ECOLOGY

2.1 UNDERSTANDING THE BIOSPHERE

THE BIOSPHERE ORGANIZATION
The Biosphere is organized at different levels.

INDIVIDUALS one organism

POPULATION a group of organism of the same species that live in specific area
COMMUNITY all the populations of various species that live in an area.
BIOME a community that covers a large geographical area
ECOSYSTEM- a community and its abiotic component
BIOSPHERE- all of Earths ecosystem

HABITAT: WHERE ORGANISMS LIVE

HABITAT- the environmental surrounding of an organism.
RESOURCESreproduce.

food, water, shelter, and spaces and organisms that need to survive and

BASIC KINDS OF HABITAT

TERRESTIAL- ON LAND
AQUATIC- ON OR IN WATER
NICHE WHAT ORGANISMS DO
NICHE- an organisms profession or role in the ecosystem. It is what the animals eat and what
eats the animals
NICHE DIMENSION an organism relationship to the physical environment and to other
organism
FIRE: FRIEND OR FOE
Scientists once thought that fire was unnatural, destructive force, but now believe it is a
natural part of an ecosystem and a helpful management tool.
Ex. KIRTLANDS WARBLER

2.2 UNDERSTANDING INTERACTIONS IN THE BIOSPHERE

EARTH SYSTEMSINFLUENCE OF ORGANISM
DISTRIBUTION- where organisms are found
ABUNDANCE- the number of organisms found
The physical environmental factor limit the abundance and distribution of organism
EX. A polar bear cant live in florida
TOLERANCE

RANGE OF TOLERANCE- every species is adapted to live within a certain range of

physical environmental conditions
Every species has a tolerance range for many abiotic factors (ex. Water temperature)
OPTIMAL RANGE- range within which the conditions of the factor is ideally suited
for that organisms.

TRAITS
- To survive and thrive in their habitats, species need to be suited to the environmental conditions
that exist around them.0
TRAITS distinguishing features or characteristics that enhance their survival and reproductive
success in a particular environment
-TRAITS CAN BE:
PHYSICAL
BEHAVIORAL
PHYSIOLOGICAL

BIOMES
A community that covers a large geographical area
Distinguished by vegetation and climate
ORGANISMS INFLUENCE ON THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Just as the environment influences organisms, organisms also affect the physical
environment
GEOSPHERE- soil is the full of life decomposes organic matter and capture nitrogen
HYDROSPHERE algae blooms killing fish

ORGANISMS INFLUENCE ON OTHER ORGANISMS

Living things can also affect the distribution and number of other organisms
PREDATION- when an organisms of one species eats an organisms of another species
COMPETITION- species use resources that are in short supply
Competition has several outcomes:
One of the competing species will find an alternative resource
RESOURCE PARTITIONING- two species competing for a single resource
adapt so that parts of the same resource can be used by both species
SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS- two organisms of different species live in
direct contact with one another
o MUTUALISM- both organisms benefit
o PARASITISM- one organism benefit, the other is harmed
o COMMENSALISM- one organism benefits, the other is not helped or
harmed

MAKING SENSE OF INTERACTIONS IN THE BIOSPHERE

- CHARLES DARWINOrigin of the Species (1859)

presented evidence that species change across time in On the

- Natural selection is the most important mechanism of evolutionary change

- Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution THEODOSIUS
DOBZHANSKY
- Both living and non living factors influence new populations evolved.
2.3 THE BIOSPHERE IS A DYNAMIC AND OPEN SYSTEM

ENERGY TRANSFER IN ECOSYSTEM

Sunlight is the source of energy in almost all ecosystem.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS- converting sunlight to energy (food) that organisms can use.
CELLULAR RESPIRATION- breaks down the sugar molecule in a reaction that is the reverse
of photosynthesis
ENERGY TRANSFER IN ECOSYSTEM
PRODUCERS- organisms that create their own energy through photosynthesis`

CONSUMERS- organisms that cannot make their own food and survive by eating other
organism.

3 TYPES OF CONSUMERS

HERBIVORES- EAT PLANTS

CARNIVORES- EAT MEAT
OMNIVORES- EAT BOTH PLANTS AND ANIMALS

DECOMPOSERS- breaks down the organic material in waste and dead organisms

ENERGY TRANSFER IN ECOSYSTEM

Energy moves the same way in all ecosystem even through different species make up the food
web in different ecosystem

All energy is provided by producers from the sun

All each link energy is lost as heat
Energy flows in one direction and is not recycled.

THE BIOMASS PYRAMID

BIOMASS- how many organisms and how many energy is present.

TROPHIC LEVEL- feeding level (producer, primary, consumer, secondary consumer,
etc.)

All organisms depends depend on the energy stored by producers.

Remember, energy can never be created or destroyed, but it can be converted from one form
to another.

BIOMASS(g/m^2)

TROPHIC LEVEL

TERTIARY

10-

SECONDARY

100-

PRIMARY LEVEL

1,000

PRODUCERS

10,000

THE BIOMASS PYRAMID

90 % of the food energy that is obtained is used by the organism is eventually released as
heat.
10 % of energy that is obtained from its food is converted into new body tissue that
organisms at the next feeding level can eat.
Each tropic level contained only one-tenth of the level below it.
Predators are less abundant than producers because there is not much energy available at
the top of the food web to support there.

MATERIAL TRANSFER IN ECOSYSTEM

Energy moves through ecosystem in one direction from producers to herbivores to

carnivores.
Lite sustaining chemicals and molecules however are cycled through the athmosphere,
hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere
Nitrogen is needed by living things:
o Building blocks of protein
o Help us digest food
The largest reservoir of nitrogen is in the athmosphere
80% of the atmosphere is made up of nitrogen gas-N2-the form that is not reactive
Living things cannot use things type of nitrogen directly, so is has to be fixed first.

2 ways that nitrogen got fixed.

Lighting in the atmosphere provides enough energy to break the nitrogen-nitrogen bond
and lets the nitrogen react with oxygen in the atmosphere to form nitrogen oxides.
o This conversion makes the nitrogen available for reaction that produce amino
acids.
Bacteria fix nitrogen- most live in the spill. Some are free moving, but some live on the
roots of plants or in aquatic environment (algae)
Nitrogen soil is an essential and limiting nutrients plants
Animals get their nitrogen from plants or from eating each other
The path nitrogen takes from the atmosphere to the biosphere is largely through bacteria
in soil
People also makes nitrogen- based fertilizer by reacting atmospheric nitrogen with
hydrogen
Nitrogen compounds are readily dissolved in water and they get flushed from the soil into
lakes, rivers , and the ocean
The oceans are a large nitrogen reservoir even though they contain 95% less nitrogen
than atmosphere
The ocean contain 100, 000 times the amount of nitrogen that is in all of Earths soil and
plant life

2.4 THE BIOSPHERE AND THE HUMANS

Humans (Homo Sapiens) are just one of 1.6 million animal species in the atmosphere
There are over 6 million Homo Sapiens in the world today. 50 years ago there was half as
many
Population of human is growing at a rate of over 100 million per year

HUMAN ORIGIN

People generics roots are in family of species called Hominidae

Australopitecus Afarensis is the oldest known Hominidae evolved 4 million years ago.
- Could walk upright but had legs and arms adapted to living in trees
Homo Erectus (1.6 million to 300, 000 years ago) made tollas and was the first to
migrate widely outside the Africa.
Homo Neanderthalensis (150, 000 ) had larhe brains and bulky bodies, but die out
soon after homo sapiens migrated from Africa to Europe

 Homo Sapiens (150,000 years ago) are the only surviving species in the Hominidae
Family.
HUMANS AND ECOSYSTEM
-

Humans are the most adaptive animals on Earth

Humans significantly affect all Earths system:

o
o
o
o

Displaced or destroyed ecosystems (forest to farmlands)

Overgrazing grasslands
Building roads and housing developments
Building dreams on rivers

As the area of natural habitats decreases the number of organisms living in those habitats must
decrease too

Possibility that the species may become locally extinct

People affect the ecosystem by introducing competing species

Importing farm animals

Bringing in predator to control native pests
Species accidentally slow on ships

Species are overhunted or overharvested

Pollution of ecosystem