ECOLOGY STATION 1: Ecology is the scientific study of interactions of organisms with one another and with the physical and chemical environment. Although it includes the study of environmental problems such as pollution, the science of ecology mainly involves research on the natural world from many viewpoints, using many techniques. Modern ecology relies heavily on experiments, both in laboratory and in field settings. These techniques have proved useful in testing ecological theories, and in arriving at practical decisions concerning the management of natural resources.

An understanding of ecology is essential for the survival of the human species. Our populations are increasing rapidly, all around the world, and we are in grave danger of outstripping the earth’s ability to supply the resources that we need for our long-term survival. Furthermore, social, economic and political factors often influence the short-term distribution of resources needed by a specific human population. An understanding of ecological principles can help us understand the global and regional consequences of competition among humans for the scarce natural resources that support us.

Ecology is a science that contributes considerably to our understanding of evolution, including our own evolution as a species. All evolutionary change takes place in response to ecological interactions that operate on the population, community, ecosystem, biome and biosphere levels. Studies conducted within the scientific discipline of ecology may therefore focus on one or more different levels: on populations of a single species, on an interacting community involving populations of many species, on the movement of matter and energy through a community within and ecosystem, on large scale processes within a biome, or on global patterns within the biosphere.

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ECOLOGY STATION 1 ACTIVITY NAME: _____________________

Based on the Information provided by Station 1 complete the following instructions:

Think about your daily activities. Fill in the chart below with a quick description of the interactions you can think of that you complete in a normal day:

______Organism interactions____________________________________Environment Interactions__________

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ECOLOGY STATION 2: LEVELS of ECOLOGYEcologist divide the environment up into different levels based on what they are

looking at.

Organism/Individual – At this level of organization the scientists would be looking at a single individual. This level is usually used by biologists to study anatomy and physiology. Ecologists rarely focus on this level due to lack of interaction possible.

Population – At this level of organization Ecologists will be looking at a group of the same species living in the same defined area. Usually this level is used to study the interactions occurring between the individuals of a population. This level shows us the social organization of a given species and allows us to determine mating rituals, pecking orders, population structure, and how much social impacts the population.

Community – At this level of organization, Ecologists are looking at multiple populations of species and how they interact within a given area. This level contains food chains, food webs, and many of the interactions that ecologists can study for their entire lives without needing to look beyond this layer.

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Ecosystem- At this level of organization, Ecologists focus on everything (living and NONLIVING) in a given area. Though they can look at all the interactions that are in all the levels below, the ecosystem level is usually the focus on resource allocation. Whether species are competing over a resource or sharing it in unique ways this is where these interactions are studies. Localized disasters and human impact can be studied at this level resulting in many careers (other than scientific research) being created. These include, but are not limited to, Environmental Specialist, Ecological Impact reporters, Environmental Management, and Human Impact Abatement Officers.

Biome – This level of organization deals with a collection of ecosystems that are all under similar climate conditions within a given area. At the biome level Weather and Climate take over for research. At this level, ecologists are studying drought and flood situations and how these variations in water availability influence the ecosystems within the biome. Also at this level, ecologists can study population dynamics (how populations change over time), since individuals of a population will move from one population to another in a different designated ecosystem. This is the level that designates parts and places of the world as Deserts, Tropical Rain Forests, Temperate Rain Forest, and the other biomes.

Biosphere – This is the largest level of ecological organization recognized by Ecologists. It includes all living things on the Earth up to 10km into the air. At this level ecologists are studying global climate change, global impacts of disasters and changes in the biodiversity (sum total of ALL living things) of the Earth. Considered self contained.

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ECOLOGY STATION 2: ACTIVITY

NAME: _________________

A biosphere is a self contained structure that is able to provided all things a living population needs to survive indefinitely. Since it is self

contained, this means that no external inputs (like adding in more water, food, or oxygen) should be required to maintain its functionality.

Humans want to colonize the Moon. This would require us to build a moon base with the idea that we would NOT need to import things

from Earth to keep people alive. In the Space below describe what will be needed for this to work on the moon. Don’t forget to think about

waste removal, oxygen source, food source for all living organisms, and maintaining a life supporting climate.

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ECOLOGY STATION 3: METHODS of STUDYEcologists study the planet using different methods.

Observational Field Studies: Ecologists typically study interaction in situ (in the actual environment). They go out into the wilderness and make observations based on what is happening in front of them without any human intervention. These types of studies are very useful in allowing ecologists to see actual behaviors and reactions without having to worry about human interference. Typically the observations made using all the senses and digital equipment (gps tags, lux meters, and various other devices that measure both the biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem) are recorded in field notebooks in ink that is waterproof and permanent. Observational studies can last from a couple of days to decades in length. These types of studies are usually gain more publicity due to the footage, pictures, and information gained. Well known examples are Jane Goodall (leading researcher of Apes – work featured in Gorillas in the Mist), Planet Earth, Life, and David Attenborough (narrator of most every biology documentary).

Field studies often require counts (sampling). To do this, Ecologists will set up defined quadrats and count the number of individuals/species within each quadrat. By doing this, population density can be observed, trends in population location can be described, and many other phenomena that would go unnoticed without this mapping technique.

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Experimental/Lap Studies –

Experimental studies are run in highly controlled environments. The lab set up allows for determining what species will do under conditions that are either rare to observe or are just unknown to exist currently but may in the present. Experiments can gain knowledge of things like how much fertilizer run off rich in nitrogen will be a lethal dose to stream fish and insects, or how will increased heat influence the behavior of mice. These studies provide us information on what to expect if the environment were to change in the tested circumstances. What these experiments also show us is how flexible (plastic) a species is to change and whether or not the drastic changes will be a threat to the ecosystem and to humans. The drawback is that what is observed in a lab is not necessarily true of what will happen in nature, it is only a best guess.

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Modeling –

The third type of Study in Ecology is known as modeling. The use of modeling is to create reasonable facsimiles that act and behave like the real occurrence in nature. The reason for making these models is so that the scientists can study phenomena that are either too dangerous or rare to study. You experience the result of experimental modeling by looking up the weather forecast. The meteorologists are plugging in information from various data collection points around the area into the computer model which once it is run produces the forecast. It is a best guess using the information provided. As you have experienced (like yesterday) these guess can and are often incorrect. This is one of the drawbacks of modeling. Since the computer model is NOT the real thing, all the information gained from it is a best guess.

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ECOLOGY STATION #3: ACTIVITY

NAME: ___________________

Try your hand at sampling through the use of Quadrats!

Task 1: Finding the average population of the Hole bugs in the ceiling tiles of room 29.

To do this, count the number of holes on 6 different complete ceiling tiles (full squares NOT the Cuts ones along the Edges)

Tile 1: ________ Tile 2: _______ Tile 3: _________

Tile 4: ________ Tile 5: _______ Tile 6: _________

Total number of Hole Bugs: ___________Total number of Hole Bugs per TILE (above divided by 6): ___________

TASK 2: This time the quadrat is going to be the classroom you are in for each period. In the spaces below record the number of students in your class each period. Find the average classroom density of the El Camino High School that you experience daily.Period 1:________ Period 4: _________Period 2:________ Period 5: _________Period 3:________ Period 6: _________TOTAL STUDENTS: ___________AVG Students per classroom: ____________ECHS has 1740 students and about 70 classrooms. Based on these numbers how many students should be in EACH classroom. __________

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ECOLOGY STATION #4: PRODUCERSProducers are the basis of ALL food chains. The reason for this is that Producers, or autotrophs, are able to make their own food and so do not need to consume other organisms to survive. Producers are normally thought of as plants, but many other organisms make up this vital role for life including algae, protoplants, and many bacteria. Producers can be separated by which method they use to make their food.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS is the process by which organisms convert light energy into chemical energy through the use of light absorbing pigments and the Calvin cycle. The photosystems absorb the photons of light, moving an electron eventually to an oxygen molecule. During this process it creates ATP and NADPH which are used in to power the Calvin cycle. The Calvin Cycle uses Carbon Dioxide and the molecules created by the photosystems to create sugars for the organism which can then be used to produce large amount of ATP. Organisms that use this method must have easy access to light,

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CHEMOSYNTHESIS is usually performed by organisms that never see the light and have a large source of organic molecules like sulfuric acid and methane. Chemosynthesis uses oxidation-reduction reactions, also known as redox reactions, to supply the energy required to manufacture carbohydrates out of carbon dioxide and water. This kind of reaction involves the loss of electrons from one substance and the adding of electrons to another. The substance receiving the electrons — usually oxygen — is said to have been reduced, while the one supplying them has been oxidized. Reduction requires energy, but oxidation releases it. The two reactions always occur together, but those used in chemosynthesis result in an overall release of energy.

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ECOLOGY STATION #4 ACTIVITYNAME: ___________________

Fill in the Venn Diagram for Photosynthesis and Chemosynthesis:

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PHOTOSYNTHESIS

CHEMOSYNTHESIS

ECOLOGY STATION #5: CONSUMERSConsumers make up all the other portions of a food chain.

Consumers, or heterotrophs, must eat part or all of another organism to survive. Consumers can be divided up in different ways. The first way to divide consumers is to base it on how broad of a menu the organism eats. The two groups are Generalists and Specialists.

Generalists eat many different things. An example would be a Cow that eats many different types of grasses and field plants. Generalists have many options so are less likely to go extinct from a reduction in food source; however, they can be put into danger if there are many specialists around that can out compete the generalist for the various food types.

Specialists are very picky and have earned the name of specialist because they SPECIALIZE on one or two food sources. This is a result of competition. This competition usually causes these specialists to develop unique body shapes that help them to more efficiently get their food. An example would be a hummingbird. The long beak and tongue makes them extremely efficient at eating nectar from flowers. However, the drawback of being a specialist is that you are at a higher risk of going extinct should the environment change in unfavorable ways.

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The other way to divide consumers is by what they eat. Below is a list of diet types.

Herbivore: Diet of plant/vegetable matter

Carnivore: Diet of meat/protein based flesh

Omnivore: Diet consisting of many of these combined

Pescivore: Diet of fish

Frugivore: Diet of fruit

Sanguivore: Diet of blood

Gumivore: Diet of tree saps and gums

Foliovore: Diet of leaves

Insectivore: Diet of insects

Detritovore: Diet of decaying organic material

Scavenger: Diet of freshly dead animals aka Carrion (meat that has not started rotting, but no longer alive)

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ECOLOGY STATION #5: ACTIVITY

NAME: ___________________

MATCH THE PICTURED ANIMAL TO ITS DIET:

__ ___ ____

___ ___

A. Omnivore B. Frugivore C. Scavenger D. Carnivore E. Herbivore

What is your favorite ANIMAL? ________________

What is its diet (feeding behavior)? ________________

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ECOLOGY STATION 6: FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

How organisms feed on each other plays one of the most significant roles in an Ecosystem. The reason for this is that feeding relationships determine which resources are scarce and will encourage competition and which ones are abundant and can support large amounts of life. Feeding relationships can be studied at two different levels.

The first is as a food chain. A food chain is 1 series of direct feeding relationships starting from one producer all the way through the apex predator/consumer (the consumer at the top of the food chain that does not have any predators). Since producers are the beginning of ALL food chains, when a chain is drawn vertically, produces are on the bottom. The consumer that eats the producer is referred to as the primary consumer and if being drawn or listed vertically would be on top of the producer level. Next, the consumer that eats the primary consumer (the one that ate the producer) is called the secondary consumer. This continues until the food chain is complete. When drawing a food chain, arrows are used to connect the links in the chain with the arrow pointing to what is doing the eating.Producer ->Primary Consumer -> Secondary Consumer -> Tertiary Con.

One fallacy shown in a food chain is that it looks like a straight line. In actuality the chain is a circle because once the consumers die, decomposers recycle the nutrients in their bodies back into the soil where the producers absorb them and start the game again.

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The second level of feeding relationship organization is known as a food web. In this level, a web is made from combining all the food chains in an ecosystem. These are drawn in the same way as a food chain with the arrows pointing at what is doing the eating. However, the big difference is that there will be multiple arrows pointing towards and away each organism. Another difference is that depending on which feeding steps you follow an organism can be considered a primary, secondary, and a tertiary consumer. In food webs it is not unheard of to have more than 10 consumer levels above a producer.

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SIMPLIFIED ATLANIC FOOD WEB

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ECOLOGY STATION #6: ACTIVITY

NAME: _____________________

List 2 different food chains below:

- Chain 1: ________________________________________________- Chain 2: ________________________________________________

What are the producers?

What are the Primary Consumers? What diet(s) do these organisms have?

What are the Tertiary Consumers? What diet(s) do these organisms have?

Which of the animals are the top predators? What diet(s) do these organisms have?

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ECOLOGY STATION #7 ABIOTIC FACTORS

Abiotic factors are all the nonliving features of an ecosystem. It is important for ecologists to keep track of these factors because they will have a large impact on the availability of resources (such as water, nutrients, and other chemicals needed for life). Abiotic factors include:

- Water - Rock - Dirt - Sand -Elements- Climate - Weather - Fire - Ice

Of all of these the most important three are Water, Weather, and Climate.

Water is important because without water life is not able to survive. Living things use water for waste removal, maintaining body temperature, habitat, breeding grounds, source of food, and main other uses. These are also the reason why NASA scientists are constantly looking for celestial bodies (planets and moons) that contain water before getting excited about finding extraterrestrial life.

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What is the difference between weather and climate?

Weather is a change in the atmospheric conditions of an area for a short time. These short events have a large influence on the ecosystem. A few examples are:

- Heavy rains cause usually slow flowing rivers and streams to become flooded with water. With this excess of water, the flow speed increases. The faster the water moves the harder it is for the land of the ecosystem to contain that movement. The land around the moving water will start to be eroded away creating large ditches, sink holes, and in more extreme cases canyons and lakes.

- Another example would be increased temperature. Organisms have a finite range of temperature that they can safely live in. Short periods of extreme heat can kill off the old and weak, while prolonged periods can cause even the healthiest of the population to become ill or even die. Humans are a great example. Come the summer, there will be news stories about deaths related to heat stroke and heat exhaustion.

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Climate refers to the average and long term changes to the atmosphere over decades and centuries. Climate is usually more stable and stays pretty much the same over the years. Organisms have adapted to the climate of an area and show this through behaviors that occur throughout the year roughly at the same time every year. For example, we are now in spring. Ask a 5 year old to describe spring and without a doubt they will tell you that the weather gets warmer, it stays lighter longer, flowers are blooming, and there are more animals outside. Simple as this explanation is, it still illustrates that the seasons are defined by the climate that has been observed year in and year out.

Of course changing the climate over time can have a drastic effect. Historically, ice ages are global climate changes where the temperature on the Earth’s surface decreased and the amount of ice increased. After the ice ages, there is a period of melt and warming. Usually, this warming is eventually corrected by natural occurrences and the Earth begins to cool yet again. However, if warming goes uncorrected, the surface of the Earth will eventually achieve temperatures that are inhospitable to life, and the planet will become lifeless.

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ECOLOGY STATION #7 Activity

Name: _____________________________________

In the picture above, list the ABIOTIC features that you can see.

Look around you right now. List the abiotic factors that you are interacting with.

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ECOLOGY STATION #7 ACTIVITY CONTINUED

You will need to do some outside research to answer the following questions.

How are biomes linked to climate?

Describe the climate of Sacramento, California.

When the weather starts to warm up in Sacramento, Ca. the news folks start talking about the Delta Breeze. What is the Delta Breeze?

Why does the breeze cool the Sacramento area?

How can this breeze influence the biotic factors?

How can ABIOTIC factors define an ecosystem?

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ECOLOGY STATION #8 BIOTIC FACTORS

Biotic factors are the living things in an ecosystem. Organisms of all types help to modify and create an ecosystem that is more efficient at maintaining the conditions needed for life. As more organisms join an ecosystem, the species will begin to diversify in order to use the all the resources available. A healthy ecosystem has many specialists and generalists. This is because as competition increases within the finite area of the ecosystem, those traits that are allowing for the members of each population within the ecosystem to survive and reproduce will be passed on. If a new trait is formed that happens to be advantageous (positive, good to have), than that trait will most likely become the dominant phenotype found in the ecosystem.

Biotic factors rely on each other for survival in more than just food. Biotic factors can provide new habitats for other organisms to inhabit, new resources to be used, and may aid other biotic factors in reproduction. Example of reproduction being aid is many plants require their seeds to travel through the digestive tract of an organism to trigger them to sprout.

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ECOLOGY STATION 8 – ACTIVITY

Name: ______________________

Using the picture below, list the BIOTIC factors you see.

Today when you get home, for 30 minutes, make a list of the BIOTIC factors in your environment. Do not forget plants are alive and so are bacteria which are crawling all over you.

THINK about your life. What factors (biotic or abiotic) play the biggest role in your life? Explain your answer.

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ECOLOGY STATION #9 – COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS

The Biotic factors of an ecosystem (known as a community) exist in several different types of relationships that are referred to as community interactions. These interaction can be thought of in + and -. + means that the organism is benefiting from the interaction while – means that the organism is being harmed in the interaction. An “o” means neutral -> The organism is not being helped or harmed.

Competition – This is a -/- interaction – The two organisms in this interaction are fighting over a resource. Since neither organism in this interaction is getting ALL of the resource it would like, they are both being harmed while the competition interaction occurs.

Predation – This is a +/- interaction. One organism is getting all the benefit while the other is being killed. Predator (+) – prey(-) relationship. One organism kills and eats the other

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Parasitism – This is a +/- interaction. In this situation the parasitic organism is getting its food by eating or drinking parts of the other organism. However, parasites (+) typically do not intentionally kill their host organism. Reason being is that the Host organism is more useful alive than dead since if the host (-) is alive it providing food and a habitat for the parasite. If the host dies, the parasite is at a great risk of dying, as well, unless it is able to find a new host. Example is tapeworms in human intestines. The worms get a safe place to live, and an endless food supply. The human receive reduced nutrition from the food and can have anatomical issues due to the growing tapeworm.

Commensalism – This is a +/o – In this interaction one organism is getting a benefit without helping or hurting the other organism involved. Usually this occurs when one organism has some trait that provides an unintended benefit to the

other organism. Example: Birds perching on large mammals. Bird is protected from predators and has a food source from the insects typically found flying around the large mammal.

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Mutualism – This is a +/+ interaction. Both organisms involved benefit from the interaction. In these interactions, the organisms usually work to maintain the mutually beneficial relationship. An example is the naturally occurring bacteria on our skin. The bacteria physically blocks other, potentially more harmful, bacteria from landing and surviving on us. Meanwhile, we provide the bacteria a safe place to live and food via our sweat and oils.

Symbiosis –All of the ones before this are examples of symbiosis. Symbiosis is the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms (as in parasitism or commensalism).

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ECOLOGY STATION #9 – ACTIVITY

NAME ___________________________

Name the type of Community interaction being described. WRITE IN + and – Values to show the interaction effects.

1. Barnacles create home sites by attaching themselves to whales.

2. Ticks feed on deer blood to the deer’s detriment.

3. The stork uses its saw-like bill to cut up the dead animals it eats. As a result, the dead animals carcass is accessible to some bees for food and egg laying.

4. Ostriches and gazelles feed next to each other. They both watch for predators and alert each other to danger. Since the visual abilities of the two species are different, they each can identify threats the other animal would not as readily see.

5. Yucca flowers are pollinated by yucca moths. The moths lay their eggs in the flowers where the larvae hatch and eat some of the developing seeds. Both species benefit.

6. Hermit crabs live in shells made and then abandoned by snails.

7. A cuckoo may lay its eggs in a warbler’s nest. The cuckoo’s young will displace the warbler’s young and will be raised by the warbler.

ECOLOGY STATION #10 - SUCCESSION

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Succession is the term used by scientists to describe the predictable development of an ecosystem, starting from bare earth to climax community. Every ecosystem has a potential climax community.

CLIMAX COMMUNITY = An ecological community in which populations of plants or animals remain stable and exist in balance with each other and their environment. A climax community is the final stage of succession, remaining relatively unchanged until destroyed by an event such as fire or human interference.

There are two types of succession.

Primary Succession:

This type of succession is what occurs on land that has never had an ecological community grow on it before (no soil or seeds present). This is new land being colonized and eventually growing into a climax community. An example of this would be a sand dune being colonized by grasses, which over time will make enough soil to support larger plant communities, eventually turning into the climax community.

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Secondary Succession:

This type of succession occurs after a disaster or major event in the environment (Fire, landslide, flood, etc.). There was life before the disaster, so that means life is just regrowing in the area. Secondary succession is the healing mechanism of the ecosystem. An example would be an old growth forest is burned to the ground. The scorched land already has soil built up and seeds that can germinate and provide new life. So the burnt area will grow weeds, sprout shrubs, and then finally sprout the slow growing trees to reach the climax community.

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ECOLOGY STATION 10 – ACTIVITY

NAME: __________________________________

In the space below draw an example of primary succession. Be sure to start with new land and end in a climax community.

In your drawing above, label the stages of development.

In the space below draw and label an example of Secondary Selection.

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