Chapter 2: Principles of Ecology

Ecology- study of living things and how they interact with their environments

Community Interactions
Competition: Competition occurs when more than one organism relies on a resource, whether it is biotic or abiotic. Predation: Predation is when one organism hunts another organism as a food source.

Four types of Heterotrophs:

Herbivore- plant eaters Carnivore- meat eaters Omnivore- plant and meat eater Detritivore- will eat anything thats dead (do NOT confuse with a decomposer)

Levels of Organization
Biotic Factors- all living organisms in the biosphere Abiotic Factors- all non-living things in the biosphere The Earth is a large place and studying it as a whole can be difficult. Because of this, ecologists have created a list that can break down the Earth into six basic sections. These sections are broken down based upon the amount of interactions living things have with their environment. In order from the least amount of interactions to the most, these sections are: Organism- anything that is or was once living Population- the amount of one species living in an area at the same time Biological Community- all populations in an area at the same time that intermingle Ecosystem- a biological community and all of its abiotic factors Biome- grouping of the same types of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar communities Biosphere- the parts of Earth that can support and sustain life

Food Chains and Food Webs

Food chains are basically flow charts that show how energy is transferred through an ecosystem. From the sun, to an autotroph, to a heterotroph, this is how energy basically flows. To study more complex transfers of energy, you must look at a food web which shows the transfers of energy between several different organisms. Food Chain:

Symbiotic Relationships
Symbiosis- when two or more species live together for benefits

There are three types of Symbiotic Relationships:

Mutualism- when two or more organisms benefit off of the other and neither one is harmed (win-win situation) Commensalism- when one organism benefits off of another, but the other is neither helped nor harmed (free loading) Parasitism- when one organism benefits off of another organism, and harms them while doing so (think of a leech)

Food Web:

Energy in an Ecosystem All energy in an ecosystem originates from the sun.

Autotrophs- organisms that produce their own food Heterotrophs- organisms that consume other living things to survive

Cycling of Energy
Matter- anything that has mass and takes up space Nutrient- any chemical substance that a life form needs to function and survive The cycling of energy on the Earth and especially in the biosphere is important because, essentially, every piece of matter, every drop of water, every last atom has been on this planet since its beginning. Because matter cannot be created nor destroyed (Law of Conservation of Mass), the Earth has simply been continuously recycling and reusing the matter which it already has for all of its life forms in the present, past, and future, have need of them.

All living things need water, have it as waste, and it of course is matter so it cannot be spontaneously created or destroyed, and so thus begins another cycle which allows for water to be reused time and time again.

Biogeochemical Cycle
The biogeochemical cycle is basically involves the transfer of matter through biotic and abiotic things on Earth. For example, from nonliving things such as rocks, weathering may cause minerals to break away and absorb into the soil where plant life will take in these minerals and use them for their own processes that help them function. Then, the food chain will follow and energy and matter will be transferred through it until starting once more within the plants. The Water Cycle Evaporation- the process of turning into vapor Condensation- the changing of vapor or gas to a liquid Precipitation- rain, sleet, or snow that falls to the ground

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is an important element to life for it is the temperature moderator of Earth, it makes up a fair portion of most life forms, is found in all fossil fuels, and it is what allows plants to photosynthesize when paired with Oxygen.

Animals give off CO2 after cellular respiration and the CO2 is emitted to the air. CO2 will eventually find its way to a nearby plant, where it is taken in during photosynthesis and is used within the plant for various reasons, such as constructing the plant over time. Eventually, the plant will die and decompose, where in the carbon atoms will of course disperse, but if something prevents the plant life from decomposing properly, it may be compressed within the Earth if other things fall on and compress it down into the dirt. Eventually, it will become coal, a fossil fuel. The same thing occurs when animals die if they cannot decompose as they are supposed to. Next, we as a race will find the left over fossil fuels and put them to use in factories and cars, as well as in other technologies. The carbon emissions will return to the atmosphere where it will play into the Greenhouse Effect, heating and keeping our Earth warm. The cycle will then continue, returning to the plants which will photosynthesize to create O2, which animals will take in, which brings us back to the beginning of the cycle.
Bibliography:
Biggs, Alton. "Principles of Ecology." Biology. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill Education, 2012. 30-57. Print. Green, Hank. The Hydologic and Carbon Cycles: Always Recycle! December 24th, 2012. Online Video clip. Youtube. Accessed on December 6th, 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D7hZpIYlCA Johnson, Roberta. "The Carbon Cycle." Windows to the Universe. N.p., 07 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. Morales, Belinda. "Food Web." Blogger.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. "The Food Chain." Shepard's Software. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. " !" Vanakkam Malaysia Dot Com Sdn Bhd -. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.