Ecology
The study of living
things and how they
interact with their
surroundings
Objectives
• Describe symbiosis
• Describe how organisms conserve energy
by migrating, compete, switching type of
prey, hibernating, going dormant.
• Compare energy a hummingbird and coyote
put out to get food in a cold and warm
climate.
Objectives
• Research food production
The Biosphere
• The place where life
exists, from the high
atmosphere to the
deepest ocean bottom
5 Kingdoms of Life
•
•
•
•
•
Animals
Plants
Fungi
Protista
Bacteria (Prokaryotes)
Population
• The number of species in one place and
time
– 50,000 Cowbirds
Community
• The populations of different species in one
place and time.
Ecosystem
• The plants, animals, fungi, protists, and
bacteria that live in a certain area, and their
unique non-living parts like temperature,
soil, and daylight.
Aquatic Ecosystems
• Freshwater pond,
lake, stream
• Ocean (saltwater)
• Estuary (mix of salt
& fresh water)
Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Meadow
• Prairie
• Mountain
Forest
• Desert Scrub
• Ecotonearea between
two
ecosystems
Mountain Forest
Prairie
Ecotone- area between 2
ecosystems
Desert Scrub
Meadow
Objectives
• Relate Biotic and Abiotic factors in an
ecosystem
• Define niche, species, habitat, population,
community, ecosystem, biome
Biotic Factors
• Identify the role of an autotroph,
heterotroph, producer, consumer,
decomposer in a matter cycle
• Describe symbiotic relationships
– mutualism, competition, commensalism,
parasitism, predator-prey
• Describe feeding relationships
– herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, detritovore,
scavenger
Abiotic factors affect living
things
• Rainfall affects the
type of plants that will
grow and thus creates
the climate of an area
(called a Biome)
Abiotic factors
• Soil type, Air currents, Temperature, Light,
pH,
Temperature
• Temperature of soil,
air, and water
determine the type of
organisms that grow.
• Too high or low of
temperature can kill
organisms
• Cantaloupe seeds need
soil at 65-85F to
germinate
Elevation
• Elevation changes the
temperature
• Elevation can allow
more or less moisture
to fall
Wind & Air currents
• Help seeds move to
reproduce plants,
fungi spores
• Bring in rain or snow
Day length
• Day length can affect
the type of plants that
come out, or when
they flower, or when
they grow
Chemicals
• Chemicals affect
growth of living things
• Oxygen and Carbon
dioxide help life
• Some living things
make poisons to
protect themselves
Chemicals...
• Acid and Base level,
(measured in pH) can
affect the type of life
growing in an area
• Stomach acid is pH 1,
Water is 7, Utah’s
alkaline soil is 8,
Drano is 14.
• Pine trees produce
slightly acidic needles
Chemicals...
• Salt level, called salinity
• Most plants die in salt
• Pickleweed (Salicornia
virginica) and Saltbush
(Atriplex) love salt
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Atriplex
• http://www.sanelijo.org/pl
ants/salt.htm
Field Trip Lab:
• How does day length influence flowers and
birds?
• Identify 5 abiotic factors and 5 biotic factors
in Wetlands of the Great Salt Lake and
Farmington Bay Wildlife Refuge
• Describe food chain and energy pyramid
present in the bay.
• How is water a limiting factor in the bay?
• How do Brine Shrimp survive?
Autotroph
• A producer of its own food.
• Plants, and some Blue Green bacteria and
some protists like Algae make their own
food from the Sunlight and Water or out of
Chemicals in their surroundings
Heterotroph
• Eats another organism. Can’t make their
own food so they eat a producer or another
heterotroph.
Herbivore
Heterotrophs
• Omnivores
• Carnivores
• Opportunists
Scavengers
Decomposers
Decomposer
• Breaks down chemicals from dead or
decaying material.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBI
BBAL8
Mutualism
• Two different species benefit each other.
– Ants and Acacia trees. The ants protect the tree
from harm and the acacia tree provides nectar
for the ants.
Clownfish and anemones
• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/c
lownfish_amonganemones
Lichen and Algae
Bristle worm and Hermit Crab
• The bristle worm eats leftovers from the
crab
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jztuFhtt
E0Y
Rhino & Tick bird
Commensalism
• One species benefits from another species
but the other species is neither harmed nor
benefitted.
– Spanish moss grows and supports orchids and
ferns, but is neither helped nor hindered by the
plants.
Remora & Shark
Parasitism
• One species benefits from a harmed species.
– Fleas bite dogs and cats for food.
– Tape worms eat food from human and dog
stomachs.
– Cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird’s nests
and have the other birds feed their young
cowbirds.
Mistletoe & Tree
Zombie Snails
• http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=zom
bie+snails&view=detail&mid=936E81DAC
B036D1A92D6936E81DACB036D1A92D
6&FORM=VIRE
Tapeworm
Predator-Prey
• An animal kills and eats another species.
– Lion kills a zebra
Territory
• Many animals must
have a certain area in
which to find adequate
food
• Deer live in 100
square kilometers
• Falcons, Hawks and
Eagles like 10 square
kilometers or more
Habitat- where an
organism lives
• Trout lay their
eggs on certain
types of soilsandy or pebbly
• Dogs find holes
in secret, hard
to find cliffs to
protect their
pups
Niche
• How organisms get
food, where they live,
and the adaptations
they have that help
them survive.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeUiOe
3IHqI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHOrq
pEjF0s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRfEad
JrSPc
Coyotes
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIHsfb
mS7BA&t=1684s
Hummingbirds
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByzSR
hvEEbc