Ecosystems

Biosphere (Area on Earth where life exists)  to  Biome (several ecosystems in an area which interact)  to Ecosystem (all of the biotic and abiotic factors in an area)  to    Community (all Biotic Factors) AND Habitat (all Abiotic factors)  to Population ( all of the organisms of one species) to Organism (1 living thing)
 * //__ Levels of Organization __//**

Ecology— study of organisms and how they interact with the environment. This would include how they interact with each other, other species, and the abiotic factors.

Biotic factors— everything that is living or has lived Horse mushroom stick Rose bush bacteria squished bug Pine tree algae Grass Lion ||
 * Examples: dead opossum ants bone

Abiotic factors— everything that is nonliving Soil Rain Air Water Weather Salinity ||
 * Examples: Rocks Temperature

Feeding Relationships
 * **Autotrophs**- make their own food

Ex. Photosynthesis—use energy from the sun to make their food Chemosynthesis—change chemicals into energy || **Heterotrophs**—get their food from an outside source; collected or killed || Grass Plankton Oak tree Thermoacidophiles-bacteria that get energy from hot acid Daisy Tulip Watermelon || Examples of heterotrophs Humans Euglena Elephant Mold Mushroom Streptococcus bacteria Cat Mosquito Whale Barnacle Porcupine Leech ||
 * Examples of autotrophs:

Hetrotrophs can be divided based on what they eat:

Herbivore-- eat only plants Carnivore-- eat only meat Omnivore-- eat plants and animals Decomposer -- break down dead matter

Examples of the heterotrophs: Horse Antelope Rabbit || Fox Tiger Shark || Human Bear Ant || Bacteria Fungus || Some organisms rely on other organisms for food as well as shelter and/or protection. This is a special, beneficial relationship is called Symbiosis. These are the 4 types of Symbiosis: 1. Mutualism both organisms are benefited Ex. Shark and remora—the shark allows the remora to travel attached to it and it eats scraps and may clean parasites off the shark. Ex. Bacteria in human intestines—bacteria get food from what we digest and they produce some vitamins we needs and keep our digestive system balanced. Ex. Honey bees and crops—honey bees get nectar and transfer pollen for the crops to get fertilized 2. Commensalism one organism is benefited and the other is NOT harmed Ex. Mites at the base of our eyelashes—eat eye secretions Ex. Cattle egrets and cows--- eat bugs attracted to the cows 3. Parasitism One organism is benefited and the other is harmed. Ex. Most diseases are caused by parasites ( malaria by a protest, cold by a virus, Staph by a bacteria) Ex. Mistletoe on oak trees --- mistletoe Ex. Fleas or Ticks on animals 4. Predator/Prey One organism hunts, kills, and eats the other Predator—hunts, kills, and eats Prey ---is eaten Ex. Lion and antelope <span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 204)"> Crocodile and water buffalo <span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 204)"> Fox and chicken <span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 204)"> Man and Deer Trophic levels ---> this should be moved over so it looks like a pyramid
 * Herbivores || Carnivores || Omnivores || Decomposers ||
 * Cow Grasshopper
 * Tertiary Hetertotrophs — eat secondary heterotrophs; hawk ||
 * Secondary Heterotrophs—eat primary heterotrophs; snake ||


 * Primary Heterotrophs—most herbivores; rabbit ||
 * Autotrophs---make their own food; plants ||

__ Energy __

All energy originates from the SUN. Not all the energy from the sun reaches Earth.

10% Rule Ten percent of the energy in each trophic level is passed up to the next trophic level. The other 90% is used in life processes or released as heat. This means that their must be many autotrophs to supply all of the heterotrophs. As you move up the pyramid there are fewer organisms because there is less energy available. This means that a change in the population of 1 type of organism can affect the others in the pyramid. Ex. If there is a drought, then there are fewer plants, so the some of the primary heterotrophs will starve, which means there aren’t enough of them to feed all the secondary and tertiary heterotrophs, so some of them die as well.

__ Food Chains and Webs __


 * __Energy Transfer & The Ten Percent Rule__**

The Sun provides energy to the Earth. Every day, the Sun supplies energy in the form of light rays. However, a large percentage of this incoming energy is not usable due to reflection by the atmosphere, clouds, and oceans. The remaining rays will reach the Earth. The sunlight on the Earth’s biosphere is used by the organisms. Plants utilize this energy to facilitate photosynthesis, and animals indirectly make use of the Sun’s energy through consumption of the plants.

Energy transfer is not very efficient in the system as a significant amount is not used productively. Much of this energy has been changed to heat energy, where it heats up the surfaces of the biosphere. In addition, energy is required to facilitate respiration, digestion, and heat in organisms. Essentially, only about 10% of the consumed energy is utilized productively and available for transfer to the next trophic level. The fact that only 10% is efficiently utilized by organisms is known as the Ten Percent Rule.

It is also important to acknowledge the Conservation of Energy. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but only be changed in form. In terms of energy transfer, all energy taken into the system must equal all energy given out. Food Chains and Webs** [|Facts about food chains] [|Suprising carnivores] [|BrainPOP movie on food webs] [|Symbiosis]w/ video links **Ecological succession**, a fundamental concept in [|ecology], refers to more-or-less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological [|community]. Succession may be initiated either by formation of new, unoccupied habitat (//e.g.//, a [|lava flow] or a severe landslide) or by some form of [|disturbance] (//e.g.// fire, severe windthrow, logging) of an existing community. The former case is often referred to as [|primary succession], the latter as [|secondary succession].
 * [|Bird Habitat Online Lab]

//Secondary succession//: trees are colonizing uncultivated fields and meadows. Food chains: [|Deciduous Forest] [|Desert] __ [|Coniferous Forest] __ [|Temperate Rain Forest] [|Tropical Rain Forest] [|Tundra] [|What is Energy?] [|Forms of Energy] [|Energy Rules] [|Energy Flow through Ecosystems] Activity: **[| Determine Energy Needs of Animals]**
 * Energy**


 * Interactive Sites**:
 * [|Chain Reaction-]**
 * [|Fun with food webs]**

[|**Australian food web**]
 * Food Webs:**
 * [|African food web]**
 * [|Antarctic food web]**
 * [|Marine food web]**

** Succession ** [| Explanation of succession] [|Explanation] & good photos  ** [|good site]

Photos: **  [|Primary succession-1-] lava [|Primary succession-2]- glacier [|Secondary succession] [|28yr succession of field]  ** Diagram/Photo of: **  [|dune succession] [|lake succession] [|lake, bog, meadow] [|pasture succession]

[|Fun with Food Webs!] The Biology Corner

Ecology
[|Random Sampling]<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> - How to estimate population size, using the sampling technique[|Oil Spill] -- Lab on the effects of oil on eggs and feathers [|Food Web] -- Students identify consumers and producers[|Biodiversity of Ponds] -students investigate the organisms found in pond water [|Predator-Prey Simulation] -- Uses cards to simulate predator and prey numbers, students collect data and graph [|Environmental Action Simulation] - play roles to determine how money should be spent [|Estimating Population Size] - simulation of mark-recapture techniques [|Owl Pellet Lab] - analyze the contents of an owl pellet [|Graphing Human Population] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">[|The Lesson of the Kaibab] - explores the population of deer, graphing and analysis [|Deer: Predation or Starvation] - another graphing exercise that compares predator and prey populations on an island [|Food for Thought] - a little simulation that illustrates how resources are divided among the major regions of the world [|Comparing Ecosystems] - students use the web to research biomes and ecosystems, create venn diagrams in pairs and in groups (advanced) [|Demography] - using information on tombstones to analyze population trends (advanced) [|Interpreting Ecological Data] - analyze graphs on ecology topics (carrying capacity, exponential growth) [|Examining Stages in Ecological Succession]