EcologyEcologyTopics:Topics:

Biomes and SuccessionBiomes and Succession

NicheNiche

Energy FlowEnergy Flow

AdaptationsAdaptations

Population StudiesPopulation Studies

BiodiversityBiodiversity

WHAT IS ECOLOGY?WHAT IS ECOLOGY?Page 1Page 1

• Ecology – The study of interactions of organisms and their environment

Page 2Page 2

• You will need to complete the crossword puzzle on your own time to practice Ecology Vocabulary

What is a Biome? What is a Biome? Page 3Page 3

• A large geographical are that has a particular CLIMATE and specific PLANTS and ANIMALS.

Climate vs. WeatherClimate vs. Weather

• Weather is based on the “behavior” of the atmosphere over a SHORT period of time.

• Climate is based on the AVERAGE “behavior” of the atmosphere over a LONG period of time.– Climate change? Global Warming?

Climate affects 3 abiotic factors Climate affects 3 abiotic factors in land biomesin land biomes page 3 page 3

• Precipitation (rainfall)

• Temperature

• Soil – sandy, clay, loam etc.

• Plants are dependent on these 3 abiotic factors. The climate will determine the type of plants that can grow in a specific biome. Which will in turn, determine the types of animals living in these biomes.

Pages 3 - 5 ActivityPages 3 - 5 Activity• Use the website: http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/• Or use my wiki and click Biomes link :

http://hess.wiki.conestogavalley.org/Ecology

• Use this site to fill in the biome information in your note packet (pages 3 and 4)

• Fill out the graph at the bottom of page 4• Answer the questions on page 5:

– Which biome has the most rainfall? Which has the least?– Which biome do you think supports the largest diversity of life? Explain.

WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM? WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM? Page 5Page 5

• Ecosystem – Interaction of Biotic and Abiotic things

• Biotic – LIVING organisms

• Abiotic – NON-LIVING organisms

• What is abiotic and what is biotic in these pictures?

CommunityCommunity

• All of the plants and animals in an area

• Plants, Animals, Fungi, Protists, and Monerans

• What community do these organisms live in – Pond, Desert, Forest,

HabitatHabitat

• The place an organism is usually found in a community

• Provides food, shelter, and other resources an organism needs to survive

• The resources are both biotic and abiotic

Ecosystems change over timeEcosystems change over time

• What is succession?

• Gradual change in an ecosystem over a period of time.

Primary SuccessionPrimary Succession

• Starts as barren land with rocks– After lava flow– Retreated glaciers

Lichens are a PIONEER SPECIES

Secondary SuccessionSecondary Succession• Occurs after a

disturbance to the land.– Fire– Flood

NicheNiche• Every organism has a specific spot in the

ecosystem it lives in• No two organisms will have the same niche!

Why?What is the niche of these organisms?

Producer?

Consumer?

Decomposer?

Types of Consumers:

Herbivore

Carnivore

Omnivore

Venn Diagram Venn Diagram page 6page 6Primary Succession Secondary Succession

Lichen is one pioneer species. Explain why it is called a “pioneer”. Use the phrase primary succession in your answer.

NicheNiche

• Complete the vocabulary crossword puzzle on page 7.

Niche Niche page 8page 8

• Every organism has a specific spot in the ecosystem it lives in.

• Every organism will fall into only one of the following niches.

NICHENICHE

1. PRODUCERS

• Organisms that can make their own food

• Autotrophs

NICHENICHE

2. CONSUMERS– HERBIVORE:

PLANT EATERS– CARNIVORES:

MEAT EATERS– OMNIVORES: EAT

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

– SCAVENGERS: EATS DEAD ORGANISMS

NICHENICHE

3. DECOMPOSERS

• Organisms that break down dead organisms into simpler substances putting nutrients back into the ground

Complete the Activity Complete the Activity page 8page 8• Fill in the correct Niche for each of the organisms listed. • Rattlesnake • Rabbits• Shelf Fungus• White-tailed deer• Grass• Turkey Vulture• Raccoon• American Toad• Hawk• Coyote• Beetles

Questions – page 9

1.How do you know the organisms you have listed as decomposers, are decomposers?

2.How do you know the organisms you have listed as omnivores, are omnivores?

3. How do you know the organisms you have listed as scavengers, are scavengers?

Problem – page 9Problem – page 9

1. Are the warblers sharing the same niche? Explain.

2. How does the behavior of the warblers relate to competition?

3. How does the behavior enable five species of these birds to live in the same forest at the same time? Predict what would happen if this behavior did not exist.

Energy FlowEnergy Flow

• Complete the vocabulary crossword puzzle on page 10

Food ChainFood Chain

• Pathway of food and energy through an ecosystem

What is wrong with this food chain? Hint: The grasshopper is not an autotroph.

*Use the chart on page 8 to create your own food chain. Write it in the box.

Food WebsFood Webs

• Complex network of feeding relationships – made up of many interconnected food chains

Food webs Food webs page 11page 11

1. What is the producer in this web?

2. What can producers do that consumers can not?

3. Give an example of a 2nd consumer.

Food Webs Food Webs page 12page 12

4. Where does all of the energy originally come from in this web?

5.Where do all of the trophic levels eventually end up?

Energy Pyramid Energy Pyramid page 12page 12

• Chart showing the flow of energy through the food chain

• 10% of energy is lost per level as you move up pyramid

• Always needs to be more producers than consumers

AdaptationsAdaptations

• Complete the vocabulary activity on page 13.

AdaptationsAdaptations

• Behaviors and physical adaptations that allow an organism to survive in its environment

• What are these animals adaptations?

SELECTIVE BREEDINGSELECTIVE BREEDING

• Choosing the “best” genes for offspring

• Weeding out the undesired characteristics

• Usually domestic breeding

Beak it OutBeak it Out

• In this activity you are going to mimic how the variations of Darwin’s finches compete for three different types of food sources.

• Natural selection happens when a population changes in response to their environment.

Beak it Out AnalysisBeak it Out Analysis1. What characteristics, or behavior, make each bird species unique from the

other bird species?

2. How did the birds’ characteristics affect their eating habits? Were they able to eat any type of food? Why or why not?

3. If this activity is an example of how native birds lived before and after the arrival of humans to the area, which rounds represent the “before humans” period? __________________ The “after humans” period?

4. What happened to the native populations after the arrival of the introduced species?

5. For the native populations, was the arrival of an introduced species harmful or helpful? Why?

6. Which bird became extinct first? Explain why it was not adapted for survival.

7. Which bird was best adapted for survival? Why?

8. Define the term extinction.

Natural SelectionNatural Selection

• Animals that have the characteristics and adaptations suited for a particular environment survive and produce offspring

Natural Selection and Charles Natural Selection and Charles Darwin Darwin page 15page 15

Watch the Brain Pop video and answer the questions:1.What was Charles Darwin’s main contribution to science?2.When is a trait most likely to be passed on to the next generation?

Natural Selection Activity Natural Selection Activity page 15page 15

• Go to: http://www2.edc.org/weblabs/naturalselection/main.html

• Or click on the Natural Selection link on my wiki: http://hess.wiki.conestogavalley.org

• Click on the Mice. Follow the directions in the module.• Explain what happened to the brown and yellow mice

throughout the module.• Click on the butterfly, complete the module and then

click the finch and complete the module. How do these modules apply ot the concepts of natural selection?

Population Studies Population Studies page 16page 16

All of the members of ONE species in a particular area.

Answer the questions pertaining to the rabbit population.A certain forest ecosystem is able to support a pouplation of 100 rabbits. One year the pop. soars to 130.1.What will probably happen to the rabbit population over the course of a year? How might this occur.2.What will happen to the rabbit deathrate?3.How might the rabbit overpopulation affect other organisms in the forest ecosystem?

Carrying Capacity Carrying Capacity page 17page 17

•Carrying capacity: A habitat can only sustain a certain range of organisms

Carrying Capacity Carrying Capacity page 17page 17

• What is the carrying capacity for Chipmunks in Martic Twp?• When did chipmunk pop grow at the fastest rate?• What might make the chipmunk reach its carrying capacity?

Limiting FactorsLimiting FactorsResources (factors) which limit the growth of a Resources (factors) which limit the growth of a

populationpopulation

• Density Dependent– Competition– Predation– Parasitism– Disease

• Density-independent– Unusual weather– Natural disasters– Seasonal cycles– Human interaction –

logging, damming rivers

Predator vs. PreyPredator vs. Prey

• Predator – Animal that captures other animals for food

• Prey – Animals eaten by a predator

Green tiger beetle attacking wasp

Complete Activity on Complete Activity on predator/prey predator/prey page 18page 18

1. What happens to the lynx population when the snowshoe hare pop goes up?

2. How would you expect an increasing Lynx pop to affect the snowshoe hare pop?

3. What happens to the lynx pop when the snowshoe hare pop goes down? Why do you think this happens?

4. How can you tell that lynxes feed almost entirely on hares?

5. What factors, other than its interaction with the lynx might affect the population of snowshoe hares?

Limiting Factors Limiting Factors page 19page 19

Round Number Fish Population Size Round Number Fish Population Size

1 

  6  

2 

  7  

3 

  8  

4 

  9  

5 

  10  

Limiting factors Limiting factors page 19page 19

1. Describe what happens to the fish population throughout the activity.

2. Is it possible for the Fish population to go extinct? Why or why not.

3. Do you think the limiting factors in this activity (food, oxygen, shelter) only slow the population growth when the population reaches a high population density (crowded)? Why or why not.

BIODIVERSITYBIODIVERSITY

• Diversity of life on Earth.

• Including all animals, plants, fungus, bacteria you can see and can’t see

IMPORTANCE OF IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITYBIODIVERSITY

1. PLANT COMMUNITIES PROVIDE MANY VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR OUR PLANET

2. MEDICALLY IMPORTANT

3. ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT

4. PASSING ON TO OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN, ETC.

PLANT COMMUNITIESPLANT COMMUNITIES

• VALUABLE FOR:– GIVE OXYGEN– SHADE AND

MOISTURE– ANCHORS IN SOIL;

PREVENTING MUDSLIDES, ETC.

– REMOVE GREENHOUSE GASES (CARBON DIOXIDE)

MEDICALLY IMPORTANTMEDICALLY IMPORTANT

• PENICILLIN AND OTHER ANTIBIOTICS PRODUCED FROM BACTERIA AND FUNGUS

• PACIFIC YEW TREE PRODUCES COMPOUNDS HELPFUL FOR CANCER PATIENTS

ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANTECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT

• TOURISM• HUNTING, FISHING• PRODUCING MANY

GOODS WE USE ON A DAILY BASIS

GENERATIONSGENERATIONS

• PASSING OUR WORLD ON TO NEXT GENERATIONS

• MUST TAKE CARE OF IT NOW…OR WHAT WILL WE SEE IN 25, 50, 75 YEARS?

MAJOR CONCERNSMAJOR CONCERNS

FISHING •Catching aquatic animals (fish, clams, oysters, crabs, etc.) faster than they can reproduce

MAJOR CONCERNSMAJOR CONCERNS

ANIMAL TRADE•Demand for leather, furs, skins, etc.•Supply is diminishing due to increased amounts of trading•Supply vs. demand

MAJOR CONCERNSMAJOR CONCERNS

HEALTHY SOIL•In the past 40 years, 1/3 of our soil has been washed down stream•Chesapeake Bay

MAJOR CONCERNSMAJOR CONCERNS

DEFORESTATION– Cutting down the trees

to make paper, homes, firewood, lumber, etc.

– Rain forests to your back yard

– Supply vs. Demand

MAJOR CONCERNSMAJOR CONCERNS

TOXIC CHEMICALS•Phosphates in many household cleaners – eutrophication•Fertilizers – nitrogens washed down into local stream – how does it get to the ocean?•Oil spills

MAJOR CONCERNSMAJOR CONCERNS

GREENHOUSE GASES•CARBON DIOXIDE, METHANE GAS – RELEASED FROM CARS, FACTORIES, COWS•GLOBAL WARMING

INVASIVE SPECIESINVASIVE SPECIES

• A species that was not originally found in a specific habitat, but now is a part of that habitat

• Trade, pets, tourism• Invasive species in

PA – Zebra mussels, purple loosestrife, chestnut blight

Environmental LawsEnvironmental Laws• Air Pollution Control Act – PA law created to protect

humans and the environment against airborne pollutants including auto exhaust

• Wild Resource Conservation Act – Created to protect endangered plants and animals

• Clean Streams Law – Provided PA with the authority to protect streams from pollution and the effects of surface mining.

• Growing Greener Act – Funding to protect and preserve farmland and open space, maintain parks, clean up abandoned mines, restore watersheds, and upgrade sewer systems.

Ecological CollapseEcological CollapseList the names of the organisms you remove from the Chesapeake Bay Community

Analysis of Ecological CollapseAnalysis of Ecological Collapse

1. What happened when the keystone species was removed?

2. What happens to biodiversity of the community?

3. What was the keystone species?

WatercycleWatercycle

• Evaporation – liquid to gas (water to water vapor)

• Condensation – gas to liquid

• Precipitation – snow, rain, etc.

• Evapotranspiration – evaporation from trees, plants

• Run-off – water moves off of the land

• Infiltration – water moves into the ground

WETLANDSWETLANDS

• TYPES:– BOGS– MARSHES– SWAMPS– Estuary

BOGSBOGS

• VERY ACIDIC CONDITIONS

• DECOMPOSERS CAN NOT LIVE….NOTHING BREAKS DOWN

• FOUND MEN 2000 YEARS OLD

MarshesMarshes

• Reeds, grasses, cattails, soft-stemmed plants

• Near ponds and lakes

SwampsSwamps

• More trees and woody vegetation

EstuaryEstuary

• Land between Sea and Freshwater