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Parts of the Ecosystem. What is Ecology?. Study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. ECOSYSTEMS. An ECOSYSTEM is made of all the living & nonliving things that interact in a particular area Ecosystems can be large or small. ECOSYSTEMS.
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What is Ecology? • Study of the interactions between organisms and their environment
ECOSYSTEMS An ECOSYSTEM is made of all the living & nonliving things that interact in a particular area Ecosystems can be large or small
ECOSYSTEMS • The living parts of an ecosystem are called BIOTIC factors • Examples: trees, plants, flowers, • insects, animals
Alive? • To be considered living, an organism must… • Contain all 7 characteristics of life • DNA • Reproduce • Use energy • Adapt • Respond to Stimuli • Made of cells • Grow and Develop
ECOSYSTEMS The non-living things in an ecosystem are called ABIOTIC factors Examples : water, rocks, soil, air, temperature, wind, carbon dioxide, nutrients, sunlight
Organization in the Environment • Ecologists have arranged the environment in different levels Organism Population Community Ecosystem Biosphere
The 5 Levels: #1 Organism • 1. An individual is a single organism. Ex: an alligator, a human, an oak tree
The 5 Levels: #2 Population A population is a group of individuals of the same species in the same area. Ex: group of alligators, herd of deer
The 5 Levels: #3 Community A community consists of all of the populations of different species that live and interact in an area.
The 5 Levels: #4 Ecosystem An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms and its abiotic environment
The 5 Levels: Level #5 Biosphere The biosphere is the part of Earth where life exists
ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM How does energy flow in an ecosystem? What is an energy pyramid? What is a trophic level?
ENERGY ENTERS ECOSYTEM • All energy in ecosystem comes from the sun • First law of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed (but it can be transformed into stored energy & heat)
ENERGY LEAVES ECOSYSTEM • Second law of thermodynamics:Energy is lost as energy is transformed • In ecosystem, when energy is transformed, some energy is lost as HEAT
1. Food Chain: Single path 3. Food Pyramid 2. Food Web: many paths ENERGY PATHS 3 ways to illustrate energy flow
FOOD CHAINS • A food chain shows the path of energy from one organism to the next • energy flows from producers to consumers • arrows point to who is eating (plant is eaten by herbivore) • Usually decomposers are left out
FOOD WEBS • A food web shows all feeding relationships in an ecosystem (made of many food chains)
FOOD WEBS remember: decomposers receive energy from all other organisms in an ecosystem CONSUMER(CARNIVORE) • Typically, food webs go like this: CONSUMER(OMNIVORE) CONSUMER(HERBIVORE) DECOMPOSER PRODUCER
FOOD CHAINS AND WEBS • Practice! Draw a food chain that includes the following organisms: • grasshopper • mouse • grass • owl CONSUMER(CARNIVORE) CONSUMER(CARNIVORE) CONSUMER(HERBIVORE) • Now label the organisms as producers, consumers (which type?), or decomposers PRODUCER
FOOD CHAINS/WEBS & ENERGY PYRAMIDS • Food chains/webs can be written as a pyramid: • Producers form the base of the pyramid • Consumers form the upper layers
ENERGY PYRAMIDS The energy pyramid shows energy flow in an ecosystem: • Top Consumer • Energy stored by • Secondary Consumers • Energy stored by • Primary Consumers • ENERGY STORED • BY PRODUCERS • A level of the energy pyramid is called a TROPHIC LEVEL • Each trophic level represents the energy for those organisms
TROPHIC LEVELS • Energy is lost with each trophic • ~90% is released to the environment as heat • ~10% of the energy is used Only about 10% of the energy from one level is passed on to the next level
QUICK REVIEW • Practice! If 100% of the energy is available at the first trophic level, what percentages of the energy are available at the second and third trophic levels? 1% 10% 100%
QUICK REVIEW! energy pyramid All organisms in an ecosystem need _______ from food to live. An energy ________ shows how much food energy is passed from one ________ to another through food chains. __________ have the largest spot at the base of the pyramid. Altogether, only about _____ of the food energy at each level gets passed up to the next level. organism Producers 10%