Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/gator.htm
2.1 Organisms and their
Environment
• Biosphere: The part of the Earth that
sustains life.
– All living things on Earth are found in the
biosphere.
– If you shrank the Earth to the size of an apple,
the biosphere would be the thickness of the
peel.
– Includes from high in the sky to deep in the
oceans.
2.1 Organisms and their Environment
• Abiotic Factors: Anything that is part of
an organism’s environment, and is not
living.
– Ex. Wind, Water, Sand, Soil.
• Biotic Factors: Anything that is part of an
organism’s environment, and is living.
– Ex. Trees, plants, Other Organisms.
http://www.theragens.com/photos/Turkey_Vulture_Photos.htm
2.1 Organisms and their Environment
• Interactions
– Organisms – One member of a species
– Populations: Group of organisms in the same
species that live in the same place and interbreed.
http://animals.mongabay.com/crabs.html
its environment.
– Includes how it gets food, how it survives, and how it
reproduces. Describe the niche of a beaver.
2.1 Organisms and their
Environment
• The interactions between organisms and the
abiotic factors around them forms an
ecosystem.
• Different ecosystems:
– Terrestrial
– Aquatic
• Marine
• Freshwater
http://www.cfra-nc.org/acfrb.htm
http://www.oceanfutures.com/gallery/gallery_archi
ve.asp#october
http://www.borealforest.org/world/world_management.htm
2.2 Nutrition and Energy Flow
• There are many different ways an
organism can obtain the energy that it
needs to survive.
• First, some organisms can use the
sun’s energy OR chemicals in the
environment to produce energy for
themselves
• These organisms are called
autotrophs.
http://eebweb.arizona.edu/herb/plantphotos.html
Energy Flow
• Producers (autotrophs):
harness sunlight to
produce food
Energy Flow
• Chemoautotrophs: use energy from chemical
compounds (in hydrothermal vents) to produce
food
2.2 Nutrition and Energy Flow
http://www.personal.u-net.com/~chilton/fungi.htm
2.2 Matter and Energy Flow
• trophic level
• The levels in a food chain represented by
each organism
• The word trophic is from the Greek tropho
and basically means food.
2.2 An Ecological Pyramid
Label your pyramid
Top level - carnivores
Energy, Mass, & Pop. Size Decreasing
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/whales/food%20web.
htm
Cycles of Matter
• The water cycle:
– All living things require
water to survive
– Evaporation: Water changing
from liquid to gas
– Transpiration: Water vapor
evaporating from leaves of
plants to enter the
atmosphere
Cycles of Matter
• The Carbon Cycle:
– Carbon is the key ingredient
of living tissue
– 1. Atmospheric CO2 is released by
volcanoes, respiration by animals,
burning fossil fuels, and
decomposition of matter
– 2. Plants use CO2 to build
carbohydrates
– 3. Carbs are eaten by consumers
– 4. Carbon compounds break down and
return to the atmosphere
Cycles of Matter
• The Nitrogen Cycle
– Necessary for amino acid production
– Nitrogen makes up 78% of our atmosphere
– Nitrogen is added to the biosphere by humans with the use of
fertilizers
– Nitrogen Fixation: Nitrogen fixing bacteria on roots “fix”
atmospheric nitrogen to be used by plants.
– Consumers get nitrogen by eating producers / plants
– Denitrification: Soil bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas
The Phosphorus Cycle
• Phosphorus is essential because all living
organisms require the element for growth
and development.
• Plants obtain phosphorus form the soil.
• Phosphorus remains mostly locked up in the
rocks in earth. When the rocks are exposed
it becomes part of the cycle again.
Short Cycle
• Plants obtain it from soil
• Animals eat the plants
• Animals died and decompose returning the
phosphorus back to the soil.
Symbiotic Relationships
• Close interactions between different
biological species
Organisms and their Environment –
Symbiotic Relationships
1. Commensalism: a symbiotic relationship in which
one species benefits and the other is unaffected.
– Ex. Orchids that grow in trees
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0010-0301-2004-5140.html
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/acacia.htm
Organisms and their Environment
3. Parasitism: A symbiotic relationship in
which one species benefits and the other is
harmed.
– Ex. Ticks, Tapeworms, Tree fungus.
http://www.micrographia.com/specbiol/helmint/platyhel/cest0100.htm
http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegallery/ticks/iscapm.html
Organisms and their Environment
Commensalism + o
Mutualism + +
Parasitism + -
Population Dynamics
50 2000
40 1600
30 1200
20 800
10 400
0
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Moose Wolves
Communities
• Succession: natural changes and the
replacement of different species in the
communities of an ecosystem.
– Succession occurs in different stages and
can often take decades, centuries, or even
thousands of years.
– Plants most important organisms when
talking about succession.
• See pg. 94, Fig. 4-7
http://bioweb.wku.edu/faculty/Ameier/oldfield1.htm
Communities
• Primary Succession: The first arrival of
communities of organisms in a formerly
lifeless area.
• Pioneer Species: The very first species
to colonize a lifeless area.
– Colonization: Moving from a familiar
habitat to a new unfamiliar area.
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_forest/nc/hik_kilm.htm
Barren Soil
http://www.threeleaf.com/stock-photography/picture-
Ex. Lichen Ex. Grasses http://www.planetware.com/photos/TZ
A/TZA100.HTM
view.htm?id=zr2vhwgejv&returnPage=pictures005.htm&retu
rnText=Plants
Begins on Rock, Begins After Disaster
Sand, etc.
Pioneer Species Previous Species
Aquatic Biomes
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep6c.htm
Aquatic Biomes
• Estuary: Anywhere where a river
joins the ocean and fresh water
tends to mix with salt water.
– The salinity of the water can change
depending on the tides or on other
weather factors.
– This brackish water can often lead far
http://www.fish.washington.edu/naturemapping/water/2habestu.html inland up the river.
http://www.maltavista.net/en/list/photo/1775.html
Aquatic Biomes
• Freshwater Biomes: No salt in the
water.
– Photic zones usually reach to the
bottom of the lake.
– With deep lakes, an aphotic zone
appears and once again no vegetation
grows.
http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~simmons/1116/16biomes.htm
– The temperature in freshwater varies
greatly, as do the types of organisms
that live there.
Cape Fear, Town Creek,
Black River
Terrestrial Biomes
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/grasslnd/animals/
Terrestrial Biomes
http://staff.washington.edu/timk/wildlife/mammal/squirrel/squirrel.html
Terrestrial Biomes
• Tropical Rain Forest: Characterized
by intense rainfall, many species
from all kingdoms, and warm
climate.
– Located near the equator
– Has different levels within the forests,
providing many different niches- see p.
86.
– Little humus because dead organisms are
decomposed quickly
– Being destroyed by humans
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/animals/
Population Dynamics
• S shaped curve
Carrying capacity
Time (hours)
Population Dynamics
• Is it possible for a population to grow
exponentially in nature?
– Why?
• Which graph that you’ve seen seems
most likely?
Limiting Factors
• Limiting Factors: Biotic or abiotic
factors that restrict or prevent the growth
of a population
– Ex. A predator such as a lynx is a limiting
factor for a prey such as a hare.
– Ex. A cold snowy winter is a limiting factor
http://www.yukonman.com/pictures2-8.asp
for thousands of species that would die
under those conditions.
– Ex. In brackish water, fish can’t pass from
salt water to fresh water. The salinity of the
water is a limiting factor.
http://www.fotosearch.com/COR356/110000/
• Nutrients, competition, predation,
parasitism, water, humans can all be
limiting factors
Population Dynamics
• Tolerance: The ability of an organism to
withstand changes in abiotic or biotic
factors around them.
– Ex. Many plants have a tolerance for shade,
but those that don’t will surely die without
the proper amount of sunlight.
– Ex. Many animals that live in warm climates
have a tolerance for coldness, while others
will die after just one cold night.
Population Dynamics
• Carrying Capacity plays a big factor
in population growth.
– Carrying Capacity = The number of
organisms of one species that a habitat
or environment can hold.
http://buten.net/max/My2001/10_monkeys/index_10_monkeys.html
# of Individuals
http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/image-files/xfamily.jpg
Time
Population Dynamics
• Review: Limiting Factors can be
biotic or abiotic factors.
• Additionally, when discussing
populations, limiting factors are
http://www.facethewind.com often split into two categories.
Abiotic
Biotic
http://www.spottycat.com/marlos/emporium/cougar/bigcat11.jpg
Population Dynamics
• Density Dependent Factors: Factors
that limit the size of a population and
only exist because the size of that
population got too big.
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/00/eth6.stm • “Depend on population size”
– Ex. Disease, competition, parasites, and
a limited amount of food.
– None of these would have caused so
many problems had the population
remained small.
Population Dynamics
Floods
• Density Independent Factors:
Limiting factors that would affect all
populations regardless of their size or
crowdedness.
– Most are abiotic factors.
http://www.danieldesign.com/otherlinks.htm – Ex. Floods, hurricanes, drought, habitat
Volcanic Eruptions destruction.
Fire
http://www.arenal.net/ http://www.worldphotos.com/s/worldphotos/weather.html
Lynx Chases Hare
Predation
• One animal constantly preying on another
can often keep the number of a population
in check.
• –Ex. Owls keeping a mouse population
small, or hunters keeping deer numbers in
check.
• –Predator can’t eat all prey or extinction
would occur
Population Dynamics
• Competition: A density dependent
factor. Individuals competing for
limited food source.
• Crowding and Stress: Not completely
understood, but we have seen it
causes fighting, infertility, decreased
parental care and immunity to
disease, and often death.
http://www.lifeisajoke.com/pictures292_html.htm
Human Population Growth
• Until about 500 years ago, the world’s
human population remained fairly stable.
Then, as advances in medicine, agriculture,
and technology occurred, the human
population began growing very rapidly.
Today, the world’s human population is
greater than 6 billion people, and it
continues to grow, but at a slower rate.
Human Population Growth
Industrial
Revolution
Agriculture begins
begins Bubonic
Plowing plague
and
irrigation
Human Population Growth
http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfruf/popfac.htm
Human Population Growth
• Fertility Rate: The number of
babies each woman is having
during her fertile years.
Total Fertility
rates in the
U.S. from
1917 to2000.
http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfruf/els_fertility_rates.htm
Human Population Growth
• Age Structure: can be used to determine
Age Structure how quickly a country or area is growing.
Diagram – Are most individuals post-reproductive?
– Are most individuals reproductive?
– Are most individuals pre-reproductive?
– Which of these would most likely be growing the
fastest?
– The slowest?
– Populations that are not growing have
about the same numbers of each age group.
http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfruf/popagestruc.htm
Age Distribution
Human Population Growth
• Immigration: movement by individuals
into a country or area.
– Canadians immigrate into the U.S. from
Canada
• Emigration: movement by individuals
out of a country or area.
– Canadians emigrate out of Canada to the
U.S.
http://www.terragalleria.com/america/alaska/alaska-misc/picture.alas6416.html
http://www.divetrip.com/galapgos/galapgal.htm
Vanishing Species
• Island Biodiversity: The larger the
island, the greater the biodiversity.
– Assuming the islands are in the same
biome (tropical rain forest, tundra, etc.)
this almost always holds true.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/
galleries/biodiversity/index.html
Vanishing Species
• Why is it important to retain
biodiversity in nature?
– Food chains and food webs cannot exist
without it.
– For example, if there is only one
producer or herbivore in an ecosystem,
and that species dies, there will be no
species to take its place and the food
web will collapse.
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0001-0309-2612-2932.html
Vanishing Species
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0001-0209-0121-0016.html
Vanishing Species
• Extinction: The complete
disappearance of a species from the
face of the Earth.
– Happens naturally
• Passenger Pigeon
– Happens because humans make it
happen.
• Tasmanian Wolf
• Stellar’s Sea Cow
Vanishing Species
• Threatened Species: What a species
is considered when a population
declines rapidly.
– African Elephants- went from 3 million
to 700,000 in 20 years.
• Endangered Species: When numbers
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0012-0301-1514-4826.html
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0018-0310-1813-2806.html
Vanishing Species
• Habitat Fragmentation: The
separation of wilderness areas from
other wilderness areas.
– A road comes through a habitat
– Snow’s Cut
– A dam is built
– Can prohibit migration
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0027-0312-1217-0544.html
Vanishing Species
• Edge Effect: Edges of an ecosystem
are negatively affected by habitat
destruction.
– Ex. A rainforest is partially cleared and
the edges of the remaining forest dry
out.
– Ex. A building is placed next to habitat
where wind is important to pollinate
plants. The building blocks the wind
and plants on the edge of the habitat
(next to the building) cannot reproduce.
http://www.junglephotos.com/conservation/deforestation/lonehut.html
Vanishing Species
Invasive Species: called invasive simply
exotics
• These species are “ non-indigenous”
or “non-native”
• They adversely affect the habitats and
bioregions by invading economically,
environmentally, and/or ecologically.
Vanishing Species
• Exotic Species: Species not native to a
particular area, but now live and thrive
in their new environment.
– Can be very harmful to their new
surroundings.
– Can grow exponentially because they
have no predators.
– Can take over other animals’ niches,
causing possible endangerment or
extinction.
– Ex. Rabbits or pigs in Australia
http://piratesvsninjas.typepad.com/photos/lara/kudzu.html
KUDZU!!!
Vanishing Species
• Habitat Degradation: The damage to a habitat
by pollution.
– 3 types: air, water, and land pollution.
These are major examples of Bioaccumulation
which are accumulation of substances, such as
pesticides, or other organic chemicals in an
organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0027-0312-2707-4139.html organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate
greater than that at which the substance is lost.
http://www.ggw.org/RochesterEnvironment/acid_rain.htm
Vanishing Species
• Water Pollution: Largely fertilizer
runoff and animal waste.
– Also can be spilled oil or chemicals
from factories or oil tankers.
– Includes physical pollution such as trash
and abandoned nets that kill large fish.
http://www.co.snohomish.wa.us/publicwk/swm/wq/CommonWQProbs.htm#manure
Vanishing Species
• Land Pollution: Largely garbage
produced everyday by people such as
you and me.
– Landfills cause habitat destruction
– Pesticides such as DDT caused many
problems
(dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)
• Rachel Carson: Silent Spring
• Insects that lived had DDT in their system
• Birds ate the insects
• Egg shells became thin and ineffective
• Baby birds died frequently, populations
declined
• DDT was eventually banned in 1972
http://www.csun.edu/~vceed002/BFI/sunshine.html#photograph
Vanishing Species
• Ozone Layer: Layer of O3 (3 oxygen
atoms attached to each other) that
helps protect the Earth and
everything on it from the sun’s
harmful ultraviolet radiation.
– CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons) are the
major culprit in the destruction of the
ozone layer.
– Results: deformities in animals, skin
cancer increases, etc.
http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/tour/part1.html
Nutrient Loading
• Overabundance of nutrients due to
various agricultural, industrial, and
urban activities which generally
fall into 2 categories:
• point
• non-point source.
• Point source pollutants
• municipal or industrial waste discharges
- stem from a particular location
- can be clearly identified
-easier to regulate, monitor, and treat.
• Non-point source pollutants
• transported over a broad area
through watersheds, making them
difficult to identify, measure, and
regulate
• Sources : runoff from agricultural
lands, construction sites, urban
areas, and atmospheric deposition.
Vanishing Species
Global Climate Change (Global Warming)
-The increase in the average temperature of the
biosphere
-Hypothesis for today’s climate change: In part due to
human activities that add carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere
-Ex: Burning fossil fuels
-Effects
-Sea Level rise = flooding of coastal areas
-Droughts in parts of N.Am. during summer growing
season
-Affect ecosystems = threatened/extinct species
Conservation of Biodiversity
http://www.nature.com/nsu/031222/031222-2.html
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR3/Turtles/turtles.html
Conservation of Biodiversity
• Parks and Recreation: Habitats are
preserved when land is turned into a
park or wildlife refuge.
– Only 6% of Earth’s land surface is
protected this way.
• Sustainable Use: Letting people use
resources on this protected land in
such a way that no habitats are
destroyed and no species are
negatively affected.
http://www.main.nc.us/graham/hiking/joycekil.html
Conservation of Biodiversity
• Habitat Corridors: Natural strips of
land that connect two protected
areas.
– Created by people that are trying to
preserve migratory routes or natural
habitats of species in an area.
"It is our ethical
responsibility to save the animal and plant
species from the terrible finality
of extinction. If we are to succeed, we must
save their habitat."
http://www.earthvoice.org/animal.habitat/habitat.corridors.htm
Conservation of Biodiversity
• Reintroduction Programs: When a
species goes extinct in a certain area
and ecologists reintroduce the species
to that area.
– These animals still may exist in other
parts of the world, or in captivity.
– Ex. Swift Fox from population video,
California Condor, Brown Pelicans.
– Ex. Ginkgo trees kept in captivity by
Chinese Monks and reintroduced years
The Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program later into all parts of the world
http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu/Change/reintroduction.htm
Stewardship
• Stewardship is an ethic that
embodies responsible planning and
management of resources
• Ethics is a branch of philosophy that
involves systematizing, defending, and
recommending concepts of right and
wrong behavior.
What are examples of ethical behavior?