WARM-UP Questions

1. What do you think are the basic

needs of life?
2. What is an environment?
3. How do you define life…what are 4
things all living organisms have in
common?
 What is Ecology?
• The science of ecology
includes everything from
global processes (above), the
study of various marine and
terrestrial habitats (middle)
to individual interspecific
interactions like predation
and pollination (below).
 Ecology is…
• the study of the
interactions between
living organisms and
their biotic and abiotic
environments.
• Ecology is therefore
the study of the
relationship of plants
and animals to their
physical and
biological
And the ENVIRONMENT is…

The surroundings of an organism that

affect its life and development.
 An environment is characterized by the
ABIOTIC and BIOTIC factors.
• Abiotic factors are non-living.
• Abiotic factors include science like chemistry,
physics and geology.
• Interactions of abiotic factors result in weather,
seasonal changes, tides, air quality, and water
quality
• Biotic factors are living and can be
categorized within an ecosystem structure…
Species Population Community

ECOSYSTEM: all of the communities that

 Biotic factors:
• all the living things that directly or indirectly
affect the environment
• ** Thus, the organisms, their presence, parts,
interaction, and wastes are all biotic factors.
Biotic features are all living
things in the biosphere.
• The biosphere is all
the parts of Earth that
support life.

• This measures
approximately 20km
thick (12.4 miles)! Most
life on Earth exists
between 500m below
the surface of the ocean
and about 6km above
sea level.
 How are Biotic Factors
organized?

K P C
ing hilip ame Over For Great
Soup!
Kingdom - Phylum - Class - Order - Family - Genus -
Species
All biotic factors are grouped into major
kingdoms based upon similar physical
characteristics…
Listed in descending order of
complexity:

Animalia
Plantae
Fungi
Protista
Eubacteria
Archeobacteria
 A dead tree is
not alive but not
considered
abiotic….why?
It was
once
living!
 Abiotic factors:
• those physical and chemical factors which
affect the ability of organisms to survive and
reproduce
Some Abiotic Factors:
1. intensity of light
2. range of temperatures
3. amount of moisture
4. type of substratum (soil or rock type)
5. availability of inorganic substances such as
minerals
6. supply of gases such as oxygen, carbon
dioxide, and nitrogen
7. pH
Abiotic and Biotic factors are
intimately intertwined….
Geographic location (latitude
and longitude) determines
abiotic factors such as
temperature and
climate….which in turn,
dictates or forces a certain
type of ecosystem to exist.
 Levels of
Organization
studied in
Ecology…
 Ecological Organization:
1. Population: all the members of a species
inhabiting a given location
2. Community: all the interacting populations
in a given area
3. Ecosystem: the living community and the
physical environment functioning together
as an independent and relatively stable
system
4. Biosphere: that portion of the earth where life
exists
a. The biosphere is composed of
numerous complex ecosystems.
b. An ecosystem involves interactions
between abiotic (physical) and biotic
(living) factors. The members of the
community in the ecosystem and
environment must interact to maintain a
balance.
 An organism’s niche
• Habitat: the actual place an
organism lives
• Niche: both living and non-
living parts of an ecosystem
that determines an
organism’s role in the
ecosystem.
• If two species share the same
niche, they will have various
interactions.
Example: The ecological niche of a sunflower growing in the
backyard includes absorbing light, water and nutrients
(for photosynthesis), providing shelter and food for other
organisms (e.g. bees, ants, etc.), and giving off oxygen
into the atmosphere.
The ecological niche of an organism depends not only on
where it lives but also on what it does. By analogy, it may
be said that the habitat is the organism’s “address”, and
the niche is its “profession”, biologically speaking.

“Address”—Soil, Ground, etc.

Worm’s Niche

“Profession”– Mix-up soil

• These relationships are complex. Each
population of species interacts with other
species, or biotic factors, as well as with all
of the abiotic factors.
• The niche of an organism and it’s
interactions is determined by where it
stands in the ecological structure of the
ecosystem.
-Producers
-Consumers
-Decomposers
-Scavengers
 Producers
A. Sunlight is the main energy source for life on
earth

B. Also called autotrophs

C. Use light or chemical

energy to make food
1. Plants
2. plant-like protists (algae)
3. Bacteria
D. Photosynthesis—use light energy to convert carbon
dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates
Light Energy
(Remember: 6CO2 + 6H2O 6O2 + C6H12O6)

E. Chemosynthesis—performed by bacteria, use chemical

energy to produce carbohydrates
 Producers
• Producers are
autotrophic organisms
that make their own
food.
– Phototrophic organisms
use photosynthesis
and contain
chlorophyll
(Carbon Dioxide +
Water + Sunlight
=Sugar + Oxygen)
– Chemotrophic
organisms use
PRODUCERS!!!
 Consumers
A. Organisms that rely on other organisms
for their energy and food supply
B. Also called heterotrophs
Herbivores—obtain energy by
eating only plants

Carnivores—eat only animals

Omnivores—eat both plants and animals

Decomposers—breaks down dead organic matter

 Consumers
 Consumers are heterotrophic organisms that
cannot make their own food. They must
ingest (eat) other organisms.
-Herbivores feed on vegetation (producers).
-Carnivores feed on herbivores or on other
carnivores.
 Secondary carnivores feed on herbivores,
 Tertiary consumers feed on other carnivores
-Omnivores feed on both producers and
consumers
-Scavengers feed on dead or decaying organisms
CONSUMERS!!!
Scavengers feed on CARRION (dead or injured
animal corpses) and dead plant biomass.
Scavengers reduce the size of dead organic
matter…Decomposers will finish the job!
DECOMPOSERS are heterotrophs that recycle small,
often microscopic bits of dead organic matter into
inorganic nutrients availbe for plants to take up from the
soil. Decomposers RECYCLE nutrients!

BACTERIA and FUNGI are decomposers…most worms

are plant scavengers!
Ecological pyramid
Remember
scavengers and
decomposers can
enter at any level!

Tertiary Consumers= CARNIVORE

EATING OTHER CARNIVORES

Secondary Consumers= CARNIVORES

EATING HERBIVORES

Primary Consumers= HERBIVORES

PRODUCERS = Autotrophic Plants

 An ecosystem is self-sustaining if the
following requirements are met:

1. A constant source of energy and a living

system capable of incorporating this energy into
organic molecules.

2. A cycling of materials between organisms

and their environment.
 Feeding Interactions
A. Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction—
from the sun or inorganic compounds to autotrophs
(producers) and then to heterotrophs (consumers)
B. Food Chain—series of steps in which organisms transfer
energy by eating and being eaten

1. Arrows go in the direction of how energy is

transferred

2. Start with producer and end with top consumer

or carnivore
Ex: grass cricket frog raccoon
 Food Chains
A Food CHAIN is a series of
organisms that transfer
food between the
trophic levels of an
ecosystem using only
one species at each
level…a simple chain.
• The arrows represent
the flow of energy from
one organism to the
next.
• The arrow points toward
the organism doing the
‘eating’.
FOOD CHAIN
 Food Web Interactions:
1. Producers: (plants) -- the energy of the
community is derived from the organic
compounds in plants
- (grass in the web above)
2. Primary Consumer: (always a herbivore)
- feeds on plants (mice, grasshoppers,
and rabbits in the web above)
3. Secondary Consumer: (always a carnivore) --
feeds upon other consumers (frogs,
sparrows, snakes, and foxes above) (The
hawk is a secondary or 3rd level consumer
depending on the availability of food.)
Omnivores may be primary or secondary
consumers.
4. Decomposers: break down organic wastes and
dead organisms to simpler substances (ex.
bacteria of decay)

** Through decomposition, chemical substances

are returned to the environment where they
can be used by other living organisms.
C. Food Web—network of food chains within an ecosystem

Hawks

Weasels Raccoons

Mice

Grass

Which of the organisms above is the producer? Grass

Which of the organisms above is the top consumer? Hawks
 Food Webs
Ecosystems are not as
simple as shown and
not often explained by
a single food chain…
Food WEBS more
accurately show the
network of food chains
representing the
feeding relationships
among organisms in
an ecosystem.
• Most organisms feed
on more than one type
of organism at
different trophic
levels.
 Hawks
Food Webs
Weasels Raccoons

Mice

Grass
D. Trophic Levels—each step in a food chain or food web

1. Level 1—Producers (autotrophs)

2. Level 2—Primary Consumers (herbivores)

3. Level 3—Secondary Consumers

(carnivores or omnivores)

4. Level 4—Tertiary Consumers

(carnivore—usually top carnivore)
 Trophic levels
• Trophic levels are the
different feeding levels of
organisms in an ecosystem.
Producers are the first
trophic level and consumers
make up several more.
• These relationships can be
seen in an ecological
pyramid.
• Biomass: the total amount of
organic matter present in a
trophic level. The biomass
in each trophic level is the
amount of energy- in the
form of food- available to the
next trophic level.
 Nutritional Relationships:
A. Autotrophs: can synthesize their own food
from inorganic compounds and a usable
energy source

B. Heterotrophs: can NOT synthesize their own

food and are dependent on other organisms
for their food
 Types of Heterotrophs:
Saprophytes: include those heterotrophic plants,
fungi, and bacteria which live on dead matter -
AKA decomposers
Herbivores: plant-eating animals
Carnivores: meat-eating animals
Omnivores: consume both plants and meat
 Types of Carnivores:
• Predators: animals which
kill and consume their
prey

• Scavengers: those
animals that feed on
other animals that they
have not killed
Relationships in the ecosystem
A. Competition—when two organisms of the same or
different species attempt to use an ecological resource
in the same place at the same time.
Ex: food, water, shelter
B. Predation—one organism captures and feeds on
another organism
1. Predator—one that does the killing
2. Prey—one that is the food
 Symbiotic Relationships:
• Symbiosis: living together with another
organism in close association
• Types of (symbiosis):

MUTALISM PARASITISM COMMENSALISM

C. Symbiosis—any relationship in which two
species live closely together
1. Mutualism—both species benefit (WIN-WIN)
a. Ex: insects and flowers

Can you think of any other examples that we’ve talked about in class?
Mutualism: both organisms benefit from the
association
ex. nitrogen-fixing bacteria on legume
nodules, certain protozoa within termites
(also ruminants)
2. Commensalism—one member of the association
benefits and the other is
neither helped nor harmed.
(WIN-0)
Example: barnacles on a whale
1. Commensalism: one organism is benefited and
the other is unharmed
ex. orchids on tropical trees
 The Remora fish attaches to
the shark and gets a free ride.

Commensalism

Birds build nests in trees.

3. Parasitism—one organisms lives on or inside
another organism (host) and harms it.
The parasite obtains all or part of its nutritional
needs from the host. (WIN-LOSE)
Example: fleas on a dog
Parasitism: the parasite benefits at the expense
of the host
ex. athlete's foot fungus on humans,
tapeworm and heartworm in dogs
 Wasp eggs on back of
caterpillar.

Parasitism

Sea lampreys feed on

fluids of other fish.

Mosquito biting a
human.
 Coevolution
• When two or more species evolve in response to
each other, it is called coevolution.
– Examples of coevolution may be found between
predators and their prey.
– Plants and insects represent a classic case of coevolution — one that is
often, but not always, mutualistic. Many plants and their pollinators are so
reliant on one another and their relationships are so exclusive that
biologists have good reason to think that the “match” between the two is
the result of a coevolutionary process.
Mutualism, Commensalism or Parasitism??