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A LOCAL ECOSYSTEM
What is this topic about?
To keep it as simple as possible, (K.I.S.S.) this topic involves the study of:
1. DISTRIBUTION & ABUNDANCE OF ORGANISMS
2. BIOTIC & ABIOTIC FACTORS
3. ROLES & RELATIONSHIPS
4. THE FLOW OF ENERGY & MATTER
5. ADAPTATIONS TO ENVIRONMENT
6. HUMAN IMPACTS
Ecology
is the study of living things and their environment, and all
the inter-relationships between the life-forms and the
factors of the environment itself.
Ecosystem
Population
An ecosystem comprises all the living things and the nonliving environment of a particular, defined area. The size of
an ecosystem can vary enormously... you might study the
ecology under one rock, or in a lake. You might consider
an entire mountain range as one ecosystem, or an entire
ocean. Ultimately, the entire Earth can be considered as a
single ecosystem.
THE SUN PROVIDES
ALL THE ENERGY FOR
THE ECOSYSTEM
sun
AN AUSTRALIAN ECOSYSTEM
Photo by Diana
copyright 2005-2006
Predator
&
Prey
Quadrats
&
CaptureRecapture
Transect
Studies
Parasite
&
Host
Biotic
Factors
Commensalism
Factors of
an Ecosystem
Mutualism
Distribution
&
Abundance
Roles
&
Relationships
Allelopathy
A LOCAL
ECOSYSTEM
Competition
Flow of
Energy & Matter
Adaptations
to
Environment
Human
Impacts
Loss of Habitat
Pollution
Eutrophication
Alien Species
Cycling of matter.
Flow of Energy
Biomass
Pyramids
Structural
Physiological
Behavioural
Food
Chains
Food
Webs
copyright 2005-2006
Blue periwinkles
Neptunes necklace seaweed
Crabs
An animal that is
usually found in tree
tops may be there to
find its food, or may
be escaping its
enemies.
Transect Study
A Transect is like a cross-section through a study area.
Barnacles
The idea is to define a line which cuts right across the area
being studied. This could be a string line or a series of
marker sticks hammered into the soil.
The study is done by moving along the line and noting and
recording which species are located at each point.
Often plants are the main subjects of a Transect Study,
because many animals move around so far and so quickly
that they cant be studied this way.
You may have done a Transect Study as part of
your practical work, or on a field trip excursion.
Sea
Urchin
copyright 2005-2006
3 metres
Capture-Recapture Sampling.
2. Mark or tag
the animals
Example:
1st Capture = 100
individuals
Quadrat Studies
A quadrat is a simple wire/wooden/plastic frame which
is dropped onto the ground at random throughout the
study area.
it
wa
...
Example:
Out of 200 in the 2nd capture,
20 are marked = 10% marked.
Plant
studied
8 metres
Quadrat
drops
1 m2
Mathematically,
Study
Area
= 8x8
= 64 m2
= 100 x 200
20
8 metres
= 1,000 individuals
Limitations
This technique relies on the marked/tagged individuals
mixing randomly back into the population and being recaught again at random. Sometimes this doesnt happen.
Estimated = 1.25 x 64
Population
1
= 80 plants in this area.
copyright 2005-2006
Worksheet 1
Fill in the blank spaces.
Check your answers in the Answer Section.
1.
Abundance of starfish on a rock platform was studied by
the quadrat method. The quadrat was a plastic frame with
an area of 0.25 m2. The rock platform was approximately
a rectangle 20m x 30m.
WHEN COMPLETED,
WORKSHEETS BECOME SECTION SUMMARIES
copyright 2005-2006
Biotic Factors
Abiotic Factors
(biotic = living)
examples...
Food organisms
Predators
Diseases
Competitors
(non-living)
Temperature Variation
On land the temperature can easily vary 20oC from day to
night, and even more from summer to winter. Living things
must be able to cope with that while maintaining relatively
stable internal body temperatures. Terrestrial animals need
fur or feathers for insulation, or have physiological
responses such as sweating or shivering, or alter their
behaviour (sunbaking or seeking shade) in response to heat
or cold.
Availability of water
Availability of oxygen
Light intensity
Temperature range
Soil characteristics
Salinity
Acidity (pH)
Exposure to wind
Availability of Water
Terrestrial environments are subject to evaporation, and
plants and animals must have ways to conserve water, by
having water-proof skin, or avoiding losses during
excretion. This problem becomes extreme in some
environments such as deserts.
STREAMLINING
SALTWATER
FISH
Absorbs water
Osmosis sucks
water from body.
Bony skeleton
supports body
against gravity
Must
drink
constantly
to replace
water loss
Must
excrete
water
constantly
Strong
trunk to
hold leaves
up to catch
light
FRESH WATER
FISH
copyright 2005-2006
Availability of Light
Light is essential for plants to carry out photosynthesis.
This process makes all the food, so the availability of light
is a critical factor in any ecosystem.
Light penetrates through air very easily, so most terrestrial
environments get plenty of light for the plants. The floor
of a rainforest is an exception... here the dense canopy of
trees means very little light penetrates to reach the smaller
species or seedlings.
Rainforest plants have adapted to this in many ways:
Elkhorn epiphyte
in a rainforest tree
Photo by Diana
Red
Different colours
(wavelengths) of
light penetrate
water to different
depths.
Blue light
Photo courtesy of
Katia Grimmer-Laversanne
Preliminary Biology Topic 1
copyright 2005-2006
Worksheet 2
Divide these ecosystem factors into 2 lists... the
Biotic and Abiotic factors.
Buoyancy
is
a
measure
of
g).................................. ability. Water is much
h)....................... (more/less) buoyant than air.
Terrestrial animals and plants need strong
i)............................... structures to withstand
gravity, while aquatic organisms are supported by
the water.
Comparing temperature variations, the terrestrial
environment shows j).....................................
variation than water. Thats why many land
animals have special features such as
k)................................ for insulation, or the ability
to l)................................... when too hot.
Important gases like m).......................... are
abundant in the air Gases do not
n).............................. very well in water, so aquatic
animals need very efficient o).................................
or other breathing organs.
WHEN COMPLETED,
WORKSHEETS BECOME SECTION SUMMARIES
copyright 2005-2006
Predator - Prey
Although animals eat living plants, this is not predation...
the term is reserved for situations where one animal eats
another.
examples...
Predator
Dingo
Lion
Spider
Dolphin
eats
eats
eats
eats
Prey
Wallaby
Zebra
Insect
Fish
Population Size
(ABUNDANCE)
PREY SPECIES
Commensalism
Commensalism is a relationship in which one organism
benefits while the other is neither harmed nor helped.
Population
peaks
PREDATOR SPECIES
TIME (years)
Notice that
Predator abundance is always lower than prey.
(Reasons for this are explained in the next section)
The peaks and troughs of the predators population
always occur after those of the prey species.
What happens:
1. The numbers of the prey species increase because of its
breeding cycle, or seasonal increase in available food.
2. This provides more food for predators, who survive in
greater numbers and reproduce more sucessfully.
3. As predator numbers increase, more prey get eaten and
so the prey population decreases.
4. As prey numbers decline, less predators can survive, and
breeding is less sucessful... predator numbers decline.
copyright 2005-2006
Mutualism
In a mutualistic relationship, both species benefit.
Mutualism is much more widespread in nature than is
generally realized.
The classic example is the honey bee and many flowering
plants. The bees total food supply is nectar and pollen from
the flowers. As the bee gathers its food the plants gain the
essential service of pollination of their flowers. Both benefit
so profoundly that neither can survive without the other.
The polyp provides a secure home for the alga, which pays its
way by sharing the food it makes by photosynthesis. Both
organisms gain tremendous benefits from the relationship.
Photo by Norbert Machmek
Photo by Diana
Parasite - Host
Parasitism is a relationship in which one organism feeds on another without
killing it, or even necessarily harming it significantly.
Allelopathy
is a relationship found particularly among plants and
fungi, in which one organism directly inhibits the
growth and development of others by releasing
toxins. The famous antibiotic penicillin was
discovered in the fungus Penicillium because of its
inhibiting effect on the growth of bacteria.
Some trees and shrubs (including the pest weed
lantana) release inhibiting chemicals from their
roots. These inhibitors slow down or prevent
the germination and growth of the seeds and
seedlings of other plants.
Some parasites, such as tapeworms, live inside their host and absorb
digested food without doing much harm. This way the host stays
healthy and the parasite has a secure home and guaranteed food
supply.
Other parasites, such as leeches and ticks, are casual parasites who
attach to a host, take a feed of blood, and then drop off and live
independently until it is time to feed again.
More serious are the many micro-organisms which can cause
infectious diseases. These parasites include bacteria, viruses and a
few protozoans and fungi. They invade the hosts body, feeding and
reproducing so that the host becomes sick and may even die.
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copyright 2005-2006
Competition
Dingo
Dingo
introduced
TIME
Photo by Mark Karstad
It seems the dingo was a more sucessful predator and outcompeted the Thylacine on the mainland. The dingo was
never introduced to Tasmania, so there the tigers survived
until driven into total extinction by the impacts of
European settlement.
Worksheet 3
Mutualism
is
when
2
organisms
m)..................................................................................................
A good example is the n)..................................... and
................................................... Many grazing animals get
help to digest the tough fibres of plant food from
mutualistic relationship with o)....................................... living
in their gut.
WHEN COMPLETED,
WORKSHEETS BECOME SECTION SUMMARIES
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copyright 2005-2006
Respiration
Cellular Respiration
Photosynthesis
PLANTS
Glucose + Oxygen
(sugar)
ANIMALS
Carbon + Water
Dioxide
in air
Energy-carrying
chemical used in
all cells to power
life processes.
Waste
products
Major energy
compound in
foods
C6H12O6 + 6O2
SUN
energy transfer
PLANTS
capture light energy
during
Photosynthesis
produced by plants
OUTPUT
waste
heat
energy
ATP
INPUT
Ligh
t
6CO2 + 6H2O
copyright 2005-2006
Food Chains
Food Webs
Wallabies dont just eat grass, and dingoes dont just eat
wallabies.
GRASS
WALLABY
DINGO
Plant
Herbivore
Carnivore
Producer
1st order
Consumer
2nd order
Consumer
starfish
1st Trophic
level
2nd Trophic
level
3rd Trophic
level
large fish
octopus
mussels
limpets
periwinkles
NOTES:
1. The arrows in a food chain show the direction that the
energy flows. The arrows must never be reversed.
chitons
zooplankton
(microscopic
animals)
green algae
phytoplankton
(microscopic
plants)
zooplankton
mussels
octopus
large fish
small fish
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copyright 2005-2006
Biomass
You are what you eat goes the old saying, and it is literally
true that every molecule of your body is built from the
chemicals that you have eaten as food over your lifetime.
Your body weight is your Biomass... the mass (weight) of
living flesh in you.
...and as you breathe out you excrete the waste CO2 (plus
some water vapour) and so lose a little of the mass of the
food you previously ate.
BIOMASS PYRAMID.
GRASS
PYRAMID OF
BIOMASS &
ENERGY
DINGO
4th
Trophic
Level
3rd
Trophic
Level
WALLABY
10%
90% of Biomass
and Energy lost
2nd
Trophic
Level
Biomass
of
Herbivores
90% of Biomass
and Energy lost
Py
ra
mi
ds
ha
pe
10%
1st
Trophic
Level
10%
available
Biomass of Producers
(Plants)
90% of Biomass
and Energy lost
This is why very few food chains in nature have more than 5 or 6 trophic levels... the available food & energy becomes too little
Preliminary Biology Topic 1
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copyright 2005-2006
sunbake when
too cool
seek shelter
when too hot
Photo by Diana
For example:
is the magpies colour scheme an adaptation which helps it
survive because it gives:
or
or
or
camouflage?
temperature control?
sexual attraction for mating?
identification, to keep a group together?
copyright 2005-2006
Worksheet 4
Fill in the blanks. Check answers at the back.
Worksheet 5
WHEN COMPLETED,
WORKSHEETS BECOME SECTION SUMMARIES
16
copyright 2005-2006
Loss of Habitat
Very simply, humans clear forests, fill wetlands and divert
streams to make room for our towns and cities and for our
agriculture. For example, only about 3% of Australian
rainforests remain, from those present 200 hundred years ago.
Clearing of natural environments is disaster for many
species. They are specially adapted to their habitat and
cannot survive elsewhere.
Pollution
Toxin concentration
= 1000 units
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copyright 2005-2006
A LOCAL
ECOSYSTEM
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copyright 2005-2006
Practice Questions
Part A
Multiple Choice
A
B
ABUNDANCE
C
D
Time
Prey
species
19
copyright 2005-2006
limpet
octopus
fish
Part B
shark
17. (4 marks)
The following is a diagram of a transect done to study
the distribution of 4 plant species J, K, L and M in a
certain area.
Vertical
scale
exaggerated
Pond
Key
Creek
K
19. (6 marks)
To estimate the population size for a small plant species
living in a field, a quadrat study was carried out. The field
was rectangular, measuring 120m x 85m.
Photo by Diana
a) Calculate
i) the area of the field.
ii) the average number of plants per quadrat.
b) Find an estimate of the size of the plant population in
the field. Show working.
c) Suggest one way to improve this study to give a more
accurate estimate.
20. (4 marks)
Construct a simple table and fill it in to compare the
terrestrial and aquatic environments with respect to
viscosity
buoyancy
temperature variation
and
availability of light
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copyright 2005-2006
21. (5 marks)
a) Define the term mutualism.
b) Give an example of mutualism, naming 2
organisms and outlining how each is affected by the
relationship.
25. (8 marks)
From your diagram for Q24 answer the following.
a) Name three 2nd-order consumers.
b) Name an organism which occupies more than one
trophic level.
c) Write the longest food chain within this web.
d) Name 2 organisms who could well be competitors.
e) There is a world-wide trend of decline in amphibian
populations. If the frog population in this food web was
drastically reduced, what might happen to the:
i) insect population?
ii) mouse population?
f) Comment on a human impact apparent from the food
web for this ecosystem.
22. (5 marks)
In nature, allelopathy is a method of beating your
competition.
Discuss this statement briefly, giving definitions and
examples as appropriate.
23. (8 marks)
a) Write a word equation to summarize the process of
cellular respiration.
b) The process makes energy available to living cells.
i) What is the original source of this energy?
ii) How does the energy get into an
ecosystem?
iii) In what form is the energy passed from
organism to organism?
26. (4 marks)
In a seaside rockpool, the total biomass of all visible
plants, herbivores and carnivores was estimated as
follows: Plants 10 kg
Hebivores 20 kg
Carnivores 2 kg
24. (5 marks)
The following observations were made about the
feeding relationships in an Australian rural ecosystem.
Use the information to construct a food web diagram.
27. (4 marks)
a) Explain what is meant by an adaptation.
b) Give an example of an adaptation for each of the
following situations.
i) A structural adaptation (in an animal) to a cold climate.
ii) A plant adaptation to low light levels on the rain forest
floor.
iii) An adaptation for water conservation in a desert
animal.
28. (3 marks)
Outline a human impact on a named type of ecosystem.
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copyright 2005-2006
Answer Section
p) conserve
q) waterproof
r) excretion
s) osmosis
t) lose
u) excrete
v) rainforests
w) staghorns/orchids etc
x) large/broad/packed with chlorophyll
y) colours / wavelengths
z) Red/orange
aa) blue
ab) pigments
ac) plants
ad) dead material
ae) chemosynthesis
Worksheet 1
a) where
c) food
b) interacting
d) hiding / escaping
f) transect
g) straight line
h) which species are present
i) Abundance
j) quadrats
k) average number / quadrat l) the environment / study area
m) doing more quadrat drops n) Capture - Recapture
o) marking/tagging
p) release
q) capture
r) marked/tagged
s) total population
t) mixing randomly back into the population
Quadrat Study Problems
1. Average per quadrat = 46 / 10 = 4.6
Study area = 20 x 30 = 600 m2
Worksheet 3
a) predator
b) prey
c) decrease
d) more prey will be eaten
e) lower
f) later / after
g) feeds
h) killing it
i) tapeworm
j) ticks, mosquitoes, leeches
k) commensalism
l) remora (sucker fish)
m) both gain a benefit
n) bee & flowering plants
o) bacteria / protozoa
p) inhibit / slow
q) allelopathy
r) the same resource(s)
s) one survives and thrives, the other declines.
(one wins, one loses)
Worksheet 4
a) re-cycled
b) replaced / input
c) Sun
d) plants
e) photosynthesis
f) food (glucose)
g) growing, reproducing, responding etc
h) cellular respiration
i) oxygen
j) water & carbon dioxide
k) ATP
l) food chain
m) producers
n) consumers
o) re-cycle
p) inter-connect
q) food web
r) biomass
s) herbivores
t) pyramid
1.
Worksheet 5
a) adaptations
c) streamlined
e) physiological
g) shiver
i) concentrated
k) behavioural
m) shade / shelter
Worksheet 2
Biotic Factors
prey
diseases
predators
food plants
competitors
Abiotic Factors
light
oxygen
water
soil
temperature
exposure
acidity
a) terrestrial
c) Viscosity
e) higher viscosity
g) flotation
i) support
k) fur/fat/feathers
m) oxygen
o) gills
b) aquatic
d) low viscosity
f) streamlined
h) more
j) much less
l) sweat
n) dissolve
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b) insulates it
d) viscosity
f) sweat
h) small
j) conserve
l) sunbake
copyright 2005-2006
5. C
6. D
7. A
8. C
9. A
10. C
11. D
12. B
13. A
14. D
15. D
16. B
18.
b) i) The Sun
ii) Energy is captured by plants in photosynthesis.
iii) As food (containing chemical potential energy)
= 537 x 832
45
= 9,929
24.
kookaburras
frogs
honey
eaters
native shrubs
= 8.2 x 10,200/0.25
= 334,560
Estimate = 335,000 plants approximately
Aquatic
Environment
Viscosity
low
high
Buoyancy
low
high
Temp. variation
high
low
Light avail.
good
rabbits
grass
wallabies
mice
20.
insects
dingoes
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copyright 2005-2006
26
a) No. Stable ecosystems always have about 10 times more
biomass of plants than herbivores. The rockpool has less
plant biomass than herbivores. This is not sustainable.
b) The biomass figures include only visible plants. There
may be a large biomass of microscopic algae and plankton
not accounted for in the figures.
or,
Perhaps the herbivores in the rockpool are not just feeding
on the plants present, but leave the pool at high tide to feed
elsewhere.
or,
The community might be sustained by extra biomass which
washes into the pool with waves and tides and feeds the
herbivores.
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copyright 2005-2006