Community Ecology

1
CommunityEcology
2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
Ecology

• The scientific study of the interactions between
  organisms and their environments (abiotic and
  biotic).
• 1. Abiotic non-living factors
• (temperature, light, water, and nutrients)
• 2. Biotic living factors
• (other plants and animals)

5
(No Transcript)
6
Hierarchy of Organization

• Biological organization
• Based on structural levels from Least to Most
  Inclusive.
• 1. Atoms
• 2. Molecules
• 3. Organelles
• 4. Cells
• 5. Tissues
• 6. Organs
• 7. organs systems The Realm Of Ecology

7
Organization of Living Things

• Atoms
• Molecules
• Organelles
• Cells
• Tissue
• Organs
• Organ Systems

8
8. Organisms

• Individuals (species) composed of many
  specialized cells.

9
(No Transcript)
10
9. Populations

• Localized groups of organisms belonging to the
  same species.
• Groups of individuals of the same species living
  together.

11
(No Transcript)
12
10. Community

• Populations of organisms living together in the
  same environment.
• Four properties
• 1. Diversity
• 2. Prevalent form of vegetation
• 3. Stability (resist change)
• 4. Trophic structure (feeding structure)

13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
11. Ecosystem

• Dynamic system of organisms interacting with each
  other (biotic) and the inanimate environment
  (abiotic).

16
(No Transcript)
17
12. Biomes

• Broad geographic region with a characteristic
  array of organisms.
• Examples
• 1. Tropical rain forest
• 2. Desert
• 3. Chaparral
• 4. Estuaries
• 5. Coral reefs

18
(No Transcript)
19
13. Biosphere

• Entire surface of the earth and its organisms.

20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
Habitat

• The place or region where an organism lives.

24
Ecological Niche

• An organisms habitat, role, resource
  requirements, and tolerance ranges for each
  abiotic condition.

25
(No Transcript)
26
Competition

• A form of interaction in which two or more
  individuals or species utilize the same limited
  resources.
• Two examples
• 1. Intraspecific competition
• 2. Interspecific competition

27
1. Intraspecific Competition

• Competition within a species for the same limited
  resources in the same habitat.

28
2. Interspecific Competition

• Competition between two or more species for the
  same limited resources in the same habitat.

29
(No Transcript)
30
Competitive Exclusion Principle

• States the following
• 1. The concept that two species cannot continue
  to occupy the same environmental niche.
• 2. They would compete for the same limited
  resources.
• 3. One species will use the resources more
  efficiently and have a reproductive advantage
  that will eventually lead to elimination of the
  other species.

31
Symbiosis

• A form of interspecific interaction in which a
  host species and symbiont maintain a close
  association.
• Example
• 1. Predation

32
1. Predation

• Where one organism (the predator) acquires its
  needed resources by eating another organism (the
  prey).
• Predator/prey relationship.
• Example lynx and snowshoe hare

33
Question

• How do some organisms avoid becoming prey?
• Answers
• 1. Camouflage
• 2. Aposematic
• 3. Mimicry

34
1. Camouflage

• Cryptic coloration
• a. Hides from predators.
• b. Example English Peppered Moth

35
(No Transcript)
36
2. Aposematic

• Bright colors
• a. Advertises noxious trait
• b. Example poison dart frog, Monarch Butterfly

37
(No Transcript)
38
3. Mimicry

• Two examples
• 1. Mullerian Mimicry when two unpalatable
  species mimic each other in the same habitat.
• 2. Batesian Mimicry palatable species mimic
  unpalatable species.

39
Keystone Predator

• A predator the maintains species diversity in a
  community.
• Reduces the density of the strongest competitors
  in a community.
• Example
• 1. Red-tailed hawk
• 2. Coyote
• 3. Harvester ant

40
Symbiotic Relationships

• Help structure communities.
• Three examples
• 1. Parasitism
• 2. Commensalism
• 3. Mutualism

41
1. Parasitism

• Symbiotic relationship which benefits one
  organism and harms the other.
• Example
• 1. Tick on a coyote
• 2. Tapeworm in a dog
• 3. Flea on a cat

42
2. Commensalism

• Symbiotic relationship which benefits one
  organism while the other is unaffected.
• Example
• 1. Cattle egrets and cattle in field

43
3. Mutualism

• Symbiotic relationship which benefits both
  organisms.
• Examples
• 1. Acacia ants and acacia tree
• 2. Termites and gut protozoa
• 3. Legumes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria

44
Ecological Succession

• Transition in species composition over ecological
  time.
• Three examples
• 1. Primary Succession
• 2. Secondary Succession
• 3. Climax Community

45
1. Primary Succession

• Occurs in areas where no community existed before
  (first succession).
• Example
• 1. New volcanic islands - lichens

46
2. Secondary Succession

• Occurs in disturbed habitats where some soil, and
  perhaps some organisms, still remain after the
  disturbance.
• Example
• 1. Fires
• 2. Floods
• 3. Drought

47
3. Climax Community

• Community that remains essentially the same over
  long periods of time.
• It is the final stage of ecological succession.

48
Trophic Structure

• The different feeding relationships that
  determine the route of energy flow and the
  pattern of chemical cycling.
• According to the rules of ten, approximately
  10 of the potential energy stored in the bonds
  of organic molecules at one trophic level fuels
  the growth and development of organisms at the
  next trophic level.

49
Trophic Structure

• Five examples
• 1. Primary Producers
• 2. Primary Consumers
• 3. Secondary Consumers
• 4. Tertiary Consumers
• 5. Decomposers and Detrivores

50
1. Primary Producers

• Autotrophs which make up the trophic level of
  an ecosystem that ultimately supports all other
  levels.
• Examples
• 1. Mostly photosynthetic organisms

51
2. Primary Consumers

• Herbivores organisms in the trophic level of an
  ecosystem that eat plants or algae.
• Examples
• 1. Grasshopper
• 2. Mouse

52
3. Secondary Consumers

• The trophic level of an ecosystem consisting of
  carnivores that eat herbivores.
• Examples
• 1. Snake
• 2. Green sunfish

53
4. Tertiary Consumers

• The trophic level of an ecosystem consisting
  carnivores that eat other carnivores.
• Examples
• 1. Hawks
• 2. Mountain lions

54
5. Decomposers and Detrivores

• Heterotrophs that get their nutrition by breaking
  down the organic compounds found in waste organic
  matter and dead organisms.

55
5. Decomposers and Detrivores

• Examples
• A. Decomposers 1. Bacteria
• 2. Fungi
• B. Detrivores 1. Worms
• 2. Nematodes
• 3. Insects
• 4. Lobsters
• 5. Shrimp
• 6. Condors

56
Trophic Structure
57
Food Chain

• The transfer of food from trophic level to
  trophic level.
• Example of a food chain
• 1. Primary producer phytoplankton
• 2. Primary consumer zooplankton
• 3. Secondary consumer fish
• 4. Tertiary consumer fisherman
• 5. Quaternary consumer shark

58
Food Web

• The map of all interconnections between food
  chains for an ecosystem.

59
Biomass

• The amount or mass of organic material in an
  ecosystem.

60
Primary Productivity

• Is the rate where solar energy is converted to
  the chemical energy of organic (glucose)
  compounds by autotrophs (plants).
• Net primary production equals photosynthesis -
  cellular respiration

61
Tropical Rain Forest

• Occur in equatorial areas
• High abundance of yearly rain
• (gt250 cm a year in some areas)
• Has the highest number of different species per
  square mile.

62
Tropical Rain Forest

• Human impacts a great concern
• 1. Clear cutting for wood and farmland.
• 2. May cause large scale changes in world
  climate.
• 3. There will be a large scale loss of species.

63
Negative Impacts to Ecosystems

• 1. Clear-cutting of forest upsets chemical
  cycling.
• 2. Eutrophication increased mineral input
  which chokes aquatic life.
• 3. Environmental disasters Valdez Oil Spill
• 4. Pollution water, air (acid rain), pesticides
  and herbicides.