4 ECOLOGY
Define species, habitats, populations, community,
ecosystems and ecology.
Habitat: the environment in which a species
normally lives or the location of a living organism.
Population: a group of organisms of the same
species who live in the same area at the same time.
Community: a group of populations living and
interacting with each other in an area.
Ecosystem: a community and its abiotic
environment.
Ecology: the study of relationships between living
organisms and between organisms and their
environment.
Species
A group of organisms that:
-Similar physiological and morphological
characteristics that can be observed and
measured
-Ability to interbreed and produce fertile
offspring.
-genetically distinct from other species
- Common phylogeny (family tree)
HYBRIDS
LION + TIGER = LIGER
(dad) (mom)
SAME GENUS DIFFERENT
SPECIES
TIGER + LION = TIGON
(dad) (mom)
Over to you .
Research:
Name of animal
Photo of original parents
and hybrid (if possible)
Fertility
1st and 2nd generations
Concerns?
4x A4 papers
Distinguish between autotroph and heterotroph.
Autotrophs are organisms that synthesize their
organic molecules from simple inorganic
substances. (e.g. plants) = producers
Heterotrophs are organisms that obtain organic
molecules from other organisms. (e.g. animals)
Distinguish between consumers, detritivores and
saprotrophs.
Consumer: an organism that ingests other organic
matter that is living or recently killed.
Detritivore: an organism that ingests non-living
organic matter.
Saprotroph: an organism that lives on or in non-living
organic matter, secreting digestive enzymes into it
and absorbing the products of digestion
communities
Group of populations living and interacting
with each other in an area.
Interactions: feeding on another or being
eaten
What is meant by a food chain, giving three
examples, each with at least three linkages (four
organisms).
A food chain shows the direction of energy flow from
one species to another.
For example, an arrow from A to B means that A is
being eaten by B
and therefore indicates the direction of the energy
flow.
The food chain YouTube
Energy Pyramid and Food Web - YouTube
The direction of the arrow must always be to the next consumer starting with
The producer (plant)
What is meant by a food web?
A food web is a diagram that shows all the feeding
relationships in a community with arrows which
show the direction of the energy flow.
Define trophic level.
Trophic level: the trophic level of an organism is its
position in the food chain.
Producers, primary consumers, secondary
consumers and tertiary consumers are examples
of trophic levels
Trophic levels of organisms in a food chain and a
food web.
Plants or any other photosynthetic organisms are the
producers.
Primary consumers are the species that eat the
producers.
Secondary consumers are the species that eat the
primary consumers and
tertiary consumers in turn eat the secondary
consumers.
Light is the initial energy source for almost all
communities.
Light is the initial energy source for almost all
communities
Energy flow in a food chain.
Producers receive their energy from light energy
(the sun) by means of photosynthesis.
After this, the energy in organic matter flows from
producers to primary consumers to secondary
consumers to tertiary consumers.
This is because producers will be eaten by primary
consumers which in turn will be eaten by
secondary consumers and so on.
However, between these trophic levels, energy is
always lost.
All of the trophic levels lose energy as heat
through cell respiration..
Also, as the organic matter passes from one
trophic level to the next, not all of it is digested
and so we have loss of energy in organic matter
through faeces.
This energy then passes on to the detritivores and
saprotrophs.
Another energy loss occurs through tissue loss and
death which can happen at any trophic level.
Once again, this energy would be passed on to
detritivores and saprotrophs as they digest these.
Detritivores and saprotrophs in turn lose energy as
heat through cell respiration
Summary:
Energy flows from producers to primary consumers,
to secondary consumers, to tertiary consumers...
Energy is lost between trophic levels in the form of
heat through cell respiration, faeces, tissue loss
and death.
Some of this lost energy is used by detritivores and
saprotrophs. These in turn also lose energy in the
form of heat through cell respiration
Saprotrophs = saprophytes
Reasons for the shape of pyramids of energy.
How MUCH
How FAST
energy flows from one trophic
level to the next in a community
It is about the RATE OF ENERGY production
Not just the quantity
kJ m-2yr-1 = energy per unit area per unit time: kilojoules per square meter per year)
Third
First
This model shows the typical loss of energy from
solar radiation through the various trophic levels.
Note how this causes a tapering of the model
The volume of one layer is 10% of the layer below.
It is this loss of energy which in part makes food
chains relatively short.
In extreme environments like the arctic the initial
trapping of energy by producers is low. Thus the
food chains are short.
In a tropic rainforest the trapping of energy is more
efficient and therefore food chains are longer, webs
are more complex
Energy transformations are never 100% efficient.
Energy transformations are never 100% efficient.
Energy enters and leaves ecosystems, but
nutrients must be recycled.
Energy is not recycled.
Constantly being supplied to the ecosystem through
light energy.
Energy is lost from the ecosystem in the form of heat
through cell respiration.
Nutrients must be recycled as there is only a limited
supply of them.
Nutrients are absorbed by the environment, used by
organisms and then returned to the environment.
Saprotrophic bacteria and fungi (decomposers)
recycle nutrients.
Saprotrophic bacteria and fungi (decomposers)
recycle nutrients.
