefs, kelp forests.
 Open ocean – 90% of the world’s ocean. Some
receives sunlight and has low nutrient level while
other portion is dark and cold.