ECOLOGY

WHAT IS ECOLOGY?

Ecology- the scientific study of

interactions between organisms
and their environments, focusing
on energy transfer

Ecology is a science of relationships

 WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY
ENVIRONMENT?
The environment is made up of two
factors:

• Biotic factors- all living

organisms inhabiting the
Earth
• Abiotic factors- nonliving
parts of the environment
(i.e. temperature, soil,
light, moisture, air
currents)
Biosphere

Ecosystem

Community

Population

Organism
Organism - any unicellular or
multicellular form exhibiting all of the
characteristics of life, an individual.
•The lowest level of organization
Community - several interacting
populations that inhabit a common
environment and are interdependent.
Ecosystem - populations in a
community and the abiotic factors
with which they interact (ex.
marine, terrestrial)
Biosphere - life supporting portions
of Earth composed of air, land,
fresh water, and salt water.
•The highest level of organization
 Habitat vs. Niche
Niche - the role a species plays in
a community; its total way of life

Habitat- the place in which an

organism lives out its life
 Habitat vs. Niche
A niche is determined by the
tolerance limitations of an
organism, or a limiting factor.

Limiting factor- any biotic or

abiotic factor that restricts the
existence of organisms in a
specific environment.
 Habitat vs. Niche
Examples of limiting factors -

•Amount of water
•Amount of food
•Temperature
•Amount of space
•Availability of mates
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS
• There are 3 main types of feeding relationships

1. Producer - Consumer

2. Predator - Prey
3. Parasite - Host
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

Producer- all
autotrophs (plants),
they trap energy
from the sun
• Bottom of the food
chain
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

Consumer- all heterotrophs: they

ingest food containing the sun’s
energy
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Decomposers
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

CONSUMERS
1. Primary consumers
• Eat plants
• Herbivores

• Secondary, tertiary
consumers
• Prey animals
• Carnivores
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS
Consumer-Carnivores-eat meat
• Predators
–Hunt prey
animals for food.
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

Consumer- Carnivores- eat meat

• Scavengers
–Feed on carrion,
dead animals
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

Consumer- Omnivores -eat both

plants and animals
 FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

Consumer-
Decomposers
• Breakdown the
complex compounds
of dead and
decaying plants and
animals into simpler
molecules that can
be absorbed
 SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS
Symbiosis- two species living together

3 Types of
symbiosis:
1. Commensalism
2. Parasitism
3. Mutualism
 SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS
Commensalism-
one species benefits and the
other is neither harmed nor
helped
Ex. orchids on a tree

Epiphytes: A plant, such as a tropical

orchid or a bromeliad, that grows on another
plant upon which it depends for mechanical
support but not for nutrients. Also called
xerophyte, air plant.
 SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Commensalism-

one species benefits and

the other is neither
harmed nor helped
Ex. polar bears and
cyanobacteria
 SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Parasitism-
one species benefits (parasite) and
the other is harmed (host)
• Parasite-Host relationship
 SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Parasitism- parasite-host
Ex. lampreys,
leeches, fleas,
ticks, tapeworm
 SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Mutualism-
beneficial to both
species

Ex. cleaning birds

and cleaner
shrimp
 SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Mutualism-
beneficial to both species

Ex. lichen
Type of Species Species Species
relationship harmed benefits neutral
Commensalism

Parasitism

Mutualism

= 1 species
 TROPHIC LEVELS

• Each link in a food chain is known

as a trophic level.
• Trophic levels represent a feeding
step in the transfer of energy and
matter in an ecosystem.
 TROPHIC LEVELS
Biomass- the amount of organic matter
comprising a group of organisms in a habitat.

• As you move up a food chain, both available

energy and biomass decrease.

• Energy is transferred upwards but is

diminished with each transfer.
TROPHIC LEVELS
E Tertiary
consumers- top
N carnivores

Secondary consumers-
E small carnivores

R Primary consumers- Herbivores

G
Producers- Autotrophs
Y
TROPHIC LEVELS
Food chain- simple model that
shows how matter and energy
move through an ecosystem
TROPHIC LEVELS

Food web- shows all possible

feeding relationships in a
community at each trophic level

• Represents a network of
interconnected food chains
Food chain Food web
(just 1 path of energy) (all possible energy paths)
EARTH’S MAJOR BIOMES
• Biome
– A large, relatively distinct terrestrial region with a similar climate
soil, plants, and animals, regardless of where it occurs in the
world
– Nine major biomes

• Location of each biome is primarily

determined by:
– Temperature (varies with both latitude and elevation)
– Precipitation

• Biomes can also be defined by

– Winds, rapid temperature changes, fires, floods, etc.
VERTICAL ZONATION

• Increasing in
elevation has
similar effect on
ecosystem as
traveling to
higher latitudes
 TUNDRA
• Treeless biome in the far north with harsh, cold
winters and extremely short summers
• Precipitation
– 10-25 cm/yr
• Temperature
– Short growing season
– 50-160 days
 TUNDRA
• Nutrient poor soils with little organic material
– Permafrost present

o Low species richness

• Veg is mostly grasses and
sedges
• Very simple food web
o Low primary
productivity
 TEMPERATE RAINFOREST
• Soils are nutrient-poor, but high in organic material
(dropped needles)
– Cool temperatures slow decomposition
• Dominant Vegetation
– Large evergreen trees
– Old-growth forest
• Variety of cool
climate animal life
• Very high species
richness
• Heavily logged
 GRASSLAND
• Soil has thick, organic material
rich organic horizon.
• Periodic fires keep the dominant vegetation

grasses
o Animals
• Once covered with
bison- no longer true
• Smaller animals are
still present (ex:
prairie dogs)
 DESERTS
• Soils low in nutrients, high in salts
• Vegetation sparse
– cactus and sagebrush
• Animals are very small to regulate temperature

Sonoran Desert
 SAVANNA
• Soil low in nutrients due to leaching
• Vegetation
– Wide expanses of grass
– Occasional Acacia trees

• Have fire adaptive

characteristics
o Animals
• Herds of hoofed
animals
• Large predators- lions,
hyenas, etc.
TROPICAL RAINFOREST
• Ancient, weathered, nutrient-
poor soil
– Nutrients tied up in vegetation,
not soil
• Vegetation
– 3 distinct canopy layers
• Animals
– Most abundant insect, reptiles
and amphibians on earth
FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS
• Includes:
– Rivers and streams
– Lakes and ponds
– Marshes and swamps
• Represent 2% of earth’s surface
• Assist in recycling water back to the oceans
(Biogeochemical Cycling)
 RIVERS AND STREAMS
• Changes greatly from
headwater to mouth
• Headwaters
– Shallow, cool, swiftly flowing,
high oxygenated
• Mouth
– Not as cool, slower flowing,
less oxygen in water
 LAKES AND PONDS
• Body of freshwater that does not flow
• Three zones
– Littoral
– Limnetic
– Profundal
• Experience thermal stratification (depending on
depth)
 LAKES AND PONDS
• Littoral Zone - shallow water area along the shore
• Limnetic Zone - open water beyond the littoral
zone
• Profundal Zone - beneath the limnetic zone of deep
lakes
 MARSHES AND SWAMPS
• Lands that shallow, fresh water covers for at least part of
the year
– Characteristic soil- water logged and anaerobic for periods of
time
• Water tolerant vegetation
o Were once regularly filled
in
• More recently their
ecosystem services have
been better recognized
• Flood protection, water
filtering, etc.
 ESTUARIES
• Where freshwater and saltwater mix
• Highly variable environment
– Temperature, salinity, depth of light penetration

o Highly productive
• Nutrients transported from land
• Tidal action promotes rapid
circulation of nutrients
• High level of light penetrates
shallow water
• Many plants provide
photosynthetic carpet
 MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
• Subdivided into life
zones
– Intertidal zone
– Benthic zone
– Pelagic environment
• Neritic Province
• Oceanic Province
 INTERTIDAL ZONE
• Area of shoreline between low and high tides
o Habitat
• Sandy or rocky
o Muscles
o Crabs
o Algae
o Oysters
o Barnacles
o Animals must
adapts to
changing
conditions
 BENTHIC ZONE
• Ocean floor, extending from tidal zone to deep sea
trenches
• Sediment is mostly mud
– Burrowing worms and clams
• Three zone
– Bathyal: 200m - 4000m deep
– Abyssal: 4000m -6000m deep
– Hadal: 6000m – bottom of deep sea trenches
PRODUCTIVE BENTHIC COMMUNITIES
• Seagrass Beds
– Present to depth of 10 m
– Provide food and habitat to
ecosystem
• Kelp Forest
– 60-m long brown algae found off rocky shores
– Diversity of life supported by kelp rivals coral reefs
• Coral Reefs
– Built from accumulated layers of CaCO3
• Colonies of millions of tiny coral animals
– Found in shallow warm water
– Most diverse of all marine environments
 PELAGIC ENVIRONMENT
• All the open ocean water
• Two main divisions
– Neritic Province
• Water that overlies the continental shelf (to depth of
200 m)
• Organisms are all floaters or swimmers
– Oceanic Province
• Water that overlies depths greater than 200 m
• 75% of world’s ocean
• Most organisms are dependent on marine snow
• Organisms are filter feeders, scavengers and predators