Ecosystems

Understand how organisms interact

with and respond to the biotic and
abiotic components of their
environment.
 The Organization of Ecosystems
• How would you describe the area where you live?
• Do you live near:
– The ocean
– The mountains
• What type of trees grow around you?
• Everything that surrounds you makes up your
environment.
• All organisms live and depend on their
environment.
 Biotic and Abiotic Factors
• All Earthly organisms are found in the Biosphere
– Includes:
• Land
• Water
• Lowest part of the atmosphere
– Living things can be found almost everywhere including very
hot and cold places as well as the deep ocean.
 Biotic and Abiotic Factors
• Ecosystem
– Includes all living and non-living parts of the environment as well as
the interactions among them.
• Biotic Factors
– Living parts of an ecosystem
– Includes remains and wastes
• Abiotic Factors
– Non-living parts of an ecosystem
– Includes light, temperature, weather, soil and water
• Biotic vs Abiotic Factors
 Biotic and Abiotic Factors
• Abiotic factors determine which organisms can live in an
ecosystem
• Ecosystems contain different habitats
– The place where an organism lives
– Supplies all of the biotic and abiotic factors an organism needs
to survive.
– Different organisms need different habitats.
• Habitats all supply same basic needs
– Air, warmth, water and food
• Niche
– How an organism acts within its ecosystem
– Another way to look at this is the organisms role
• Some animals eat other animals, some eat plants
• Some plants grow in sunny areas, some need shade
• Worms and bacteria break down dead organisms for energy
and recycle the nutrients into the ecosystem
• This creates Biodiversity
– The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
• Decomposed Rabbit Video
• Decomposed Fox Video
• (Close your eyes if you’re squeamish!!!)
 Levels of Organization
• An organism is any living thing
– This is the simplest level of organization
• Species
– A group of organisms that share most characteristics and can breed with one
another.
• Population
– All organisms of a species that live in the same place at the same time
– Members of a population compete with each other for resources for survival
• Community
– All of the populations that live in an area at the same time
• Ecosystem
– One or more communities and their nonliving environment
 Levels of Organization
• Populations in a community interact in many ways
– They compete for resources like water and space
– They compete for food
– Some avoid competition by finding different niches like
eating at night or other animals leftovers
– Plants also compete for resources like water, sunlight,
and living spaces
• Cheetahs Never Win?
Other Relationships in Ecosystems
• An ecosystem includes all the living and non-living things
that interact with each other in a certain environment.
• Organisms interact with each other as well as with other
organisms of their own species
 What is a Limiting Factor?
• Limiting Factors
are…
(two similar definitions)
– conditions of the environment that limit
the growth of a species.
– biotic and abiotic factors that prevent
the continuous growth of a population.
 What is a Limiting Factor?
• Populations would continue to increase if they
had all of the resources they require in
unlimited amounts, but there are always
factors that limit their increase.

• Limiting factors control

population growth.
 What is Carrying Capacity?
• Because of these limiting factors, each
ecosystem has a finite capacity for growth
connected to its carrying capacity.
What is Carrying Capacity?
• Carrying capacity is the
number of individuals of a
species that an ecosystem
can support.
 Two types of limiting factors:
Density-dependent
and

Density-independent

Population density describes the number of individuals in a given

area.
 Population Density
• Let’s say our classroom is 600 sq. ft.
In 1st period and 2nd period, there are 25 students in the
class.
The population density for 1st period and 2nd period is 25
students/600 ft² or .04 students/ft².
In 3rd period, there are only 19 students in the class. Is the
population density higher or lower?
 Density - Dependent
• Density-dependent factors include disease,
competition, predators, parasites, and food.
• Disease, for example, can spread more quickly in a
population with members that live close together.
Its flu season, and lots of sick students are coming
to school. They are coughing, sneezing, and
touching everything. Ten percent of Ms. Deaton’s
students have the flu, but are so dedicated they
come to class anyway. If Ms. Deaton wipes down
every desk before every class, which class will be
most affected by the flu?

2nd period, because they have the greatest

population density. A larger number of students
will be infected and have opportunity to infect a
larger number of healthy students.
 Density - Independent
• Density-independent factors can affect all populations,
regardless of their density.
• Most density-independent factors are abiotic factors,
such as temperature, storms, floods, drought, and major
habitat disruption
 Six new students were added to 4th period.
The population densities of all the classes is
now the same.
The school is sponsoring an event that
allows students to miss 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th
periods. Which classes will be most
affected?
• All equally affected! The event will disrupt class
regardless of size – everyone will have the opportunity to
go.
 Competition
• Competition
– Is density-dependant
– Occurs when organisms in an ecosystem try to get the same
resources.
– When organisms compete, some will get the resources they
need to survive
• Others will not and will have to move on or die off
 Coexistence
• Coexist
and Cooperation
No, not this…

• Coexist
– Organisms that live in the same habitat but rely on different
resources
• Cooperation
– Helpful interaction among organisms living in a limited area
– This is where organisms share resources
 Predation
• Predation
– Relationship in which one animal hunts, kills, and eats another
• Predator
– Animals that kill and eat each other
• Prey
– Animals that are killed and eaten
• Some animals can be both prey and predator.
• Ocean example
 Symbiosis
• Symbiosis
– Close relationship between two different species of organisms living together
• Mutualism
– Relationship in which both species benefit
• Commensalism
– Relationship where one species benefits without benefiting or harming the other
species
• Parasitism
– Relationship between a parasite and its host
– Parasite
• An organism that lives on or in another organism and benefits at the other organisms
expense
– Host
• An organism that a parasite lives on or in
 Symbiosis
• Mutualism

• Commensalism

• Parasitism
 Symbiosis
• Competition

• Predation
 ACTIVITY

List down at least 3 examples of

each symbiosis.
 Ecosystems
• Three main categories
1. Terrestrial
2. Freshwater
No, wait… Wrong Marine!
3. Marine
– Terrestrial are on land
– Forrest, deserts, grasslands
– Freshwater are also found on land
– Rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands
– Marine are in the ocean
– Wherever there is salt water
 Flow of Energy in the Ecosystems
• Organisms need energy for cells to function
• Because of this need for energy, organisms are
connected by feeding relationships

• Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

 Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers
• Producers
– An organism that produces its own food
– Also called Autotrophs
• Producers
– Includes plants, algae, and bacteria
– Many make food through photosynthesis
• Uses light energy to combine carbon dioxide and water to produce
glucose and oxygen.
– Remember ME?
 Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers
• Consumers
– Organisms that cannot make their own food
– Also called heterotrophs
• Consumers
• All animals are consumers
– Some eat producers
– Some eat other consumers
 Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers
• First-order Consumer
– Feeds directly on producers
• Second-order Consumer
– Feeds on first-order consumers
• Third-order Consumer
– Feeds on second-order consumers
 Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

• Decomposers
– An organism that gets energy by breaking down the
remains of dead organisms and the wastes of living things.
– Another kind of heterotroph
– Most fungi and bacteria fall into this category
– Earthworms and insects also
– They are often called nature’s recyclers
– They return carbon and nitrogen to the air and soil.
 Food Chains
• Trophic Level
and Food Webs
– Each feeding level in an ecosystem
– Producers make up the first level
– Consumers at each level get energy by feeding on organisms at a
lower level
• Food Chain
– A series of organisms in which each feeds on the one at the next
lower level.
• Decomposers break down the remains and wastes of all
organisms in the chain.
 Food Chains and Food Webs
• Food chains show only one path for the flow of energy
– Feeding relationships are more complicated.
• Food Web
– A network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem
 Food Chains and Food Webs
• Populations of organisms in a food web are all connected.
– A change to one population affects the other populations in the web
• An example is if a disease decreases the number of
grasshoppers would lead to a decrease in the
number of small birds that feed on the grasshoppers.
This would cause the higher-level consumers like
foxes and hawks to move away or die off.
 Food Chains and Food Webs
• Not all the energy from one trophic level is
transferred to the next level.
– This is called an Energy Pryamid
• graphical representation of the trophic levels (nutritional) by which the
incoming solar energy is transferred into an ecosystem.
– Organisms at each level use some of the energy to carry
out life processes.
– They release some into the environment as heat
– Some is stored in the organisms
• Like bones and teeth
• Some parts can not be decomposed/consumed
– Only about 10% of the energy at one level is passed to the next.
 The Cycling of Matter in Ecosystems
• The Earth constantly receives energy from the sun
• Because of this, the amount of matter does not change,
just its form on earth.
• Matter is recycled from organisms to the environment
and back again.
• There are three main cycles:
– Carbon
– Nitrogen
– Water
• How the Ecosystem Works
 The Carbon Cycle
• Carbon Cycle
– Carbon moves among the air, the ground, and the plants/animals
• Carbon is found in all living organisms
– Also found in the atmosphere, gasoline and many rocks
• Carbon stored in organisms can not be reused until the
organism is eaten or decomposed.
• Decomposition
– Bacteria or other decomposers break down dead organisms
– Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere in this process
• Combustion (burning) is also part of this process
– Burning wood or other organic material produces large amounts of CO 2
released into the atmosphere.
The Carbon Cycle
 The Nitrogen Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle
– The movement of nitrogen through the environment
• Nitrogen is found in many places in many forms
– Most is in the atmosphere as Nitrogen gas
• All living things use nitrogen to make proteins
– Most organisms cannot use it in the form of gas though.
• Nitrogen Fixation
– The natural process to convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into forma that are useful to a
variety of organisms.
– Produces compounds such as ammonia and nitrate
• Usually found in animal waste such as urine
• Fertilizers also contain nitrogen
• Dentrification
– Takes the nitrogen from nitrates and other compounds in the soil and releases it as nitrogen
gas
The Nitrogen Cycle
 The Water Cycle
• Water Cycle
– The continuous movement of water between Earth’s surface and its atmosphere.
– Water changes from one form to another
– The sun is the source of energy for this process
• Evaporation
– Process where liquid changes to gas
• Transpiration
– Water vapor is released through tiny openings in plant leaves
– Animals also add water vapor to the atmosphere through breathing
• Condensation
– The process by which gas changes to a liquid
• Precipitation
– Water that falls to the Earth’s surface in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail
• Groundwater
– Water located below the Earth’s surface
• Runoff
The Water Cycle