Ecology-the study of the environment

What traits do you think classifies something as

living?

The 7 Properties of Life

• 1. Cellular Organization- All living things are made up of cells.

• 2. Homeostasis- The maintaining of the bodies internal conditions despite what is going on externally.– Energy Food

• 3. Metabolism- the sum of all chemical reactions in the organism. (Food is converted into energy)

Ecology

• 4. Response- all living things must respond to a stimulus.

• 5. Reproduction- All living things must make more of their own kind.

• 6. Heredity- All living things must possess traits that can be passed down to the next generation.

• 7. Growth- All living things must grow and develop.

Properties of Life?

Quick Check

Who knows their levels of

organization?

Cup activity

Try to stack your cups in the order in which occur in nature.

Biosphere

Biome

Ecosystem

Community

Population

Organism

BitsBaconEatCan’tPeopleOld

Quick Check

Lets see who can put the levels in order the

fastest?

Physical factors of an Ecosystem

• Habitat- the place where organisms live.• 2 Factors:–Biotic: All living factors (Plants, animals

etc…)–Abiotic: All non-living factors (Water,

rocks etc…)

Ecosystem Structure-Levels of Organization-

Organism- an individual life form-ex. -1 squirrelPopulation- group of individual species.. ex- group of squirrels

species- individuals that can breed and produce fertile offspring

Community- all of the biotic factors in a habitat. Ex. – squirrels, trees, birds, snakes

Ecosystem- includes all biotic and abiotic factors ex. Everything above, and add abiotic factors like, water, sun, soil etc.

Biome- large land area characterized by similar climate and vegetation. (ex. Tropical rain forest)

Biosphere- everything above, including the surrounding atmosphere.

Can you identify the Biotic and Abiotic Factors in this picture?

Ecosystems change over time• Succession- The change in an ecosystem over time.• Two type of succession:

– Primary- Life starts where no life was before. EX- volcanic islands

– The first organisms to appear in these newly made ecosystems are called pioneer species.

– (Lichens and mosses come in to break up rock into soil)

– Secondary- After a major disaster occurs (fire) life comes back to the area.

– (first species will be grasses

Biomes

Biomes

• A Biome is a large land mass with specific climate and organisms.– Climate: an areas average weather conditions.

• There are 2 key factors that determine a biome.– Temperature– Precipitation ( rain fall)

Terrestrial Biomes

• Tropical Rainforest• Tundra• Taiga• Desert• Temperate Deciduous Forest• Savanna• Grassland

Tropical Rainforest• Receives large amounts of rain and warm

temperatures all year.• Greatest biodiversity on land biomes– At least half of the earths species are found in this

biome.

–Biodiversity: variety of organisms in a given area.

Tundra

• Gets very little rain fall.• Coldest biome.• The ground is covered by a layer of permafrost

all year round.– Permafrost: A layer of permanently frozen

subsoil.

Taiga

• Coniferous forest (Pine trees)• Wet Climate with long and cold winters• Organisms that live here are – Wolves– Moose– Bears

Desert

• Deserts cover more than one fifth of the Earth's land, and they are found on every continent.

• Receives very little precipitation. • The largest desert in the world is the Sahara.

Temperate Deciduous Forest

• Have mild climates.• Temperate deciduous forests are most notable

because they go through four seasons. • Leaves change due to the changes in the

seasons. • We live in a temperate deciduous forest.

Savanna• Also known as tropical grasslands.• Mostly found in eastern Africa.• Vary periods of dry seasons with a couple of

short, but plentiful, wet seasons.

Grassland

• Have moderate precipitation and cooler temperatures than the savanna.

• There are more smaller plants and shrubs than trees.

Aquatic Ecosystem

• Aquatic ecosystems are divided into 4 types– Freshwater- lakes, ponds, streams– Wetlands- marshes– Estuaries- where saltwater and freshwater meet.– Marine- ocean

Biome activities

Energy Flow

Energy Flow

• Organisms require energy to function; they get that energy by either eating or producing that energy.

• Producer: Is an organism that makes its own energy.

• Consumer: An organism that gets it energy from an other organism.

• Decomposer: An organism that gets its energy from decomposing (dead) matter.

Types of Consumers

• Carnivore: An organism that feeds on meat.• Herbivore: An organism that feeds on plant

matter.• Omnivore: An organism that feeds on both

meat and plant matter.

• In an ecosystem, energy flows from the sun, to producers, to consumers and then to decomposers.

• This is an Energy Pyramid. It is made of trophic levels. –position occupied by an organism in a food chain.

90% of the energy in each layer of the pyramid is lost as the energy moves up the pyramid.

10% is conserved at each level.

Energy pyramid activity

Food Chains and Food Webs

• When energy in an ecosystem is moving from one trophic level to the next it forms a food chain.

• Food Chain: shows how each living thing gets food, and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature.

• Food Web: A series of complex, connecting food chains.

Food web and food chain activity

Cycles of Matter

The 5 cycles of matter

• Water Cycle • Carbon Cycle/Oxygen Cycle• Nitrogen Cycle• Phosphorus Cycle

Water Cycle• The cycle of water throughout an ecosystem.

– Evaporation: Collection of water turns into water vapor due to the sun.

– Condensation: Water vapor turns into ice/water droplets in the clouds.

– Precipitation (Rain): When there are too many water droplets, it releases water.

– Transpiration: liquid water is turned into water vapor by the plants.

– Percolation- water being absorbed deep in the ground.

Carbon Cycle: The movement of carbon from abiotic to biotic factors.

Respiration: the exchange of oxygen and CO2 between organisms and their surroundings.

Carbon Cycle

All living or once living things contain carbon.

1. Name one way animals release carbon back into the atmosphere.

2. Name one way that people release carbon into the atmosphere.

3. Carbon is released back into the atmosphere when _________ ________ are burned.

Nitrogen Cycle: this process in which nitrogen is circulated

through the air, soil, water and organisms.

Nitrogen cycle

About 78 % of the atmosphere is made of nitrogen. It is not the kind usable for

plants, so it must be converted.

Nitrogen can be converted in the process of nitrogen fixation, or by lightning.

Nitrogen Fixation – process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrate. This is the usable

form for plants. Plants need nitrogen to make protein.

Steps of the Nitrogen Cycle

• Nitrification – atmospheric nitrogen is converted into nitrates through the nitrogen fixing bacteria on the roots of plants.

• Assimilation (plants) - They absorb nitrates from the soil into their roots.

• Ammonification - This is part of the decaying process. When a plant or animal dies, decomposers like fungi and bacteria turn the nitrogen back into ammonium so it can reenter the nitrogen cycle.

• Denitrification - Extra nitrogen in the soil gets put back out into the air. There are special bacteria that perform this task as well.

Phosphorus Cycle• The introduction of phosphates into the soil

from erosion and weathering of rocks. Phosphorus is needed for the transfer of energy through organisms in the form of ATP.

Cycles of matter activity

Populations and Communities

• http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/RabbitsAndWolves/

Graphing Population Growth• Two ways:

– Exponential growth: Growth occurs rapidly as in bacterial growth. (J-curve)

– Logistic growth: growth occurs rapidly, but levels off at carrying capacity. (S-curve)

– Carrying capacity- The number of individuals the environment can support.

Population growth activity

• Complete the activity provided.

Interactions in Communities

Interactions in Communities

Immigration: the movement of individuals into a population.

Emigration: the movement of individuals out of a population.

Niche: a role that an organism plays in its community.

.

• Predation: the act of another organism killing an other for food. This known as predator-prey.

• Coevolution: the evolution of two or more species that is due to mutual influence.

Interactions in Communities

Interaction within communities• Symbiosis: a relationship in

which toe species live in close association with each other.

• Mutualism: a relationship in which both organisms benefit.

• Commensalism: relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected.

• Parasitism: a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed.

Card game

The Environment

Humans and the Environment

• Humans are a part of the environment and can affect it negatively or positively.Negative- Positive-Pollution recycle/reuse/reduceDeforestation- the clearing of forests.

Human overusePesticideserosion

Pollution and the Environment Issues

• Pollution- any chemical or physical change in the water, air or soil that can harm organisms.

• Air Pollution- excessive harmful substances in the air. Ex-from factories and cars

• Water Pollution- excessive harmful substances in the water. ex- run off from farms and factories.

• Soil Damage- excessive harmful substances in the soil, or excessive erosion. Could be caused by deforestation- the clearing of forests.

The greenhouse effect is the way the earth’s ozone layer naturally

insulates earth.Global Warming: the gradual increase in the

average global temperature. Caused by damage to the ozone layer.

Pollution lab