ECOLOGY

Common Terms
 Ecology - the study of the interrelationships of living organisms and their environment
 Environment - all the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic or physical) conditions that act on an
organism and affect its chances of survival
 Abiotic Factors - non-living or physical factors e.g. temperature, amount of water, amount of
oxygen, amount of light

 Biotic Factors - living factors e.g. amount of food, predators, parasites, competitors
 Community - all the organisms in a particular area at a given time
 Population - the number of a particular species in an area at a specific time
 Habitat - the area in which an organism lives
 Ecosystem - a natural unit of living and non-living parts that interact to produce a stable system
in which the exchange of materials between living and non-living parts cycles
 Biome - A biome is a large, easily differentiated community unit arising as a result of complex
interactions of climate, other physical factors and biotic factors. Examples of Biomes are tundra,
temperate grassland, desert and tropical rainforest.
 Biosphere - The Biosphere is the collective interaction of all the biomes on the Earth.

 Symbiosis - a relationship in which two organisms of different species 'live together' for a period
of time
 Parasitism - a form of symbiosis in which one organism derives nutrients from the second
organism which suffers some harm but is usually not killed (e.g. A tick is the parasite that feeds off
a dog which is the host.)
 Mutualism - a form of symbiosis in which both organisms help each other (e.g. A remora fish eats
the algae and barnacles from the skin of a shark which, in turn, protects the remora.)
 Commensalism - a form of symbiosis in which one organism helps the other organism, but there
is no benefit or harm done in return (e.g. A clown fish lives inside a sea anemone and is protected
by it. The sea anemone derives no benefit or harm from the relationship.)
 Predator / Prey Relationships - the relationship in which one organism (predator) hunts and
eats another (prey) (e.g. lion / antelope)
 Competition - a relationship where two types of organisms compete for the same resource such
as food, water, nesting site (e.g. sheep and kangaroos compete for grass)

Populations
 Population - the number of individuals of the same species in a given area at a given area
 Factors affecting Populations

1. Available resources (e.g. food, water, shelter)

2. Activities of other organisms (e.g. predators, disease-causing parasites)
3. Organism's own characteristics (e.g. gestation period, number of young produced, nurturing of
young, migratory)
4. Time of day or year (e.g. tides, seasons, nocturnal or diurnal)
5. Weather (e.g. amount of rainfall, cyclone, drought)

Adaptations
 Adaptation - a characteristic of an organism that enables it to function more effectively or survive
in its surroundings
 5 Types of Adaptations

1. Structural - related to the structure of the organism (e.g. The streamlined shape of fish
enables it to swim more quickly through water.)
2. Colour - related to colour (e.g. camouflage, warning colouration of blue-ringed octopus,
mimicry of butterfly wings with 'eye spot')
 3. Physiological - related to the organism's metabolism (e.g. During hibernation, bears reduce
their chemical processes.)
4. Behavioural - related to behaviour (e.g. During the heat of the day in the desert, lizards
burrow into the sand to find a cooler place.)
5. Reproductive - related to courtship, mating or rearing of young (e.g. Peacocks fan their
feathers to attract a mate.)

FOOD CHAINS AND WEBS

 Food Chain - A food chain is the series of organisms showing feeding relationships. A food chain
almost always begins with a green plant (producer) which is eaten by an animal (consumer). The
arrow means 'is eaten by', and shows the flow of matter and energy along the food chain. There
are no decomposers in a food chain.

 Example of a Food Chain:

Grass (Producer) Grasshopper (1st order Consumer) Kookaburra (2nd order Consumer)
 Producer - usually a green plant that produces its own food by photosynthesis
 First-order Consumer - the organism that eats the producer
 Second-order Consumer - the organism that eats or derives nutrients from the first-order
consumer
 Herbivore - a plant eater
 Carnivore - an organism that obtains nutrients from the blood or flesh of an animal
 Omnivore - an organism which eats both plant and animal matter
 Scavenger - an consumer that eats dead animals (e.g. crab)
 Detritivore - a consumer that obtains its nutrients from detritus
 Decomposer - an organism such as bacteria and fungi that breaks down dead organisms and their
wastes
 Trophic Level - A trophic level is each level in a food chain. Matter is always 'lost' as heat energy
at each trophic level.
 Basal Energy Requirement (B.E.R.) - the amount of energy used by an organism's body just to
keep alive, when no food is being digested and no muscular work is being done
 Food Web - a network of interrelated food chains in a given area

Biomass Pyramids
 Loss of Matter and Energy - At each trophic level along a food chain, there is always a 'loss' of
matter and energy in the forms of waste (e.g. carbon dioxide, faeces), and heat and kinetic energy
(e.g. constant body temperature of mammals, the energy used to move). Up to 90% of matter and
energy can be 'lost' at each level.
 Biomass - the total dry weight of the organisms in a trophic level
 Biomass Pyramid - a diagram showing the biomass at each trophic level of a food chain

Biological Magnification
 Some chemicals that are taken in from the environment by plants, or consumed by animals, cannot
be excreted by organisms. They accumulate in the body by the organisms, sometimes up to toxic
levels. The more organisms there are in a food chain, the greater is the accumulation in the higher
order consumers. Such chemicals include the pesticide DDT, and heavy metals such as mercury.

Biological Control
 Pests - Pests may be plant or animal. They usually are introduced from overseas. Because of both
their ability to survive and reproduce successfully in the Australian habitat, and their lack of
predators or parasites, they reach pest population numbers, competing with the native flora and
fauna.
 Biological Control of the populations of pest plants and animals is accomplished by non-
chemical means involving predation, parasitism, or interruption to reproduction. Biological control
is usually specific to a particular pest organism.
 Successful Biological Control Experiment Examples

1. Prickly Pear Cactus - This introduced species was a pest throughout Australian cattle farms. The
introduction of the Cactoblastis Moth reduced its numbers through consumption.
 2. European Rabbit - Rabbits arrived in Australia in 1788 and reproduced rapidly. The Myxoma
Virus was developed in the 1900's to spread by direct contact and cause death.

 Unsuccessful Biological Control Experiment Examples

 Cane Toad - Cane toads were originally introduced to sugar cane fields to reduce the numbers of
cane beetles destroying sugar cane. However, cane toads did not eat cane beetles, instead
reproducing rapidly themselves and causing death to native wildlife which ate them. No successful
predators exist in Australia.

Cycles in Nature
 Law of Conservation of Matter - Matter cannot be created nor destroyed in any chemical
reaction. It can only be transformed from one form to another.
 Cycle - A cycle shows the reusing of certain elements and compounds (e.g. water, carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen, phosphorus) in different forms in ecosystems.

WATER CYCLE

 The sun provides the heat energy required for the cycle to continue.
 The oceans and rivers are the main reservoirs of water.
 Evaporation - Water evaporates into the atmosphere.
 Condensation - Water condenses into droplets in the clouds.
 Precipitation - As the water droplets in clouds enlarge, water falls to earth in the form of rain,
snow or hail.
 Transpiration - Water is lost through the leaves of plants ('trees perspiring').

CARBON AND OXYGEN CYCLES

 Carbon occurs in all living organisms in the forms of carbon dioxide, carbohydrates (sugars and
starches), proteins and fats.
 Oxygen occurs in all living organisms in the forms of oxygen gas, water, carbon dioxide,
carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
 Photosynthesis - Photosynthesis is the process used by plants containing chlorophyll to utilise
sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to form sugar (as glucose) and oxygen.

Sunlight
Carbon Dioxide + Water Glucose Sugar + Oxygen
Chlorophyll

CO2 + H2O C6H12O6 + O2

 Respiration - Respiration is the process that most living organisms (including animals, plants,
fungi and micro-organisms) use to obtain energy from glucose sugar and oxygen. The wastes
formed are carbon dioxide and water.
Glucose + Oxygen Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy

C6H12O6 + O2 CO2 + H2O + Energy

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
 Climate Change / Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect - The earth's atmosphere allows a
lot of sunlight to reach the earth's surface, but reflects much of that light back into space. Some
gases trap more sunlight, so that less light reflects back into space. These gases are called
Greenhouse Gases, because the effect is like being in a plant glasshouse, or in a car with the
windows wound up. The result is a gradual increase in earth's temperature or Global Warming. The
major greenhouse gases are water, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's).

The main man-made causes are thought to be carbon dioxide and methane from factory, power
station and car emissions, the waste products of respiration, logging, the mining of fossil fuels and
the breakdown of plant matter in swamps. The long-term effects may include melting of glaciers and
a rise in sea level, and a global change in climate and type of vegetation.
  'Hole' in the Ozone Layer - Ozone is a gas in the earth's upper atmosphere whose chemical
formula is O3. Ozone acts to block out much of the sun's ultraviolet radiation which causes skin
cancer and contributes to the fluctuations of global climatic conditions that affect the environment.
Above Antarctica is a thinner layer of ozone caused by the destruction of ozone gas by emissions of
chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons that are propellants in pressure-pak spray cans
and refrigerants in refrigerators and air-conditioning units. In 1987, a treaty called the Montreal
Protocol was introduced to reduce usage of ozone-destroying gases. Australia has banned CFC's,
but many nations such as China still use them.
 Acid Rain - When gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water in the
atmosphere to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid, they form an acidic 'rain' which can destroy
vegetation. Some of these gases are from natural sources such as lightning, decomposing plants
and volcanoes. However, much of these gases are the result of emissions from cars, power
stations, smelters and factories.
 Air Pollution - Air pollution is the release into the atmosphere of excessive amounts of harmful
gases (e.g. methane, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides) as well as particles (e.g.
dust, tyre rubber, lead from car exhausts). To reduce emissions, the Australian government has
legislated that all new cars use unleaded petrol and have catalytic converters fitted to the
exhausts.
 Water Pollution

1. Sewage is all household waste water. Many detergents contain phosphates which act as plant
fertilisers. When these phosphates and the sewerage reach rivers, they help water plants to
grow in abundance, reducing the dissolved oxygen in the river water. The result is death of
aquatic animals due to suffocation by the algal blooms. This harmful effect is
called eutrophication.
2. Biodegradable detergents are more environmentally friendly because they are readily broken
down to harmless substances by decomposing bacteria.
3. Suspended solids in water such as silt reduce the amount of light that reaches the depths of the
water in lakes and rivers. This reduces the ability of aquatic plants to photosynthesise and the
result is less plant and animal life. Turbidity is the measure of 'cloudiness' or the depth to
which light can reach in water.

 Introduced Species are species of plants or animals that have migrated or been brought to
Australia. Many fit into the natural ecosystems and are kept in control by natural predators and
parasites. However, some become pests as they are well-adapted to our environment, readily
obtain nutrients, and lack natural predators or parasites. Examples include rabbits, foxes, carp, and
prickly pear cactus plant.
 Biological Control is an environmentally-friendly method to control these pests by the
introduction of species-specific, living organisms to control their numbers. Successful examples
include the myxoma virus and the calici virus for rabbits, and the cactoblastis moth feeding on the
prickly pear. Unsuccessful examples include the introduction of the cane toad to reduce the
numbers of natural cane beetles.
 Biological Magnification is the accumulation in body tissues of certain chemicals such as DDT
pesticide and mercury. The higher along the food chain, the greater is the accumulation,
sometimes to toxic levels, causing birth defects and death.
 Soil Salinity has increased greatly since the widespread logging of trees by farmers. Deep tree
roots normally draw water from the underground water table. However, when logging of trees
occurs, the water table rises close to the surface bringing with it salt from rocks. This creates soil
that is so salty that vegetation cannot grow effectively. The result is loss of vegetation and erosion.
 Population Explosion is the rapid increase in population in developing countries causing famine,
and also in developed countries causing more demand for energy and with that, increased pollution
and destruction of the environment.
WORLD'S POPULATION = 7 464 909 152
(estimate for January 27, 2018)

Energy Crisis & Energy Alternatives

With population growth comes increased usage of energy. The energy crisis is the inability of the earth's
resources to keep pace with the population's needs. The solution to the energy crisis is twofold - build
more power stations to supply more energy, or reduce the usage of energy by building more energy-
efficient devices.

There are 2 types of energy sources - non-renewable and renewable.

 NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

 e.g. fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and
nuclear energy (uranium, plutonium)
 Takes a long time to form (e.g. millions of
years)
 Cannot be reused
 e.g. biomass, solar, wind, wave, tidal,
hydroelectric, geothermal
 Takes a shorter time to form (e.g. decade or
two)
 Can be reused or is very abundant

 Advantages  Advantages
 Cheap  Won't run out
 Readily available  Environmentally friendly
 Efficient
 Multipurpose (e.g. oil for cars, heating)  Disadvantages
 Inefficient
 Disadvantages  Geographically selected
 Polluting or radioactive
 Running out

NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

 Fossil fuels began forming millions of years ago. At the time when it is believed that dinosaurs
roamed the earth, forests of trees fell into swamps and were covered by silt and mud. They
gradually changed into the coal, oil and natural gas that we use today.
 The advantages of using fossil fuels are that they are readily available at the present time and are
cheap. They can also be used for many purposes e.g. coal can be burnt in power stations to make
electricity and also in homes for heating.
 These fossil fuels took millions of years to form, yet humans are using them rapidly in cars, power
stations and factories. They will probably run out within the next 100 years. So the disadvantages
of fossil fuels are that they will run out and also that they are polluting.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

 Biomass is plant matter that is used as an energy source. For example, timber can be burnt for
both cooking and heating in many homes around the world. Methane gas that is flammable can be
made from rotting vegetation in methane digesters. Also alcohol made from sugar cane can be
used as an environmentally-friendly alternative to petrol.
 Solar Energy can be used in many ways. Buildings can be designed to take advantage of the sun's
warmth in the winter so that we don't use electric heaters. Solar hot water heaters can reduce our
electricity bills. Photovoltaic or solar cells can generate electricity. Solar energy is particularly
useful here in Australia because of our abundance of sunlight.
 Hydroelectric Power Stations are initially expensive to build but are cheap to run. They can be
located in mountainous areas where water is stored in dams and then released to turn turbines
that generate electricity.
 Wind Energy from windmills can be used to generate electricity by turning turbines in the same
way as in hydroelectric power stations. These are particularly useful in areas close to the coast
where the winds are strong and continuous.
 Wave and Tidal Power can be used to generate electricity from the rise and fall of the waves and
the tides. These forms of power can only be utilised at the moment in places such as Broome
where the tide rises and falls through a considerable height very rapidly.
 Geothermal energy is energy harnessed in areas of the earth that are near volcanoes or hot
springs such as in Rotorua in New Zealand. The heat can be used for domestic use. It can also be
used to generate electricity by heating steam to turn turbines.
 The advantages of using renewable energy sources are that they won't run out and they are
relatively friendly to the environment. Unfortunately, they are not as efficient in producing
electricity as coal-powered power stations. Also another disadvantage of solar, wind, wave, tidal
and geothermal energy sources is that they can only be used in certain areas around the world.
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